INTRODUCTION

    A person or society is influenced by their past and present. A central theme of my life has been travel.
    I lived in various parts of the United States, Canada and Spain. I have traveled in Mexico, South America and Europe. Thus I have met and interacted with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.
    At Northern Michigan University I majored in early European history and minored in Spanish. California State University awarded me a B.A. and a M.A. in history. Although my interest was European history, I ended up doing my thesis on the politics involved in selecting the site for the Columbian Exposition. Due to the draft and the war, I rushed through my studies, actually receiving approval of my thesis while I was in basic training. After completing my term of military service, I completed a B.A. in Spanish at the University of Madrid, Spain.
    Choices are made based on personal experiences. Since I found common threads in the diversity of traditions and cultures that I experienced in my travels I wanted to explore that matter further and to share what I had learned. so my dream was to teach. I completed a program in secondary education at California State University, Hayward. I was fortunate to obtain a position teaching basic U.S. History courses at Chabot Community College for seven years before I moved to Arizona. I have had the privilege and enjoyment of teaching U.S. History at Mesa Community College since 1983.

     Copyright © 2005 Gary Brady