Biography

Mark grew up in Detroit, went to college in South Dakota, and eventually moved to Montana because most of his family lives in the Treasure State. But wait…let’s back up a minute. How does a Detroit boy end up going to college in South Dakota? Mark provides the answer with noticeable dedication in his voice: “I’ve played hockey my whole life, and that’s why I ended up going to school in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I played hockey for the Northern State University Wolves. I still play hockey.”

Along with some pretty nice hockey stats, Mark emerged from Northern State University with a degree in Business Management. His career, however, has been focused almost most entirely in tech support. “I’ve found I have a knack for explaining technical things to non-technical people,” he says – and his clients agree. After two years as a Support Specialist, Mark’s job responsibilities expanded to include Utility Billing product management.

Small Town Story

Wanting to explore Mark’s path to Montana a little further, we asked about his post-college years. “My dad is the oldest of eight kids,” he explained. “He and most of his siblings lived in Helena – and they still do. I moved here to join them.” Although it’s great to have lots of family ties in a small radius, Mark admits it takes some time to adjust to how different life is in small-town Montana versus big-city Michigan. In the end, though, he has grown to really like living in Montana, where “people are friendly and pretty easy-going.”

Community Service

• Helena Adult Hockey League: Volunteer for league administration and event scheduling

Education

• BS in Business Management, Northern State University