J. Patrick Fenton, CIS Dept., West Valley College
E-mail to:About… J. Patrick Fenton...
Ok. You enrolled, or are thinking of
enrolling, in one of
the classes I teach at West Valley College. Or perhaps you're just
surfing around the West Valley College website and found this page...
but I doubt that! In the event that you are planning to
spend a semester with me, perhaps you should know a bit about me...
and what is it I'm holding in my picture??
As a full-time instructor for West Valley College since 1983, I have taught a variety of computer-related courses, from the Introduction to Computing Systems courses, to programming in Basic or Visual Basic and COBOL, Systems Analysis, Data Base Administration, and similar courses. When the networking explosion began a few years ago, I introduced training programs for Novell and Microsoft certification programs and became a certified instructor, both a Novell CNI and a Microsoft MCT. Currently, I serve as the chairperson of West Valley's CIS Department and have held this responsibility for much of my tenure at the college.
Prior to teaching, my work experience included positions as Vice President of Finance in area electronics and information services firms as well as extensive experience in accounting and accounting systems, drawing upon my education at Santa Clara University where I majored in Accounting as an undergraduate and where I also received my MBA.
In addition to teaching at West Valley, I have also taught similar computing courses for Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, and for the College of Business at California State University, San Jose. I have authored and adapted several computing textbooks for publishers such as Times Mirror/Irwin, Glencoe, Addison Wesley, and Microsoft Press. To bring certified training programs into the community college curriculum, I co-directed a Microsoft-funded training project for high school and college teachers throughout California, a project that resulted in certification for many teachers and the start of dozens of new training programs in California's schools.
But this describes my
"professional life," not fully who I am. For a glimse at that side
of me, can you tell what it is that I am holding in the picture on my
"Home" page? Here's a bit larger version of the same
photo...
After nearly 18 years of teaching, the reward of time off to pursue my own interests was realized in the Spring, 2000, semester when I spent over eight months living in Paris, France, and attending the world's oldest and most prestigious ecole de cuisine - le Cordon Bleu. In August, 2000, the school awarded me a highly coveted Le Grand Diplôme de Cuisine et de Pâtisserie, their highest diploma.
Since that time, I occasionally work as a professional chef or in other aspects of the culinary field . I hope some day to have a bistro or pensione in Europe - Paris, Tuscany, Chianti... or San Francisco, or ??? But no free lunch!
And this also proves one more thing - you're never
too old, and it's never too late, to learn something new or to be excited
about the future... 