Today marks my 75th blog post for Campus to Career, which is just over a year old. I thought long and hard about what I was going to write about and realized something. You probably don’t know me. I’d like to one day fix that, but in the meantime, thought it would be nice to share some fun facts about myself. Some of the statements below will come as no surprise to you. Others may leave you thinking something like, “he did WHAT??” I’ve kept it light and fun. Hope you enjoy!

1. My first job (other than mowing lawns) was at my mother’s day care center. It was one of the largest in the state. My job? Toddlers. Guess that was more along my speed.
2. I’ve visited 13 countries (Mexico, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany (twice), Austria, Hungary, Singapore, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Japan) in the past 10 years. My goal is to see more of the world, taking my wife with me to enjoy it even more.
3. My heroes include my dad, mom, grandparents, Christopher Reeve, Helen Keller, Mark Twain, and Abraham Lincoln to name a few.
4. In grade school throughout high school, I raised and showed cattle with my dad and siblings, participating in many local and state 4-H shows. Yes – I have the green jacket to prove it. It’s hanging next to the blue FFA jacket. 🙂
5. I’ve had a wide variety of pets that have included a barn owl (only while it was being nursed back to health for the wildlife refuge), a sugar glider, hamsters, gerbils, fish, ferrets, even an opossum or three here and there (had Pete the Possum in college unbeknownst to the R.A.). Those pets came and went (or had to be released back into the wild) while I kept dogs, either a boxer, Great Pyrenees, or St. Bernard. Today, the wildest pets I have are a long-haired Chihuahua named Izzy who thinks she’s a person, and a cat named Pickles, who thinks he’s the boss (especially since he outweighs the dog by 2x).
6. I have collected Superman memorabilia since I was a kid. It’s mostly action figures, a few comics and a LOT of miscellaneous things. Yes, I’ve even been to Metropolis. It’s in Illinois – the town hosts a Superman Celebration each year.
7. I’m the only child in my family that was born in Oklahoma. The rest of my family: brother, sisters, mom and dad, are all Texans. Don’t worry – I’ve been known to say “ya’ll” from time to time, too. NOTE: You won’t find any OU fans in the family. Oklahoma State orange looks better on the Baumanns.
8. I took a different route to gain my formal education. While many of my classmates were looking at 4-year institutions, I chose a 2-year state college to get my Associate’s degree (in Pre-Journalism) on a full scholarship. Then, I transferred to a 4-year state school and got my Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication with a Leadership minor. My college sports allegiance? Not what you’d think….it’s the Arkansas Razorbacks. (Woo pig sooie!)
9. I managed one of the largest college radio stations in the country while in school. My shift? The morning show from 6am-10am. My radio name was Kryptonite Kirk. It’s funny to think about that now. I had a blast! During this time and just after college, I worked weekends at one of the regional radio stations. Sometimes it was Country, other times it was Adult Contemporary or Rock. Maybe that’s why my music tastes are so eclectic.
10. During my time in broadcasting, I wrote an Oklahoma Association of Broadcaster’s award-winning television script for a cooking show. The name of the show? Cookin’ with Captain Kirk – Backyard BBQ.
11. I once won a contest on MTV Radio. The challenge? Each contestant was asked to give their best impression of a character from the television show, King of the Hill. If you’ve met me, you know that I do a mean Hank Hill voice. 🙂
12. I love my current job with Enactus. If you didn’t already know that, all you have to do is ask me, read my blog, tweets, or Facebook updates. I’m fortunate to work with great people and for a wonderful organization that empowers those in need to better their way of life and standard of living.

Here’s the moral of the story. Life is an interesting adventure. It’s a journey that you can learn from, becoming a better person. Were you surprised by any of the things I shared above? What’s an interesting fact about you? Please feel free to add a comment below and let me know! As always, thanks for reading.

Photo credit: lilypenelope