Tom Smerk

I am a full-time Business Information Technology Associate Professor for the San Diego Community College District Continuing Education Centers and have worked at West City Center since 1988. I am also a Business Office Technology instructor at Grossmont College since 1995, and have recently taught Office Automation at United Education Institute (UEI). In addition to my teaching assignments, I have recently worked on a part-time contract as a multimedia courseware (CBT/CAI) developer for the San Diego Community College District Workplace Learning Resource Center. In addition to all the BOT, Office Skills and Microsoft Office classes I currently teach, I have also taught classes and seminars on Small Business Management, Help Desk and Customer Service. My biography will be published thes fall in the 11th edition of "Who's Who Among America's Teachers."

My Virtual Assistant practice lasted from 1986 to 1999. By that time, I was teaching full time for SDCCD and part-time for Grossmont College, earning a good salary plus receiving full benefits, I decided that I just didn’t have enough time left over for “Tom Smerk & Associates.” My specialties were desktop publishing, advertising design, custom database programming, word processing, writing and revising training manuals, written documentation, report writing, writing and revising employee handbooks, Internet consulting, web page design, telemarketing, creating and maintaining mailing lists and software & hardware troubleshooting. My clients were law offices, new and used car dealers, a medical center, manufacturing and wholesale companies, retailers and business executives. Prior to this I had worked as an operations manager, sales manager and general manager. I feel that the management background was useful because I could see things from my client's point of view.

My areas of interest are teaching beginners and older adults, operating systems, word processing, desktop publishing, Internet, Windows, graphics, music and MIDI, and multimedia (presentation graphics and CBT authoring). I am also interested in distance learning and the general use of computer technology in the classroom - both as a tool for the teacher and an aid for the student. I also enjoy writing (non-fiction), and am currently revising and expanding my new book on Casino Video Poker. I hope to have it published in 2008. I enjoy writing and recording music, and am currently studying the "Audacity" and "Pro Tools" software, which is a computer-based multitrack recording system.

If all of this leaves me any time for hobbies or other interests, I enjoy bicycling, weight training, listening to "smooth-jazz," folk and bluegrass music, and visiting local areas of interest such as the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and local parks and recreation areas. I am very interested in the scenic "back country" areas of San Diego County, so I moved to a small 3-acre ranch in the back country area of Dulzura in March, 1999.

I love to travel. Some of my favorite destinations are New York City, Nashville, Kentucky (where I have 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren living), Lake Tahoe and Pennsylvania. I have never been to the Northwestern states, but I would like to travel there soon.

I was a professional entertainer in the 1970's, and have been working in bands since 1965. I currently work occasionally with several local groups plus entertain as a single. I play guitar, and enjoy playing a variety of styles including swing, jazz, blues, country, folk, bluegrass, smooth jazz, old standards and classic rock.

I’ll look forward to getting to know more about each of you, and I hope look back and remember this class as being one of your favorites!