Here's a synopsis: In fall of '65, I enrolled at Cornell Univ. (crew 4 years, Army ROTC, graduated in "69 with B.A. and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant). U.S. Army service: 3 days after college graduation I was at Fort Benning, Georgia, for Airborne, Ranger, and Infantry Officer training, served a year in Vietnam, combat wound, awarded Purple Heart. (My War Story: I lost a bucket of blood, a pound of flesh, and one best friend. I came back with an Honorable Discharge, 10% disability, and ten years' worth of nightmares.) Returned to Arlington in '71, drove Red Top cab, coached JEB Stuart H.S. crew for 3 seasons (1 National Championship), worked for Federal Energy Administration, saw "Easy Rider" and listened to Steppenwolf's "Born to be wild," bought a motorcycle, quit job, rode 'cycle to south Florida, found a job working for $2 an hour on an archaeological dig in the Florida Keys, got certified as a scuba diver, went to work for the Florida Underwater Archaeological Research Section aboard treasure hunting boats salvaging Spanish galleon shipwrecks. After this, I began graduate school program for M.A. in anthropology and archaeology, added historical paternal family name "Karell" to "Koski," and met nice lady who was a dancer and climber of really tall mountains. Graduated with M.A. in '76 and began work toward Ph.D. Married nice lady in '77. I made my first archaeological field research trip to Haiti in 1977 and have continued visiting there up to the present, including experiences with tonton macoute, revolts, voodoo, coups d'eat, economic embargo, U.S. invasion, 2010 earthquake, et cetera (making plans to go again soon). Established Karell Archeological Services in '80 and made a career working as a consulting archaeologist for prehistoric & historic archaeology and underwater archaeology. Projects have taken me from Maine to Mexico and the Caribbean, from the Marianas to the Mediterranean, and lots of places in between. I have also worked intermittently as a commercial diver and architectural historian. I finished my dissertation on the prehistory of Haiti in 2002 and graduated with a Ph.D. I began working for the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Environmental Management in 2004, focusing on historic lighthouses - getting them listed on the National Register of Historic Places and transferred to new owners using the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (anybody want to buy a lighthouse?). Wife and I have been blessed with six children (3 boys & 3 girls). All attended Arlington public schools and went on to college. One is still in college, another is a film maker who is married and has a daughter, two others are in Seattle for graduate school, one is a theatrical production cast member in San Francisco, another graduated from UVA Law School and worked as a lawyer before joining the U.S. Marine Corps (Washington Post Magazine, June 21, 2009, article by Kristin Henderson, available online). Other "Koski-Karell" information is also available online. Closing thoughts: Whatever you want to do, you may be able to do it. You just have to go for it, and don't ever give up!