Mark Reha’s passion has always been teaching and working with engineering students. He taught in college for two years as a TA in 1982 while he was going to college and fell in love with teaching! This past year at GCU, he taught Database Application Programming I, Database Application Programming II, Database Application Programming III in PHP/MySQL, Enterprise Application Programming in .NET/C#, Operating System Concepts and C++ Object-Orientated Programming. Prior to coming to GCU, he spent three years as an adjunct professor at a community college and local technical university where he taught C#/.NET, Digital Electronics, Introduction to C, Introduction to Java, Advanced Java, Advanced Android Programming and the senior software development capstone project. He has also spent many hours doing corporate training and given training classes on cloud computing, software development methodologies, DevOps and many other technical topics.
Faculty Spotlight Questions:
My professional background was initially not as an instructor, teacher or a professor. My background coming out of DeVry University in 1982 was in electrical engineering, which eventually led me into the fields of software engineering, software architecture and technical management. I worked for over 20 years in California “in the heart of Silicon Valley” and for 13 years working in the Phoenix area in information technology. I have witnessed the birth of the PC, the birth of Windows and Linux, the birth of the Internet and the birth of the mobile platform, all of which are now totally engrained into the working environment and our daily lives. These technical innovations are the most important and influential events that I have witnessed in my lifetime.
I have been blessed over the years to work with lots of talented engineers and technical leaders. But my passion has always been teaching and working with engineering students. My goal is to make the best next generation engineers for our industry. I also hold five patents, and I have written an eBook and published several iPhone and Android applications on the various app stores. I am easy to find on the Apple app and book stores. Just search for Mark Reha! Curious about my patents? One patent I obtained in 1997 I guarantee everybody uses every day on their computer and smartphone.
I am offered the luxury and good fortune of teaching a wide variety of classes at GCU and I work with some very intelligent professors who I can learn a lot from. I appreciate the progressive nature of our programs and the open thinking that goes into how our programs are designed or will be designed in the future. I used to be on the other side of the fence as a hiring manager trying to hire software engineers while I was still in the industry as a director of software. I know how hard it was to hire new college graduates as too many of them simply were not prepared to enter the workforce. I really believe in our programs, and I really believe we are properly preparing our students to enter the workforce!
All great engineers have a few great attributes in their DNA. They are resourceful, can solve problems, can learn things they do not know today, are committed, have passion for their craft, view engineering as an art form and can communicate on paper, verbally and through their vision. Learn to obtain these attributes. Our engineering fields are difficult and are lifelong learning opportunities. Never become satisfied that you know enough and never become complacent. As Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, once said, “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” I use this message to drive myself to be the best my entire career.