Stamford Data Center Runs on Marine's Passion

Walter Beddoe spends most of his week in the Stamford data center for SIX Telekurs, overseeing all of the IT operations in the United States for the Zurich-based firm. He didn't go to school to learn how to keep the servers and telecommunications equipment running; he started out in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“The Marine Corps is the foundation of everything I do: my professionalism, my character and my education. The Marine Corps changed my life,” Beddoe says. He served from 1981 to 1985 but holds steady to the notion that once a Marine, always a Marine.

While on duty, he was in a division that sent him around the world to work on military computer systems and gave him the knowledge he needed to rise to vice president of IT and logistics at SIX Telekurs.

Beddoe has seen great success, and he is proud of the opportunities the military opened up for him. However, his is not a mind at rest. Beddoe is reaching out and seeking to expand his education by earning a degree in psychology. He doesn't need to — it's just something he wants to do.

He's taking courses with the University of Bridgeport's IDEAL program and estimates that he is about a junior in terms of credits. He sometimes needs to travel around the world for business, so the program's flexibility allows him to study and work.

When not overseeing data centers or taking classes, Beddoe administers his blog, www.usmc81.com. There he writes of accomplishments, life, service and honor. He also stresses the value of the lessons learned in the service and after returning to civilian life.

Arguments about time don't hold much water with Beddoe. He's a father of six, all of whom are students. The career and blog keep him busy. He says everyone is busy but could follow their dreams if they really looked at their schedules and carved out the time.

“Most of us have no qualms about spending 10 to 12 hours online a week,” he says. “Why not spend some of that time learning something and doing something productive?”

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