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Introduction
First, a bit of background on me: I am Black and a citizen of the United States of America (USA). This is my home county. American English is my first language.
I grew up on a small farm in a rural area. Some of my neighbors were Black, and some of them were Caucasian. Most of them were farmers. I went to a Black Baptist church on Sunday and attended a public grade school for colored people on weekdays during the school year.
When I was born, Sputnik 1 had been in orbit around the Earth for less than two months. It had been launched by the USSR.
I became a horror movie fan who grew up on Hammer films. Atomic bombs were tested, and two bombs were dropped on Japan. After Japan surrendered, some horror films featured plots that involved radiation.
We were in the Cold War with the USSR. This was not a battle like we saw with other wars. It was a struggle expressed in terms of advances in technological activities like the Space Race.
The USA government funded more projects in science and technology. It formed NASA. I grew up with the Space Race between the USA and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Those Black women at NASA portrayed in the Hidden Figures book and film helped the USA compete in the Space Race (Hidden Figures, 2016).
Public schools were desegregated in the 1960s. The USSR placed missiles in Cuba after the USA placed missiles in Turkey about the same time. There was a crisis involved with these missiles that lasted for days. The Cold War was upon us in a very serious way.
In London, England, four students formed a band called Pink Floyd in 1965. Three bands, Pink Floyd, H.P. Lovecraft, and Procol Harum, performed at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1967 (Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, H.P. Lovecraft, November 9, Fillmore Auditorium, November 10-11, Winterland, 2022). Other than this concert, Pink Floyd had no apparent connection with the author Lovecraft. The mental health issues of one of the band members inspired some of their songs.
Dark Shadows was a favorite television show of mine after the character Barnabas Collins, portrayed by Jonathan Frid, was introduced in 1966. The Leviathan Cult was a Dark Shadows storyline similar to H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
A World War II pilot, Gene Roddenberry, put together a television show called Star Trek, which showed a brighter vision of Earth and the people of Earth. The show aired during the late 1960s.
The Dunwich Horror movie aired in 1970. It was based on an H. P. Lovecraft story. This was a different kind of alien invasion of the human race.
Shock Theater was a favorite television show of mine during the 1970s. During the show I heard background sounds that interested me. It was part of a Pink Floyd song called Echos. My interest in electronic music started here with the sound effects I heard.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote horror stories. Some of his works may have inspired H. P. Lovecraft’s The Mountains of Madness. Some of Poe’s stories inspired some horror films that I watched. Poe inspired a museum in Richmond, a local coffee shop in Petersburg, and a local literary convention called RavenCon (A Visit to the Hiram Haines Coffee House – the Poe Museum, 2025). I had coffee at that shop and attended that convention (RavenCon 2026: April 24-26 -, 2025).
I viewed dark night skies on a farm. I watched horror movies and science fiction television shows. That heavily influenced my life, even more than false beliefs about Black people, for years.
Skill 1
Integrated Marketing Communications is one of my top three skills. This involves communicating the brand over multiple channels (Cohen, 2021).
I have taken classes in communication, law, and business management at Old Dominion University (ODU) over the last two years. I put what I learned to use in my volunteer activities.
Department of Communications Social Media Assistant
STARFLEET communicates its brand over all its social media as close to Gene Roddenberry’s intellectual property as Paramount allows (Office of Communications – STARFLEET, 2018). That includes copyrights on all images as well. Images are what I make pins out of for the Pinterest boards. This includes the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Wolford, 2025). I also write articles for online publications as well on various science topics.
SciStarter Ambassador
SciStarter communicates its brand over all of its social media channels as encouraging people's participation in citizen science for the benefit of researchers (SciStarter, 2020). I talk with librarians about joining a network of public libraries to help with this mission. I talk with people about participating in citizen science projects, especially during Citizen Science Month in April.
Recruiting and Retention
As a Region One Recruiting and Retention Officer, I communicate STARFLEET's brand to potential members and current members of the organization.
Skill 2
Collaborative Leadership is one of my top three skills. I share leadership responsibilities with other people within departments of organizations (Creative Problem Solving a Quick, Down-And-Dirty Handbook Inclusive Innovation Connector Meeting Barcelona, 2017).
I have taken classes in communication, law, and business management at ODU over the last two years. I put what I learned to use in my volunteer activities.
SMV/VAM Volunteer
I attended a science fiction convention and met fans of a television show that led me to a science museum where they held their monthly meetings. That led me to become a volunteer exhibit interpreter at the museum. I learned interpretation from the education department of that museum based on forest ranger techniques of interpretation. Staffing exhibits and the IMAX Dome Theater involves several people in different departments of the museums. I share the responsibilities of getting things done on time at these exhibits.
DarkSky Delegate
Another group, an astronomical society, held their monthly meetings at the SMV. I met a young advocate for dark night skies at one of their meetings.
That led me to become an advocate of dark skies.
I talked to some park rangers about dark sky place certification. I felt grateful for the training in interpretation at the SMV based on the Forest Service ideas on the subject.
ARDC
Growing up watching Hammer films and Dark Shadows led me to science fiction movies that warned of all the dangers of nuclear radiation.
Those science fiction movies led me to science fiction television shows like Star Trek. Mr. Spock, a character in Star Trek, said in one episode that he knows all about computers. And he played chess. I played chess as well and wanted to know all about computers. That was the late 1960s.
I joined STARFLEET and volunteered for various positions in the organization. Assistant Regional Division Chief is one position I volunteered for (Starfleet’s Region One Sciences, 2025).
Many chapters in Region One states have a member who is a Science Department Chief. I am the Science Department Chief of the USS Potomac. STARFLEET has a Region One Sciences group that encourages members to have fun and learn about science. Richard Heim is chair of that group. I am his assistant. We share the responsibilities of the group.
Skill 3
Creative Problem Solving is one of my top three marketing skills. This involves coming up with solutions to problems that are new to me (Collaborative Leadership | EBSCO, 2024).
I have taken classes in communication, law, and business management at ODU over the last two years. I put what I learned to use in my professional life.
Arbonne
I met with a consultant and talked with her about Arbonne. This introduced multilevel marketing of vegan products to me.
Home-based Internet Business
Job discrimination led me to start my own business. I paid for a home-based Internet business permit and a business license. I went onto my social media channels and attracted enough Internet traffic for CJ Affiliates' acceptance of my affiliate application.
FCU
I went to Farm Credit University for an online course that involved preparation for a farm loan application (Farm Credit University, 2019). Lessons in ethical behavior from several ODU classes reminded me to do what too many businesspeople do not do.
Conclusion
I have taken classes in communication, law, and business management at ODU over the last two years. I have taken CRJS340 WHITE-COLLAR CRIME, MGMT330 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, PHIL345E BIOETHICS, COMM351 INTERPERS COMM IN ORGANIZATION, ENGL307T DIGITAL WRITING, CPD400 FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP, CPD410 LEADERSHIP ETHICS, FIN331 LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS, and IDS493 ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO PROJECT. I have put what I learned to use in my volunteer and professional life.
I viewed dark night skies on a farm. I watched horror movies and science fiction television shows. That heavily influenced my life, even more than false beliefs about Black people, for years.
References
1. Cohen, T. (2021, August 4). What Is Integrated Marketing? Definition, Tips and Examples. Wix Blog. https://www.wix.com/blog/integrated-marketing
2. Creative Problem Solving a quick, down-and-dirty handbook Inclusive Innovation Connector Meeting Barcelona. (2017). https://brdo.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/cps_handbook.pdf
3. Collaborative Leadership | EBSCO. (2024). EBSCO Information Services, Inc. | Www.ebsco.com. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/business-and-management/collaborative-leadership
4. SciStarter. (2020). SciStarter - SciStarter. SciStarter. https://scistarter.org/
5. Starfleet’s Region One Sciences. (2025). Scienlaric.com. https://scienlaric.com/r1sci/R1Science.htm#toc
6. Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, H.P. Lovecraft, November 9, Fillmore Auditorium, November 10-11, Winterland. (2022). FAMSF. https://www.famsf.org/artworks/procol-harum-pink-floyd-hp-lovecraft-november-9-fillmore-auditorium-november-10-11-winterland
7. Farm Credit University. (2019, December 17). Training for Farmers. Fcuniversity.com; Farm Credit University. https://www.fcuniversity.com/training-farmers
8. Office of Communications – STARFLEET. (2018, January 12). https://sfi.org/commsstaff/
9. Wolford, B. (2025). What is GDPR, the eu’s new data protection law? GDPR.EU. https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/
10. A Visit to the Hiram Haines Coffee House – The Poe Museum. (2025). Poemuseum.org. https://poemuseum.org/a-visit-to-the-hiram-haines-coffee-house/
11. RavenCon 2026: April 24-26 -. (2025, October 13). Ravencon.com. https://www.ravencon.com/
12. Hidden Figures. (2016). Hidden Figures. http://www.hiddenfigures.com/