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Brian Roberts ('75)After graduating from the Farm (SFS), I went on to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue. Personal computers were just coming in to existence (TRS-80, Apple II) and I built my own using plans from Popular Electronics. I dropped out after 2 years and managed a restaraunt in West Lafayette for 6 years. During that time, my proficiency with computers and knack for programming grew and I knew that Elec. Eng. wasn't the right course for me. I met the future Mrs. Roberts while at the restaurant and she pushed me to go back to school. I got my degree in Computer Science in Dec of '85, married Louise and began my career at NCR in Columbia, SC. After 5 years, I got an offer to come out to Oregon and work for a not-too-well known company called Sequent. I spent 3 years there, hating just about every minute of it - exactly opposite to the experience I had at NCR. An opportunity to work at another small company came up and I moved on to Verdix, a contractor for government and aerospace. After a few years, we merged with Rational and formed Rational Software Incorporated. We're now one of the largest suppliers of tools and processes for software development in the world. As our company slogan goes, "We're the company behind the companies leading the growth of the Internet". I'm a Senior Software Developer now, specializing in real-time operating system and user interface design. Louise and I have no children, and spend most of our free time (what there is of it) supporting and attending the Oregon Symphony, Portland Museum of Art, entertaining friends in our home (Louise is a superb cook), and ministering to the needs of two Somali kittens. |