Paul (Pete) Sharp
Upon graduation from Kenyon, I entered the Air Force where I spent the next 26 years. During those years I participated in the development and fielding of the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, served a year in Vietnam, and was assigned to numerous staff and command positions throughout the world, supporting military forces, members of the intelligence community and national and international policy makers. Also during that time, I spent three years teaching National Security Policy at the Air Force’s Air University in Alabama. While in Alabama I earned a masters degree in Public Administration from Auburn University. I completed my career in 1988 as a Colonel, while serving as the Assistant Chief of Intelligence of the Tactical Air Command (now Air Combat Command) at Langley AFB, Virginia.
After retirement from the Air Force, with two kids in college there wasn’t much time for fishing. Because of that, the day after I left the Air Force, I began working for the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a large not for profit technology development and application company doing both commercial and government business. Battelle also manages or co-manages seven Department of Energy National Laboratories. During the next 16 years I held many positions in the National Security area including that of technical analyst, program manager, creator and manager of the Internal Technology Assessments Product Line and Vice President. I retired from a full time position in 2004 and was hired back by Battelle as a part time employee, assisting in the management of a large Air Force contract, which I am presently doing today.
In 1967, upon returning from Vietnam, I married my wife Carole in Omaha, Nebraska and in 1969 our two children, David and Kathy (twins) were born. Carole is a retired Registered Nurse, having received an RN from Nurses training in Omaha and a BS from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. Both of our children are graduates of Ferrum College in Virginia.
Our son David and his family are living near Front Royal, Virginia and our daughter Kathy and her family, including our two grandchildren, are in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Since we traveled and lived abroad during our military career our travels today are mainly to Canada and the US, with our favorite places being the Canadian Rockies and Maine, where we spend a good portion of every September.
After mending and replacing several body parts over the years, my hobbies have become less demanding. I enjoy reading, photography, traveling and woodworking. Carole and I also enjoy hiking, although the paths have become more level as the years have gone by.
The Kenyon environment prepared me not only intellectually and socially to venture into the world but it also armed me with a challenging attitude, sense of responsibility, realistic perspective and sense of humor that permitted me to overcome the difficult times. It was well worth the effort.