Before receiving a master’s degree in theology from Saint John’s Major Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, where he was studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood, Jim Russo was, at various times, a member of the Teamsters, Steelworkers and UAW Unions during his summer employment.In the seminary, Jim met and spoke with several notable figures including Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, Saint Pope John Paul II and Saint Mother Teresa. In graduate seminary, Jim had Monsignor Clem Kern, a person venerated by Catholics in the Detroit area, as his spiritual director. During his time in the seminary Jim studied at the Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies in Tantur, Israel and at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Italy.Once he left the seminary Jim continued post graduate studies in Computer Science at the University of Michigan. Soon after, Jim began various extended contracting assignments as a Mainframe computer programmer at General Motors, Eastman Kodak, (in Rochester, New York), Ford and finally at Chrysler. In addition to gaining the title of GuRu-sso for his programming skills, he and his team wrote a system that was voted “System of the Year” by the Client Server Journal in 1995.At this time, Jim also started a ‘parallel career’ as an Adjunct Professor for both graduate and undergraduate computer classes at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, where he taught for 20 years. At his "full time" career at Chrysler, which was later acquired by Mercedes-Benz, Jim held various positions including Systems Integrator and Manager of Server Support where he had a team reporting to him responsible for supporting the servers in North American data centers and auto plants. When a friend told him about an opportunity closer to home, Jim moved to Mercedes-Benz Financial Services in 2006 as an Enterprise Architect where he spent the remainder of his forty plus year career.In 2020, after nearly a five-year pursuit, Jim received his Italian citizenship. As such Jim is classified as an Italian living abroad. Jim also holds an Italian passport and is proud of his Italian heritage. Jim has traveled to Italy and Sicily four times with his wife, Beth, prior to the pandemic, and plans to return to visit his family in Sicily in the coming years.From an early age Jim has always enjoyed writing and over the course of time he has written numerous short stories, poems and plays. Jim is proud of his four children and stepdaughter who have collectively given Jim, and his wife, eight grandchildren. Jim plans to continue engaging in his hobbies, writing, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends now that he is retired.Read more about this authorRead less about this author