About Me
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Many people have mottos, credos, and philosophies; my life is driven by the above Mark Twain quote. After living in small time Kennebunk, Maine, I’ve set my sights high. I’ve traveled, explored, and discovered life and the world around me, but I’m not done yet. There is so much more in the world to explore, dream, and discover.
Born on September 9, 1988, I, Chris Cluff, have lived in Kennebunk, Maine all my life. My parents, David and Laurie, have also lived in Kennebunk their whole lives. My father is the deputy fire chief in town, and my mother works for Unum as a manager. I’ve grown up as part of my community but continue to work on becoming a culturally diverse member of the world. Observation has given me insight into the world around me. I’ve seen others’ cultures, heard others’ languages, and observed others’ ways. Who’d of thought that a kid from Kennebunk, Maine would want to see the world.
I’ve worked on creating situations for myself that will help me traverse the wild wild world. I’ve been my high school class president, organizing and leading events for a class of 200 of my peers. As class president, I gained organizational, oral communication, and interpersonal skills, observed human interactions, managed finances and worked on projects. I was dependable and hard working. This leadership role has prepared me for the real world.
When I was 16 I took a college level class, an EMT-Basic class. I was the youngest person in my class and the only person in
the class who was a full time student, had a part time job, and who was taking a night class 2 nights a week. I passed this class with flying colors and become one of the youngest EMTs in the State of Maine. When I was 17, I challenged the state to allow me to take the next level EMT class, the EMT-Intermediate level. The intermediate level would allow me to perform advanced medical techniques such as obtain intravenous access, perform endotracheal intubations and cardiac defibrillation, and administer life saving medications. State law states that an individual must be 18 years old in order to obtain state licensure. I would be 18 by the end of the class, but was 17 at the start of the class. I granted permission to take the class and became the youngest EMT-Intermediate the State of Maine has ever had.
As an EMT, I am challenged with life or death decisions every day. I’ve gained not only psychological knowledge, but also technical knowledge, decision-making and communication skills, and professional interaction skills. I’ve gained respect from members of my community as well as officials from the state and town.
For the last two years, I’ve developed many technical and professional skills as I’ve worked at a local bank. I was lucky 
enough to get a temporary position in the IT department running the mainframe each evening. The bank enjoyed working with me so much that they hired me as a regular employee. I have been working at the bank ever since. My responsibilities have changed over the last two years, but my primary focus has been learning. The bank has allowed me to gain many skills in a variety of different IT areas including network administration, web analysis, data management, core operations, and systems analysis. One of my primary roles has been to create process improvements for latent bank processes. I even created a process at the bank that allowed customers not to have to pay foreign ATM fees. The process rebates ATM fees from non-bank ATMs and is the primary feature of our leading demand deposit account.
While I’ve had experience in a variety of areas, I wanted to continue my education in a more formal setting, college. I chose to come to Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. I knew this is where I wanted to be because the college has career-oriented majors and is located in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. I’ve enjoyed Champlain’s new core curriculum as well as the small town feel within a large college town. I’m currently pursuing a degree in Computer Information Systems, which will hopefully allow me to take a managerial IT position upon graduation.
I would like to continue my education after my undergraduate education has completed. I think that pursuing a graduate degree will enable me to move forward in my professional career. While I’m unsure of exactly what I’d like to study as a graduate student, I like Champlain’s Managing Innovation and Information Technology master’s program. It appears to be on target with what I want to do in life.
Education certainly isn’t my be all end all. I would like travel the world. I enjoy observing and studying other cultures and civilizations as well as taking in the sights of other countries and territories. It is my goal to travel the world and say that I have been to every continent. I want to try new things, see new places, and experience new things. I plan on continuing to explore, dream, and discover.