Walter Mintz, an active member of our ASTD NA chapter was an Army brat, born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in a U.S. Army hospital located on Fort Bragg, he later lived in Tampa Florida where he attended school at Robinson Senior High School. Influenced both by his mother and his father, Walter does feel that the person to most touch his life was his maternal grandmother. She lived through very difficult times, raised 13 children and still maintained a solid faith and optimism about life in general. She emphasized the importance of having a solid faith in God and to persevere in life regardless of circumstances. This perspective has followed Walter throughout life.
In school, Walter’s favorite subjects were math and science courses since they helped him understand the world and how things worked. Receiving recognition in the science and math club, chess club, audio-visual club and for his work as a photographer for the school newspaper and the yearbook were all accomplishment of which he is proud. Walter credits his former English teacher, Mrs. Lavoy for encouraging him and his fellow classmates to explore their understanding of the world through the characters and circumstances presented in literature. She was a hard task master, but Walter truly believes that she helped to prepare him for college English courses.
Continuous learning has been a theme in Walter’s life. He has attended Athens State University in Athens, Alabama, as well as the Florida Institute of Technology located in Melbourne, Florida on the Redstone Arsenal satellite campus, and is currently attending NOVA Southeastern University located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Birmingham, Alabama site. Walter says that he attended college “because I love learning and gaining new knowledge about the world in general. I am also very passionate about teaching and helping people to expand their horizons and gain understanding through learning and I knew that I needed a college education in order to do that.” Primarily focused in engineering, electronics, computer courses and math courses, Walter shares that these courses have always personally interested him because they relate to the way so many things work in the world and require a logical, analytical approach to your thought process. Walter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Technology with a concentration in Information Systems. Additionally, he also has a Master of Science degree in Management with a concentration in Information Systems. However, as often happens with continuous learners, later in life Walter began to embrace interests in psychology and management courses as he began to realize the importance of relating to people was far more valuable than just technical knowledge alone. Currently, he has just started working towards a Doctor of Education degree with a concentration in Organizational Leadership.
Walter’s ideal working environment includes a teaching and training environment where he can work with others and share ideas towards making things better. He is grateful for the opportunities he’s had to work his way up to a corporate level and to have had the opportunity to have an influence on helping other people and the company get better is a significant accomplishment professionally. The greatest value Walter finds in his career is being able to help and assist other people to grow and be successful in the things that they pursue. He has been an Adjunct Professor and through that work has been able to assist people as they are working on their education. This influence of others’ futures is extremely rewarding to Walter. So how has Walter been influenced? He says he doesn’t believe that his professional career has been influenced by a single person, “but by the support and wisdom that I have gained from the people whose lives have intersected mine. The influence is when people invest in your life by taking time to provide you guidance and input to help you grow as a person and as a professional.”
A family man, Walter has a daughter age 35, a daughter age 34, a son age 29, and a daughter age 27. He also has eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He goes on to say that his “greatest accomplishment has been to raise children who are happy and well adjusted.” He hopes his influence on his family includes the importance of valuing all people and to be kind to others regardless of their position in life. He has been married now for 11 years to Rita Stewart Mintz. Having things to do over again, Walter shares that he would spend more time focused on his family and others, and less time on work; and hopes to be remembered as a good husband and father who is kind and helpful to others.
Always the continuous learner, Walter shares several main lessons he’s learned in life (which relate back to his Grandmother’s early influence):
- Never give up your faith regardless of life's circumstances.
- Spend as much time as possible with your family.
- Be kind to others and help them when you can.
- Be more focused on your blessings than your troubles.
In his spare time, Walter likes watching classic movies, to read and to walk along nature trails and at scenic parks and take photographs. Currently employed for the last 10 years at ADTRAN, Inc., Walter is an Engineering Specialist working in Corporate Quality, reporting to the Director of Quality, who reports to the Vice President of Quality. His responsibilities are to facilitate and lead continuous improvement efforts throughout the company to improve company operations. He can be contacted at walter.mintz@adtran.com.
