Currently working for the Department of Justice, Phil is putting to work his skills in emergency services, technology, and problem-solving. He has always been consummately interested in "making things work" and credits Millbrook's Tim Slater and Dr. Alan Tousignant for helping to drive that curiosity during his time at Millbrook.

Figuring It Out: Practical Problem Solving
Also a volunteer with the Armonk Fire Department (since 2006), Phil began thinking about how to design an app to help the fire station locate its volunteers and track who was responding to an emergency call. The app he developed allowed responders to notify the fire station with one swipe and tracked their travel time directly to the station. He had such great feedback from the Armonk Fire Department that he marketed the app to other local fire departments, maintaining the app over the next few years.

He has also automated many things in his house and connected his Alexa to his app. If he gets an emergency call in the middle of the night, the app turns on his lights and then turns them off when he leaves the house. "I think programming will continue to be important. Having a base for programming is good, but even better is using your resources to create things that are meaningful for you. It's one thing to program a computer, but it's another thing to program on a computer and then make it interact with your real physical world."

To read more about Phil and his journey since Millbrook, click here.