Greetings!!

My name is Alex Starke. I am a writer, a sometimes web creator/coder, and an aspiring photographer. I love to travel, cycle (with my new e-bike these days), and pal around with my 12-year-old Jack Russell, Thor.

After working in many professions for years, I decided to return to school after a 35-year hiatus. In September 2001, I started from scratch at Lane, taking all the basic courses to refresh the old brain. I initially began studying for a degree in computer networking, but in my second year, I switched to a transfer degree for the University of Oregon. At the U of O, I achieved a bachelor’s degree in Medieval Studies and a minor in Early Modern European History. Yeah, I know…”What are you going to do with that degree?” Well, my studies in that realm actually really honed my critical thinking skills, my ability to do deep research, and vastly improved my writing skills. During the time I was at the university I was also lucky enough to travel to Vienna, Austria twice (thank you student loans).

After graduating in 2007 my wife and I moved to Colorado and had many adventures, including returning to Austria with our new addition to the family, Thor, who has made three more trips to Europe since. Although we did enjoy Colorado (except for the unending months of snow) we found that we missed Eugene and Oregon. In 2015 we sold our house in Colorado, bought a duplex in Eugene, and very happily journeyed back to Oregon with our pack of five Jack Russell’s.

My wife, Anne has a freelance graphics business here in Eugene that I sometimes help out with when it comes to static website creations for clients (she is the creator/artist, I do the nuts and bolts coding). Most of the time since our return I have been remodeling our duplex, which had not been updated for a good few years. We also took another trip to Europe in 2018, where we shipped our bikes, dog trailers (for two of our Jacks, including Thor), to Germany where we cycled up through the Alps into Austria and Italy.

Well, in 2019 I decided to return to Lane again, this time for a degree in Multimedia Design. I am hoping this line of study will make me sharper in utilizing all of the related software and programs. The skill I learn from the program will be a great addition to our graphics business, plus they will be personally rewarding. Thus far it has been a wonderful experience being back at Lane. The adventures of the ancient student continue!