The Jennings Family

Hal & Judy Jennings
5327 Bull Run
Austin, Texas 78727

About us:

We started as a family over 32 years ago in Madison, Wisconsin. But IBM wasn't hiring in Madison, and they had openings in Omaha, Nebraska. The move to Omaha wasn't too far from our families. Our daughter, Kari, was born 3 years after we moved here.
Five years later the commute for extended family functions increased when we departed for Boca Raton, Florida. IBM was developing a micro computer, and we got in at the very beginning of what became the IBM Personal Computer. Our son, Kevin, was born in Boca.
The opportunity to spend two years in Tokyo, Japan was too much to resist. With two kids in school and neither of us having ventured out of North America before this, every day was an adventure. We didn't own a car but stayed in shape with long walks and bicycle rides and got to more distant destinations via various forms of public transportation.
Hong Kong seemed easy after Tokyo. Most everyone spoke English. A car was required, and learning to drive on the left wasn't as hard as remembering on which side of the steering column the directional signals were located. The 23rd floor of a high-rise was home for two and a half years. Perched on the side of a mountain, overlooking the ocean, provided spectacular views daily. Traveling around Asia taught us not only about the geography and culture of Asian countries, but it helped us see the United States much more clearly as well.
Austin, Texas seemed like just another foreign country. And yet, in other ways, Austin seems more like "home" than any place we have lived since leaving Madison. People speak something that sounds a lot like English. And they're friendly, too (usually). We ain't ever leavin'. In fact, in mid-2002 we moved into a new, smaller home a little closer to work to cut down on the commute.

Hal

Graduated from James Madison Memorial High in 1969. Singing in an R&R band and acting in plays made it more interesting.
B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin.
Quit IBM after 21 years of service and started working for Biometric Access Company. Fingerprint scanners are the current products.
Left BAC in 2001 to return to IBM.
Spends less time than he ought to doing genealogy. 5/26/08 <== Check it out!!

Judy

Graduated from Monona Grove High in 1972.
B.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas - after years & years of moving from U to U and from major to major.
Received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology - Psychometrics from U.T. in 2006. FINALLY!
Our neighborhood was annexed into the City of Austin effective Dec. 31, 1997. Up until that time, Judy was an elected board member of Northwest Travis Municipal Utility District (MUD) Number 1.
Ran for Round Rock School Board in 2000 and lost in a very close 3-way race.
Previously worked at Texas Education Agency and ESP Solutions Group.
Currently works for Resources for Learning.
Currently running for Texas State Board of Education - District 10.

Kari

Graduated from high school in 1997.
Graduated in 2001 from Southwest Texas State University (SWT) in San Marcos, Texas majoring in Elementary Ed. with specialty in Math Education.
Worked at OfficeMax off and on for several years.
Taught at Spicewood Elementary School in the Round Rock, Texas school district for several years.
Now teaches 4th grade at Forest Creek Elementary School in RRISD.
Married Jason Maurer on June 21, 2003 in Minnesota.
Gave birth to our first grandson, Parker James Maurer, in June, 2005.
Gave birth to our second grandson, Samuel William Maurer, in January, 2007.

Kevin

Graduated from high school in 2000.
Attended Austin Community College (ACC), but moved to Texas State University - San Marcos in 2002.
Worked at the Blockbuster Video store on Far West Blvd. for three+ years and then at the San Marcos Blockbuster.
6'8", but finally stopped growing!
Graduated with degree in Anthropology in 2005 from Texas State University.
Followed that up with another B.A. and M.A. degree in Criminal Justice in 2006 & 2008.
Married Stephanie Cloud in Austin on June 8, 2008.
They moved to Changwon, South Korea to teach English to Korean kids.

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