Hal & Judy Jennings
5327 Bull Run
Austin, Texas 78727

 


  • About us:
    • We started as a family over 41 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.

 

Hal3ss

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, which designed and manufactured fingerprint scanners.
  • Left BAC in 2001 to return to IBM. Worked as Workstation product marketing manager and then in the IBM Austin Executive Briefing Center.
  • Retired from IBM in 2013.
  • Spends less time than he ought to doing genealogy 10/28/17 <== Check it out!!

 

Judy3ss

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.
  • Ran for Texas State Board of Education - District 10 in 2010, 2012, and 2016 but lost in a district and political environment that was not favorable to Democrats.

 

Kari3ss

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.
  • 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.
  • Taught 4th grade at Forest Creek Elementary School in RRISD.
  • Currently an Instructional Coach for RRISD.
  • Completed her M.A. in 2017.

 

 

Kevin4ss

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.
  • Moved to Changwon, South Korea in Aug. 2008 to teach English to Korean kids.
  • Returned to the U.S. in Feb. 2010.
  • Married Sara Rasco in Nov. 2012.
  • Received a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at Texas State in 2014.
  • Currently is a professor at Armstrong University in Savannah, GA.