p>Ventilation shop supervisor Ronald Norman has maintained a straight course though life.
As a child, he played the clarinet and drums. Now he encourages today's students to play through his involvement with two Sacramento-area drum corps.
Always fascinated by the way things work, Norman got his first mechanical job at 16 and is still working in the field.
But growing up in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, Norman's path was often the one less chosen, he said. "A lot of kids I went to school with got involved in gangs. I got involved in music. That was my way of staying out of trouble. I also had a job."
Though Norman maintained the same direction throughout his life, it doesn't mean he hasn't grown.
After graduating from high school, Norman worked as an Air Force heating, cooling and ventilation systems mechanic. He later transferred to civilian service.
When his job at the downsized Mather Air Force Base looked in doubt 10 years ago, Norman jumped at a chance to maintain UC Davis' heating and cooling plant. Cogeneration was an aspect of HVAC work he hadn't yet mastered.
Norman has risen from plant operator to his current position in the ventilation shop. Among other duties, Norman's staff helps maintain fume and bio-hoods in labs and keeps research animals breathing in a good environment.
"We are part of something that's bigger than ourselves," Norman said. "We know that we are making a contribution to the university's overall objective."
Over the years, Norman, a resident of Sacramento, has also increased his responsibilities in the community.
Drawing on his experience as a musician in the prestigious Los Angeles Police Department Junior Band, he began working with the Mandarin Drum and Bugle Corps in Sacramento, a touring group that has won seven world championships.
After a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy saw Norman work with the young drummers, he encouraged him to join the sheriff's department's O.K. (Our Kids) mentoring program. Norman has formed the program's first drum corps.
Norman is especially proud that the O.K. program was named former president George Bush's 945th Point of Light. For the honor, Norman and many of the students with whom he works were featured on ABC Nightly News.
Norman has been married for 27 years to Marilyn Norman, the owner of a beauty supply store in Sacramento. The couple has three children and four grandchildren, all of whom live close by.
What's your favorite place on campus?
The second level of the new parking structure. The birds haven't yet discovered my vehicle is parked there. Plus it's next to the Center for the Arts. I watch the progress every day. It will probably be my favorite place when it's built.
What's your idea of perfect happiness?
I don't think we can really attain that on this planet. But that I can wake up every morning in good physical health and have people close to me say the same - that's all it takes for me essentially.
And complete misery?
Knowing people who are falling a little bit short of their expectations in life. Them doing so and not realizing how close they really are to success. I see that a lot.
Who do you most admire?
Single working parents. They have a tough job that often goes unnoticed. It's one of a few things I think I could not do.
What's a good day at work?
I have a daily schedule of things I need to do. If they go uninterrupted and there's no 11th hour (job) and everyone goes home safe - that's a good day.
A bad day?
It would involve interruptions and a critical breakdown of some equipment we have out there.
What's your biggest achievement?
I think I'm highly successful considering there was a lot of adversity I've had to overcome to get where I am. Also raising a family. They're all are growing up and starting to make it possible for me to step aside, so that their generation can make things happen.