smg0401

Main profile

Steven
Gaa

Biography: 

I am Dr. Steven M. Gaa. I served in the U.S. Navy back in the 70s and early 80s.  After I got out, I used the GI Bill to go to college.  I had a full-time job and three small children.  I received my bachelor’s degree from a small traditional college while attending classes during the day and working in the evening.  I started working on a computer science degree but switched to finance after working with some computer scientists and realizing that it was not for me.  I started working on my master’s degree the summer after I graduated.  I earned my MBA in management in a program designed for adult learners that worked fulltime.  After a twenty-year hiatus, I returned to school to obtain my doctorate.  The program was a hybrid of online learning and residencies.  I received my Ph.D. in Organization and Management with a concentration in Organizational Behavior.

I have a diverse work history.  After working on submarines at a base in Scotland, I got a job working at the Pentagon.  I did a short stint working at the White House for the first President Bush.  I spent several years working for Naval Intelligence at the Norfolk Naval Station.  After I received my MBA, I went to work as a stockbroker.  I quickly learned that it was a job for which I was not well suited.  I then moved to New Mexico to work for NASA at a satellite tracking station.  Moving from the government back into the private sector, I took a position as the Logistics Manager with an internet company in Dallas.  After the events of 9/11 destroyed our two largest data centers within the World Trade Centers, the company went bankrupt.  I moved back to New Mexico to work for a non-profit research laboratory where I was the Director of Quality.  When my wife got accepted to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas to work on her Ph.D., I started teaching.  I taught middle school for five years.  I also started teaching college courses as an online adjunct instructor and have been doing so off and on again since 2011. 

I am now a full-time Lecturer at UNT teaching Logistics and Operations Management courses.  I live in the Mid-Cities area now.  I have three grown children and four grandchildren.  I also have two daughters at home, a 12- and a 15-year-old.  My youngest is an elite gymnast and my oldest is an accomplished musician. My wife is a licensed professional counselor with her own practice. I also live with a Weimaraner and Bloodhound.