Christopher Burkhart's Obituary
Christopher Phillip Burkhart was born into a career military family on January 3d, 1975 in Columbus, Georgia.
Being the son of a career military officer, Christopher grew up in many locations and attended many schools. He played baseball and soccer and was involved in community activities. Christopher was very active in Boy Scouting, and in 1990, at the age of 15, Christopher earned the rank of Eagle Scout in West Lafayette, Indiana while his father was the Professor of Military Science at Purdue University. In the summer of 1988, Christopher was a member of a Boy Scout high adventure group that trekked the Boundary Waters on the U.S./Canada border, spending the summer canoeing, mountaineering, and hiking. In the summer of 1989, Christopher was a member of a Boy Scout Troop that traveled to the U.S. Boy Scout National Jamboree in Fort Lee, Virginia. After advancing to senior Boy Scout leadership roles, Christopher then took his interest in Scouting to Seoul Korea, where he was involved in the 1991 Boy Scout World Jamboree, which brought together 16,000 young people from more than 130 countries together for camping and adventure in the mountains of Mount Sorak National Park. In 1993, Christopher graduated from Seoul American High School in Yongsan, South Korea. Christopher then returned to the United States for college. In 1998, Christopher graduated from Middlesex College in the Boston suburbs of Bedford Massachusetts. Christopher had a lifelong interest in information technology starting with his first Apple computer at the age of five. Throughout his teenage years he had many computers which he built and modified. And while in high school Christopher and his best friend, Keven Sands, managed the computer laboratory. Upon college graduation Christopher become a member of the technical staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instrumentation Lab, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. He managed the technology embedded in the command and control laboratory and he honed his skills in advanced information technology and systems engineering. Thereafter Christopher moved on to several different positions with high technology startups in the Boston Area, as well as a stint with Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Christopher worked hard to build his information technology skills and achieved many certifications in Microsoft, UNIX, and Apple operating systems. Among his certifications were Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Certified Wireless Network Administrator, as well as attending a summer program at the Apple Computer Campus to hone his Macintosh skills. Christopher spent the last two years working for the Unisys Corporation where he supported the Transportation Security Administration at their Command Center in Pentagon City, VA. At Unisys and TSA, Christopher was very proud to be working with his friends and co-workers as a part of our nation’s homeland security effort. In addition to computer technology, Christopher had a long interest in photography and has left thousands of photographs of all the places he has lived and visited, as well as of his friends and family. Christopher was also interested in environmental issues and animal rights. Please share memories or pictures of Christopher at [email protected]
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