***Editor’s Note: The “I Became An Engineer” blog runs every Friday. To share your story email jennifer.delaosa@advantagemedia.com***

This week’s story comes to us from ECN reader Phil Groff.

As a youngster, I took lights for granted until a paperback book on electricity was found in my bedroom. That book was the fuel that sparked my initial interest.

Sometime later, a neighbor invited me to go fishing and asked for help collecting worms for bait. One evening when the grass was wet, he demonstrated the use of electricity by wiring a 15 inch iron bar with a 115 volt supply and sticking it into the ground, and low and behold we had adequate bait for the fishing trip. 

Among my other experiences, a Chrystal radio receiver stands out in my mind, since it used electricity in a different way. Getting to know this subject was fun and the more it was used (although I didn’t have a full technical understanding then), the more my intrigue grew.

My interest in electricity also helped in school. In the 1940s and 1950s, counting apples and pears was not a good enough way for me to learn—electricity and engineering provided an excellent and enjoyable way to use math.

Read other stories, here:

• A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
• I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math 
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Drew A Flower​
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of MacGyver And Comfortable Clothes
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Small FM Radio
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Model Airplane Contest
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Loved LEGOs And Tinkertoys
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Magazine Ad
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Grew Up In Kenya​
• I Became An Engineer: So I Wouldn’t Have To Go To Vietnam
• I Became An Engineer: By Just Being Myself
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of Sci-Fi Novels
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Watch
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Stop Tinkering
• I Became An Engineer: By Studying The Fundamentals
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of A 1930s Vintage Radio
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of Microscope Modifications
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Be An Astronaut
• I Became An Engineer: Because I Kept Asking “Why?”
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of Pneumonia (And A Timing Light)
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of Christmas Lights
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
• I Became An Engineer: Because Of An Evil Mastermind