(From Luke, 31, a second-generation former member)

After seeing the latest development of Richard Rodriguez brutally murdering Angela Smith, & the media feeding on it as a new sensationalist story, I think it’s time I write about my own experiences in growing up in The Family, & what it has done to my life & career as an adult.

I was born in 1973, a little before the “baby boon” happened in The Family, grew up all over the Middle East, Europe, & Latin America, so I’ve gone through all aspects of the child raising efforts that were put forth. Being very independent, & quite a troublemaker, which means I went through if not all, then definitely most of the discipline programs that were in place for various reasons.

Without going into further details, I had found that I was more fulfilled & challenged working in highly technical fields, than in The Family, so I am not currently leading the missionary lifestyle I grew up in & was used to. According to the very vocal Family detractors, because of my time in The Family, I now should be a psychological mess, doing as little, or less, with my life as they are, & generally worthless!

Well, to make a long story short, I am currently one of the most IT certified consultants in the US, currently the holder of the Cisco CCIE Routing & Switching written test, the CCNP & CCNA certifications, the ISC2 CISSP, & Microsoft’s MCSE Security & Messaging specialization certifications, the MCSE 2003, 2000, & 4.0, & the MCP+I certification. Most IT specialists find it very difficult to achieve & hold one or two of those.

In the technical field, I have been featured in numerous trade articles, am active in online IT support channels, & have led numerous large international enterprise computer infrastructure design, implementation rollouts, as well as training & support.

I am the oldest of 15 siblings, & take my responsibilities as a bellwether seriously, I have been helping my mom & siblings financially with school, financially helping my dad, stepping in for the Holiday expenses, & generally trying to be there for them when they need me.

I have many close friends, am still touring the world as possible, love being around people, partying, engaging in sports, music, volunteering in the community, etc.

All in all, I consider myself to be a very well, (if not exceptionally well) adjusted individual, & I owe it all to my parents, & The Family’s upbringing lifestyle. I have strong self confidence, am very focused, have a lot of drive, know myself, what I can do, & what I can accomplish in the world, & try to help others as much as possible.

I was not given anything for free, or landed in the perfect situation to start my career, but have had to work hard & fight for it just like the multitude of fledging Bill Gates, Indira Ghandi, or Thomas Edisons out there.

All that to say, the upbringing I was given in The Family has been the major factor preparing me for my life & career, & has helped make me a much better well-rounded individual. Because of all that, I’m definitely looking forward to what the future holds, as I’m confident I’ll be able to handle what life puts my way.

Luke Edson is a second-generation former member of the Family International.