William Duvall

I am a third-generation resident of Laurel, MD. I grew up in my grandfather's auto parts store, NAPA, which ended up being my first job at 13. I started documenting and adjusting their inventory to a fully digital system. I was also responsible for sales accounts. I left NAPA after high school and enrolled at Lincoln Tech. After a few months, I decided I wasn't getting anything from the technical school and decided to go the "Old School" way. I worked the pit at a local Jiffy Lube for two weeks, and then got a job changing oil at a Ford dealership in town.. That next year I worked my way to apprentice for the lead transmission tech for the dealer. After several years of apprenticeship and earning many certifications to achieve 2 masters from Ford, I took over the department. While leading the department for several years I learned a great deal in the warranty claims, and engineering aspects of the company. During the covid pandemic, with business slowing and flat rate pay, I could no longer afford to work at there; I was encouraged by some local friends that are employees of the lab to apply at JHU/APL. I have since been an employee of the lab and strive to make my work contribute to the labs goals.