So who is Fred?
I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in a military family. We had the pleasure of traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad. My love for travel can been seen in my backpacking, hiking and fly fishing obsessions, which keep me on the move to find new wilderness to explore.
I've spent much of my professional career educating others. However, academics subjects have always been difficult for me. As a child I was diagnosed with dyslexia, the most common learning disability. Having dyslexia meant I struggled throughout my early education which included repeating the second grade. I was faced with the very real possibility of failing out of high school. This forced me to make a choice to stay or to go. After choosing to stay I graduated in the bottom of my class. Then I had to actually to talk my way into college, because my grades were certainly not going to get me in.
In college like so many other students I struggled with academics, freedom, and all manner of college distractions. With support of several professors, and mentors I began to see success. While other students starting struggling academically in the last years of college, I excelled. Courses became about demonstrating and applying knowledge, and this fit my personal strengths set.
Upon graduating in the top third of my class, I received a commission as an officer in the US Army. I have worked and excelled in both the private and non-profit business sectors. Following the example of others and my passion for students, I started working with students twenty years ago and have never looked back.
Fred Grooms founder of Strengths Development, Author, and Educator
I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in a military family. We had the pleasure of traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad. My love for travel can been seen in my backpacking, hiking and fly fishing obsessions, which keep me on the move to find new wilderness to explore.
I've spent much of my professional career educating others. However, academics subjects have always been difficult for me. As a child I was diagnosed with dyslexia, the most common learning disability. Having dyslexia meant I struggled throughout my early education which included repeating the second grade. I was faced with the very real possibility of failing out of high school. This forced me to make a choice to stay or to go. After choosing to stay I graduated in the bottom of my class. Then I had to actually to talk my way into college, because my grades were certainly not going to get me in.
In college like so many other students I struggled with academics, freedom, and all manner of college distractions. With support of several professors, and mentors I began to see success. While other students starting struggling academically in the last years of college, I excelled. Courses became about demonstrating and applying knowledge, and this fit my personal strengths set.
Upon graduating in the top third of my class, I received a commission as an officer in the US Army. I have worked and excelled in both the private and non-profit business sectors. Following the example of others and my passion for students, I started working with students twenty years ago and have never looked back.
Fred Grooms founder of Strengths Development, Author, and Educator