Life's a Campaign, Profiles in Courage, Jurassic Park

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2009 - 5th Dan Kukkiwon
2009 - GOLD, Brazil Open, Sr. Black
2009 - Citation, World Taekwondo Federation
2005 - 4th Dan Kukkiwon
1996 - 3rd Dan Kukkiwon
1994 - COURAGE AWARD, Ilyo Taekwondo
1994 - BRONZE, U.S. Open, Jr. Black
1994 - SILVER, Colorado State, Jr. Black
1993 - SILVER, Colorado State, Jr. Black
1992 - GOLD, Colorado State, Jr. Black
1992 - 2nd Poom Kukkiwon
1991 - SILVER, U.S. Junior Nationals, Jr. Black
1991 - 1st Poom, Kukkiwon

Taekwondo, Hiking, Biking, Offroading, Rafting, Paragliding, Volunteering, Software, Home Improvement, Flying

John Swanagon was born in Denver, Colorado at Denver’s Presbyterian Hospital, not more than a few blocks from Fitzsimons where Senator John F. Kerry was born. John was raised in Colorado, but spent a couple of years in Iowa. His parents moved back to Colorado after he nearly passed away from a severe case of pneumonia that had left him in the hospital for a number of weeks. Much of John’s early years were spent playing baseball, training in Taekwondo, studying computers, and reverse engineering any electronic device he could get his hands on. Throughout his life, he has lead rather than followed and has gone against what is traditional, opting instead for his own unique path. During his teen years, John built online gaming engines for what would become America Online and got involved with Taekwondo at the Olympic level. Unfortunately, a back injury would later prevent him from continuing that journey. Instead, John set my sights on a career in computer software. At 16, John graduated from high school and took a job as a software engineer instead of attending the Air Force Academy, much to his Dad’s chagrin. In 1998, at just 20 years old, John accepted a job as a consultant with Lucent Technologies and was promoted to their highest technical level. At 21, John moved to Kingwood, Texas and lead the creation of a global alliance with Siebel Systems, working directly with Tom Siebel. The alliance lead to a brand new set of products and services, a story on MSNBC, and an “MVP of the Year” award. Just shy of 22, Lucent Technologies spun off the Enterprise Networks Group, to which John was a member, creating Avaya. When John turned 23, he moved to Highlands Ranch, Colorado and joined Avaya Labs, the research and development arm of Avaya. At 25, John graduated Summa Cum Laude from American InterContinental University. Today, John continues to work for Avaya as one of only a handful of Lead Architects in a company with more than 20,000 employees worldwide.

Taekwondo is a way of life. As Secretary General Yang said, "Taekwondo is about making better human beings." Each day, I apply the tenets of Taekwondo in and outside of the Dojang. COURTESY has taught me how to be a better human being, INTEGRITY is my moral compass, INDOMITABLE SPIRIT lets me push forward, SELF CONTROL helps me do what is right versus what is wrong, and PERSEVERANCE never lets me give up. Taekwondo is why I have succeeded in my life and why I will continue to succeed. It isn't a sport, it is an art. Taekwondo is a journey, not a path.

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