Get Up 'n Go Toastmasters

Toastmaster: Dr. Paul Kashube,PhD, ATM - Gold

I have had the opportunity to live in and experience many parts of the United States. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. As a teenager, my family moved to Eureka, California where I attended high school and college in the heart of the Redwood Empire. Math was my favorite subject which took me to graduate school at the University of California San Diego. Upon graduating with my PhD in math, I took a position with AT&T Bell Labs in New Jersey to design, model and simulate telecommunication networks. After three good years with Ma Bell, I went to work for Pacific Bell in the San Francisco Bay Area to get an entirely different perspective and to enjoy vastly different experiences of a rapidly changing industry. Pacific Bell was bought by Southwestern Bell forming SBC. Because all the good engineering and research work was done at SBC’s research facility in Austin, I moved to Austin seven years ago. Of all the places I’ve lived, this is my favorite; this is home.

I joined Toastmasters five years ago after discovering that Arboretum Toastmasters met in my building. I always wanted to improve my speaking and presentation skills, and here was a club of supportive and encouraging individuals who have become my friends. I became a Toastmaster overachiever, working the basic and advance speech manuals, jumping into speech contests, filling club meeting roles, serving club officer roles, and being an area governor for the last two years. Each club has a unique make up and dynamic. I was attracted to the Get Up And Go Toastmasters because of the tight knit camaraderie of long term Toastmasters representing a variety of professional occupations. With just a few more projects to complete, I will be a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). Like my friends in Get Up And Go, I am in Toastmasters for the long haul. Not only do I continue to improve my speaking skills but am learning new forms of communicating in public. Toastmasters allows me to fulfill a life calling of service by being a mentor, guide and coach to others.
And Toastmasters is the best organization I have ever been in to meet and make friends for life.