Supporter Spotlight: Meet Mike Manos!

Every now and then we have the opportunity to get to know a Project Left Behind supporter better. This month, we had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Manos.  We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we did!

PLB: Hello Mike! Let’s start off with location. Where do you call home?

MM: Frederick Maryland. I’m a proud lifelong Maryland resident.

PLB: How do you spend your time?

MM: I work out of my house developing software for public transit fare collection systems. In my spare time I keep bees and bang large drums in West African drum circles.

PLB: Your range is impressive! How long have you been involved with Project Left Behind?

MM: A couple of years.

PLB: You support Project Left Behind because…

MM: My sister Sue adopted her daughter from TLC Orphanage, so I’ve been a low-level supporter for a while. Over the past couple of years is when I’ve had the means to actually sponsor two of the girls.

PLB: You sure caught our attention with all the support you have been giving the girls in India. What is the one thing you would have to take with you on an island to survive?

MM: A laying hen. Hopefully one that can recite the complete works of Ray Bradbury.

PLB: Wouldn’t that be a combination! One person who inspires you and why?

MM: I’ll go with Edward Snowden. Because of what he revealed, a lot of things changed for the better: companies and governments changed policy and awareness of privacy and surveillance increased among the public. He knowingly gave up his freedom in order to make the world better, and succeeded.

PLB: And a little controversy thrown into this interview! Will you share with us your favorite or funniest travel story?

MM: I recently travelled to Tennessee to see the eclipse, which was very cool. A favorite trip was a few years ago when my daughter was going to Japan for a semester, and I escorted her as far as Tokyo and spent a week there. It’s disorienting in a good way, not being able to speak the language and not even being able to guess at road signs. Also, a great subway system. And food.

Neither of those is very funny, sorry. The company I work for is based in San Diego, so when I go out there I always visit the noisy seals. They’re pretty funny.

PLB: We find it humbling in the best way to be a stranger in a strange land. What an experience. If you could choose to have dinner with anyone (living or deceased) who would it be and why?

MM: Bertrand Russell – a logician who challenged the fundamental assumptions of mathematics. Plus a philosopher, writer and political activist: the conversation topics are limitless.

PLB: Share with us something we would never guess about you if we didn’t know you well.

MM: In the 1980s I was the drummer in a hardcore punk band.

PLB: From punk rocker to software developer. A jack of all trades you are Mike. Thank you for playing along with us! It was fun to get to know you better. Let’s meet up for a visit near those funny seals in San Diego next time you are in town! Your support for the girls in India is inspiring.