Karl grew up in Babylon Village in Suffolk County on Long Island. He graduated from Babylon High School and from there he went off to SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx. There he studied Facilities Engineering. As part of his college education, it was required to go on Summer Sea Terms where all of the cadets in the college would embark on the college’s training ship, The TS Empire State VI, and travel abroad to many different countries. Some of these countries included Greece, Italy, Denmark, Wales, Barbados, and Portugal. The training ship is 565 feet long with (2) Foster Wheeler Type ‘D’ steam boilers which would produce 600 lb steam @ 865 degrees F. During summer voyages, the cadets would be in charge of running the high pressure steam plant. During Karl’s final voyage as a cadet, he was selected to be the Chief Welding Cadet which means he was in charge of all welding operations aboard the ship during that summer. These voyages greatly helped Karl’s knowledge of steam plants and their operation.
In May of 1999 Karl Received his Bachelor of Science degree in Facilities Engineering along with a 3rd Assistant Engineer of Unlimited Horsepower for Steam and Motor (diesel) Vessels with the U.S. Coast Guard. Immediately after graduation, Karl was hired by Maritime College to be an Engineering Officer on the next Summer Sea Term which was starting the end of that May. Karl taught engineering principles to the cadets on board the training ship that summer. After the Summer Sea Term was over in July, Karl was hired by Cross Sound Ferry as a Watch Engineer on board the M/V Susan Anne ferry. The Susan Anne would transport vehicles and people between Orient Point, NY and New London, CT. Karl was in charge of running the diesel plant efficiently. At the beginning of November 1999, Karl was hired as a 3rd Assistant Engineer by Interlake Steamship onboard the Freighter Lee A. Tregurtha. The Lee A. Tregurtha is 826 feet long and has a 400 lb steam plant and 8,040 bhp diesel plant for propulsion. The ship would deliver iron ore from Marquette MI, which is on Lake Superior, down to the Ford Motor Plant in Detroit MI. The iron ore was used to make Ford Mustangs.
After leaving the Lee A. Tregurtha in January 2000, Karl was hired by New York Engineering Associates in March 2000 as a Mechanical Engineer. There he specializes in chimneys, fuel oil tanks, boiler systems and HVAC systems.
Karl is married to his wife Lilly and together they have a daughter, Jane.