Hi, this is Mike Sarokin. This website is all about me and tells my story. Check back frequently as my story and life continue.

Mike today ..

I am sort of retired, happy and busier than ever and as I always say “not bored yet”.

Today, I am now retired after having been been a partner at the Fellows Consulting Group, LLC since 2013. I am enjoying my retirement after 31 years with GM / EDS / HP . My passion is IT and especially computer programming. I have to admit that I am a big Apple fan.

In 2022, I made a big change. I bought a second home at the Villages, FL where I spend winters while returning to my Michigan home in the summer. No more snow for me.

I am the proud uncle of 5 nieces and nephews. Allison (New York, New York), Andrew (Grand Rapids, MI), Alex (Jacksonville, NC), Cassie (Green Bay, WI) and Annadee (Green Bay, WI). I am a great uncle to Eva and Reece whose parents are Alex and Nina (Green Bay, WI).

Key Milestones in my life Good things can happen

Dec 1970

I am actually smart

My first meaningful “A” happened in Calculus 1. What a difference a motivating instructor can make.
Sept 1972

Made the WMU baseball team

Made the Western Michigan baseball team as a walk-on my senior year. Only 3 out of 50+ made it. It is rare for a senior to make the team. I didn’t dress for games but learned a lot.
March 1974

My first teaching job

Shortly after graduating from Western Michigan University I accepted a teaching position at Sterling Heights High School. I taught geometry and algebra and LOVED it. I later became the JV and assistant varsity baseball coach. We made it to the state semi-finals!
June 1976

Laid off as a teacher

While at first being laid off seemed like a bad thing. I loved teaching. However, this event forced to rethink my profession. I never wanted to be laid off again and had little hope in finding a teaching position. So, I went back to school at Oakland Community College and found that I also loved computer programming. While completing my computer degree I also finished my Master of Arts degree from Central Michigan University.

March 1978

First IT Professional Job

Began as a computer programming trainer / instructor at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. A few years later taught evening computer programming classes at Oakland Community College. Taught Advanced Cobol.
Sept 1981

Programmer at GM

Computer programmer at Chevrolet Engineering. Gained a lot of experience with large systems in COBOL with IMS. Trained new hires and developed numerous programmer productivity aids.
September 1984

Transition to EDS

GM acquired EDS and transitioned technical staff to EDS. That began a long and interesting career at EDS. I travelled extensively both domestically and internationally. I worked on many challenging and interesting projects. EDS was later acquired by HP in 2008.
June 2005

EDS Fellow

Promotion to the highest technical level in EDS. Only 20+ out of 100,000+ employees were awarded this job title.
September 2012

Retired

After 31 years at GM / EDS / HP accepted an early retirement offer. It was great to be able to spend the first year ensuring that my Dad was healthy, happy and safe. Currently a partner with Fellows Consulting Group and working part-time.

Not bored yet!
March 2022

Winters in Florida

Bought a second house in The Villages, Florida. The Villages has everything an active person is looking for. Like I say no time for a nap. I spend November thru April at my winter home.
January 31, 2024

First Hole-in-One

After almost 6 decades I got a hole in one on January 31, 2024 at Okeechobee Executive Course in The Villages, FL. Hole #6 110 yards with a 9-iron.

My very early years

I was born in 1951 to Barney and Amalia (Glick) Sarokin. Both families were from Russian origin. After serving in World War 2 in France as an army taught french interpreter, Barney became an optometrist and started his own practice in Pontiac, Michigan. My mother Amalia grew up in Cuba, graduated from high school at age 16 and also became an optometrist. They met thru a mutual friend and married in 1950 and settled in Auburn Street in Pontiac, Michigan. I was the first born.

I was told I spoke Spanish before I spoke English. Unfortunately, much of my Spanish disappeared over the years. We visited Cuba and I remember trying to assemble a watch in my Grandfather’s watch repair store, taking the bus with lottery ticket ads inside, and eating coconut ice cream from a street vendor.

My formative years

I have the oldest of 4 brothers each three years apart. Jerry (Novi, MI), Steve (Green Bay, WI), Jim (Royal Oak, MI). We grew up in Pontiac, MI (on Menominee Street) and I went to Pontiac public schools (Webster Elementary, Washington Junior High School, and Pontiac Central High School).

As a family we did everything together. I can remember my mother taking all of us by the hand (or stroller) as we went grocery shopping with her since she didn’t drive at the time.

Our backyard was our play area. Wiffle ball was our favorite game to play. The challenge was getting the ball when it went into the neighbor’s dog pen.

I was an average student. I played in the band and on the high school baseball team.

My college years

After a rough first semester at Western Michigan University I figured out how to get through college. My secret was to get the right teachers not those that didn’t care or teach without passion. I decided during my second year of college to take Calculus 1 (after getting a D- my first year) and with the right teacher I fell in love with mathematics and decided to major in it. In order to balance my time I decided to minor in physical education because I liked it and it didn’t involve any homework. I graduated with a secondary education teaching degree in Mathematics with a Physical Education minor.

I was very proud making the Western Michigan University baseball team as a walk-on my senior year. Even though I didn’t play, I learned a lot and made important contacts. Not bad for someone who sat the bench in high school.

A couple of years later I finished my Master of Arts degree at Central Michigan majoring in Parks and Recreation. It was an easy degree and included credits for my summer job. I planned on going back and getting a more meaningful Masters degree but it turned out I changed professions and didn’t need that degree.

While finishing my Masters degree I went to Oakland Community College and received a degree in Data Processing and that was what propelled my into the computer field.

Time to go to work

After completing my student teaching at Waterford Township High School I was fortunate to find a top notch teaching position at Sterling Heights High School. My combination of mathematics and baseball landed me the job. I taught mostly Geometry and was the JV Baseball Coach and Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach. I loved teaching and had some great baseball players that 3 years later were the state Class A semifinalists losing 1-0 in extra innings.

I was laid off after 2.5 years even though I was tenured. It is a long story but I chose to leave teaching rather than accept a position that I wasn’t qualified nor interested in.

I needed to regroup and think about the realities of a professional career. Being a little older and wiser I reestablished my career goals:

Always be marketable and highly skilled
Earn enough money to afford a house as nice as my parents
Enjoy a job where I looked forward to going to work and not watching the clock

With those goals in mind I looked at the job market and where my interests were and the solution was easy. As soon as I took my first computer class at Oakland Community College I knew I found my future vocation.

My professional life

In the late 70’s the computer field was growing and my professional growth was rapid. Having been a teacher I learned a lot about how to learn and applied that knowledge to my new profession.

My first job was as a computer programming trainer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. I had to learn fast in order to teach the employees. Fortunately, my fellow instructor was a great mentor to me and I rapidly came up to speed. I left that position after 3 years in order to increase my marketability since I had not had any production computer programming experience yet.

I went to GM (Chevrolet Engineering) where I got deeply involved in computer programming. Chevrolet Engineering was one of early adopters of IMS and had at the time a state of the art environment. Besides being a programmer I also trained the new hires and was responsible for many of the productivity programming aids.

In 1984 GM purchased EDS, an IT Company owned by Ross Perot and then transferred all of it’s IT staff (including me) to EDS. There was a lot of mistrust and culture clash but I was very comfortable being part of a company dedicated to providing IT services. After several years supporting GM as a client I made a key lifetime decision and that was to see the rest of EDS. That decision greatly accelerated my learning and resulted in extensive travel for the majority of my career.

At EDS, I worked on many projects across the US and the globe. I worked in almost every US state and countries such as the UK, Brazil, and Switzerland. See my linked-in profile for a more complete description of my work life.

EDS was acquired by HP in 2008 and my work life went downhill and I accepted an early retirement in 2012.

Shortly, after early retirement several of my peers and I formed the Fellows Consulting Group. We continue to work on many interesting activities today while also enjoying retirement.