“I got my first computer when I was a senior in high school,” Wurtzbacher, a 1988 Fairmont High School graduate said. “And I learned how to do basic programming.”
Between the computer and Atari video games, Wurtzbacher was hooked. He took a basic computer class at Fairmont and started an engineering program in college at Purdue University.
“When Wright State was doing a bio engineering program, I really thought working with bio robotics would be phenomenal,” Wurtzbacher said. “I realized I also enjoyed chemistry and biology, so I ended up going to pharmacy school and finished at the University of Cincinnati.”
Wurtzbacher continued pharmacy school, earning his doctorate. And it was during this time that he began to develop a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) classes. He completed his studies in 1995 and did his residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“While I was in Michigan, I met the director of pharmacy for the VA and he got me involved with him at the University of Tennessee in 1996,” Wurtzbacher said. “I did research work with clinicians and taught classes there.”
In late 2001, Wurtzbacher’s dad needed him at home to help in the drug store. He returned home to work in the family business once again. He promised his father he would stay for four years. When his dad was ready to retire, he sold his store to another independent pharmacy.
“I had different desires with my career,” Wurtzbacher said. “I did a couple of different things in IT,”
That included working at Dayton Children’s during the conversion of paper charts to electronic and doing traditional coding and system configuration. He led the pharmacy team and also helped with safety and problem solving.
“Going back to all the STEM training I had, I realized that really taught me to problem solve — a super valuable skill,” Wurtzbacher said.
In 2019, Wurtzbacher left Dayton Children’s to work with Cigna managing a program designed to help individuals using complex drugs to use them properly – an enhancement to the pharmacies. But he had an inherent desire to get back to teaching, something he had always loved. He was especially interested in teaching STEM classes. During the upheaval of the pandemic, he put this on hold but in 2023, he started looking for teaching roles again.
“I discovered a company called iCode,” Wurtzbacher said. “A franchise specializing in STEM education.”
The business seemed right up his alley as it provides comprehensive education to students that encourages critical thinking, problem solving and grows confidence. He decided to buy into the company in 2024.
“I love it because we have this experimentation atmosphere,” Wurtzbacher said. “I’d say a small percentage of kids come in and take a class with us and may never go into engineering or science careers but just having this background and learning the valuable soft skills is huge.”
Wurtzbacher made his business decision after doing extensive research. He knew he wanted flexibility to tailor the program to individual students as no two learn the same way or at the same speed.
“The iCode folks kept talking about pushing soft skills,” Wurtzbacher said. “And most of the other STEM programs weren’t doing this. I want to teach kids skills they can use in everyday life.”
iCode offers after school programs and camps during school breaks and summers. Wurtzbacher’s company also partners with local schools and libraries to offer the programs to more students.
“We max out each class at ten kids and we have four classrooms,” Wurtzbacher said. “We use social media to advertise and even partner with the local police departments.”
Mostly, the kids that come into iCode have a lot of fun, which Wurtzbacher said is most important. Though the learned skills might turn into a career, they more likely will help students develop life skills they can use no matter what their jobs or lives.
“Ninety-nine percent of kids that do this absolutely love it,” Wurtzbacher said. “We can’t hit a home run very time and some kids say it’s more structured than they want. But my goal is to continue to push what we are doing as not just good for job skills but also for life skills.”
Wurtzbacher said he has been heavily influenced in his life by a professor from Carnegie Melon University – Randy Pausch, who passed away in 2008 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Pausch’s final lecture covered the impact of his teaching on students.
“This lecture gave me a lot of inspiration,” Wurtzbacher said. “Even if I’m only able to change one kid’s trajectory, I feel I’ve been successful.”
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