Every step taught me how to take the next one.

The farm taught me to respect the person closest to the work

I grew up in a humble farm home where practical work mattered and every person doing it was visible. I learned that every useful task carries dignity, that the people carrying the work see what outsiders miss, and that trust begins when I am willing to work beside them.

What this step builtThat is what I carried into my first job: notice what people need, help before asking, and carry every task I ask someone else to do.

Team member to shift leader, Taco Bell

I worked my way from the line into shift leadership. My first concern was whether my crew had everything they needed. I served them, became the fastest worker I could be, and took on every task I asked them to do. That became my first leadership rule: carry the work beside the people you lead. Gina became one of the best mentors I have ever had.

“Remember, Michael: at the end of the day, when you clock out and go home, it's just tacos.”Gina, my Taco Bell mentor

I still hear her advice when the pressure rises: it is just chemistry. Keep perspective, serve the people, and solve the next problem.

What this step builtTaco Bell turned the farm lesson into a leadership practice. I learned that trust is earned in the work and carries farther than any title, and I brought that posture into every team and laboratory after it.

Taco Bell in Bowling Green to a Valspar laboratory

I carried the same work ethic to Bowling Green and stayed with Taco Bell until I moved into a Valspar internship. A chemist mentored me while I learned production paints, color matching, sample preparation, and disciplined lab work. His own words, spoken aloud. ◆I was the eager little lab rat, making samples and trying to get every detail right.

What this step builtValspar connected my work ethic to chemistry. I learned that the laboratory and production were one chain: a good sample had to become something people could make correctly and repeatedly.

B.S. in Chemistry and Biology

Undergraduate study became four years of exploration. I tested disciplines, futures, and versions of myself, learned which dreams felt like mine, finished with a 3.2 GPA, and graduated with honors from Western Kentucky University.

What this step builtThe degree gave my curiosity scientific structure and moved me from learning laboratory discipline to asking and answering original research questions.

Master of Science in Chemistry

As an inorganic chemist researching under Dr. Lawrence J. Hill at Western Kentucky University, I synthesized colloidal cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dot seeds and grew anisotropic cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorods to form CdSe@CdS dot-in-rod quasi-type-II heterostructures. I investigated noble-metal deposition, using [BMIM]Tf2N room-temperature ionic liquid as solvent, ligand, and reducing agent to deposit metallic platinum nanoparticles onto the semiconductor tips. That research became my master's thesis and a peer-reviewed journal paper under my name at the time, Michael Drake Ballentine. I presented the findings at the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, navigating the social intensity of national conferences while managing autism and ADHD. The rigor of synthesizing nanomaterials, measuring charge dynamics via TEM, PXRD, and photoluminescence quenching, and testing visible-light photocatalysis formed the foundation for my industrial chemistry career.

What this step builtGraduate research taught me to turn uncertainty into experiments, measurement, and evidence. I carried that nanoscale precision out of the academic laboratory and directly into industrial formulation at Soudal and Gold Eagle.

R&D Chemist, Soudal

I formulated and scaled silicone products, supported quality systems and UL certification, and coordinated with Soudal's Belgian headquarters. Traveling to Belgium and learning from generous mentors brought me fully into industry. Working beside operators taught me to listen before changing anything: they knew where a process behaved differently on the floor than it did in the laboratory.

What this step builtSoudal taught me that operator knowledge and technical knowledge become more valuable when someone can connect them. That bridge became the core of how I worked at Gold Eagle.

R&D Chemist, Gold Eagle and 303 Products

I approached improvement from the formulation side. I developed and improved products, commercialized formulations across the 303 Graphene line, kept building relationships with operators, explained the chemistry on camera, served as a HAZMAT Incident Commander, trained teams, and secured alternate raw materials during COVID-era disruption. That formulation-led work produced about $1.2 million in documented sourcing savings.

What this step builtGold Eagle taught me to connect formulation, production reality, supply chain, and the customer. I entered 3M with years of practice listening to operators and translating what they knew into changes a business could act on.

Manufacturing Engineer, 3M

I led PPU improvements through manufacturing change control, workflow mapping, line balancing, standard work, and operator partnership. The methods mattered, but my connection with operators made them useful. Because Soudal and Gold Eagle had taught me how to listen and work beside people, operators trusted me enough to show me where the process actually slowed, broke, or created waste. We turned that knowledge into $1 million in cost savings.

What this step builtThe savings were the result of the whole ladder: farm-grounded respect, service leadership, scientific discipline, formulation experience, and operator trust. That full combination moved with me into product engineering.

Product Engineer, 3M

A second February 13 offer moved me into the product engineer role I hold today. I can improve both sides: the chemistry and performance of the product, and the process, efficiency, and operator experience behind making it.

What this step builtThis title carries the climb forward. I am combining every rung: formulation, product performance, manufacturing, PPU improvements, operator experience, and measurable business impact.

Independent software and AI work

I built software, automation, AI systems, research harnesses, and community infrastructure alongside my industrial career. This belongs to the same life. I brought the same habit of listening to people, studying systems, preserving evidence, and improving what others have to use. Atlas became my latest achievement and my greatest so far.

What this step builtThe medium changed while the method stayed. I keep carrying the people, the evidence, and every prior lesson into the next system I build.