Robert Goetschkes is a renaissance man. He has studied history, economics, and foil fencing at SUNY Oneonta. After graduation, he served in the US Peace Corps in Tonga for 2.5 years and then enlisted in the US Coast Guard during Gulf War I, where he served honorably for 11 years. He then earned a Master of Arts Degree in Elementary Education with a Field Endorsement in Secondary Social Sciences, leading him to teach for 25 years. For five years, he also served in the Red Cross Disaster Services Department and was an aquarium diver at Henry Doorly Zoo.