User:Usenko

Usenko joined Memory Alpha in May 2006. He is a High School Science teacher from Sydney, Australia, and developed his love for all things Star Trek as a child.

"Dad used to watch ST-TNG when it was on, midnight on Tuesday nights," he recalls. "I used to try to sneak into the TV room and listen to the sound. One night he caught me, and told me 'If you're so desperate to watch it, come in and make yourself comfortable!'  From then on, it was a bit of a family tradition.  My brother, my sister (much younger than me), my Dad and I used to watch it together.  Like with most things we develop an interest in, we became total Trek trainspotters, so joining Memory Alpha was a natural progression for me."

Although he has branched out into the other series of Star Trek, Usenko retains his love of The Next Generation.

"It's the series the fans wanted," he says. "DS9, VOY and ENT were piggybacking on an already popular franchise. But TNG was the big risk that came off, and although the production values are a little dated now, it still has a wonder and freshness that I think the later series lack a little.  Mind you, I really like Enterprise."

Usenko loves telling kids at school about Trek.

"There are a lot of kids who've never even heard of Star Trek," he muses. "I teach in a Christian school, and I'm a Christian myself, so I think the humanistic worldview espoused by Roddenberry is a great counter-view to my own. I find that when students really understand the messages that are being communicated in Trek, they find that it's much more intelligent than a lot of the television they're used to watching."

He is married to a non-Trekkie, who he has tried very hard to convert, and is the father of two children. Although they are both very young, he is encouraged by the way his older child (2) has already responded to some DVD episodes of TNG!

Usenko's screen name is based on his character in an on-line Star Trek RPG. On Wikipedia, he is known as SwordBrother777.