Afinju “Fin” McDowell is a native of Brooklyn, NY. He is the second of four children born to parents from the island republic of Trinidad in the West Indies. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and, after attending two commuter colleges in the New York City area, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps in August of 1994. After being promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he continued his education at Texas A&M University in the fall of 1998 and attended Officer Candidates School in the summer of 1999. In May 2001, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He proudly served our nation in various climes and places for over twenty years until he retired in September 2014 as a Captain. After moving to the area of Columbus, GA, he attended Georgia State University as a 2016 Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellow. He earned his Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Mathematics and began teaching in the Muscogee County School District in the fall of 2017. He is eager to continue teaching in the Richmond County School System.