Joel Kershaw

Childhood and Early Life
The youngest of three children by human parents. Joel’s family maintained a drifter’s lifestyle, as his father’s job kept them moving from star system to star system at the fringes of Federation space. His family settled down shortly after Joel’s 14th birthday. Joel was a bit of a problem child, often getting into trouble during the family’s continued stay on Setlik III. On one occasion, some of Joel’s friends and he met up at the local docks for another of their regular antics. Their victim? The walls of the promenade. They went and sprayed their crude images on many of the station’s panels, cackling all the while at their perceived genius. Unfortunately for them however, station security soon got a hold of the troublemakers and it wasn’t before long that they were apprehended. Luckily for Joel (and his buddies), they managed to get out relatively unscathed and without charges pressed, in no small part due to Joel’s parents, whose freight company was a familiar and prominent business on Setlik III. Though in order to make amends for the group’s disruptive antics, both station security and his parents thought it best that Joel and his buds were to assist in duties around the docks for a while, as a means of punishment and community service. This meant cleaning the mess made by the group and scrubbing their profanity from the walls, as well as helping with loading and unloading shipments from incoming vessels and assisting in other duties, most of them of janitorial nature. During this time, Joel met with an off-duty Federation officer visiting Setlik III, who regaled Joel with tales of his career as a Starfleet Science officer. While not necessarily interested in the Science-y aspect, the officer did manage to spark an interest in Joel in regards to Starfleet as a whole. After all, Joel’s early life was spent mostly among the stars, so it did hold a certain appeal. This encounter would prove to be the catalyst for Joel’s interest in enrolling at Starfleet.

Academy Years
At 18, Joel entered the Starfleet Academy for Enlisted Personnel on Mars. He got along well with his peers, being known as somewhat of a class clown, always boasting about adventures on the several colonies he lived on during his youth. A little rough around the edges still, Joel initially had some trouble adjusting to Starfleet’s rigid training program, as well as its chain of command, almost getting expelled because of him disrespecting superior officers. He quickly turned his behaviour around when threatened with expulsion, realizing the life of a prospective Starfleet officer was one he wanted to pursue to the best of his ability. He managed overall just above average grades, with the exception of physically-oriented classes where he tended to excel. Apart from mandatory courses, he enjoyed a number of extracurricular activities and participated in a few tournaments in both individual and team capacity.

Early Service Years
After graduating, Deep Space 3 would prove to be Joel’s first posting. A member of the station’s internal Security and Tactical team, Joel was tasked with patrolling the station and the inspection of incoming vessels, amongst other Security-related jobs. On one occasion Joel entered the annual palio, an athletic contest aboard Deep Space 3, and managed to finish fourth. He was stationed there for about two years before being transferred to the USS Yorkshire, its Security department short-handed and in need of Security officers.

Recent Years
The USS Yorkshire had already been operating for a number of years prior to Joel’s transfer and had recently fallen short of much needed Security officers. The ship was assigned to mediate a conflict between a number of to-be Federation planets in a previously uncharted area of the beta quadrant, a project estimated to take years. Joel’s tasks chiefly included the escort of several ambassadors to and from countless meetings. Eventually, the mediation came to a close and the USS Yorkshire was retired, leaving many of its crew in need of a new posting. Joel was stationed aboard the USS Yorkshire for a little over 3 years.

USS Providence
Joel has recently been transferred to the USS Providence, joining the Providence’s Security department.