Richard Babajide Faoye is an African from Nigeria. He came to the U.S. in December 1972 to further his education in refrigeration, heating and air-conditioning technology. He attended Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he graduated with an associate degree in refrigeration, heating and air-conditioning technology in 1977. He transferred to Northwest Missouri State University, in Maryville, where he graduated with a bachelor degree in industrial technology in 1979. After graduating from Northwest Missouri State University, he moved to New York. He got his first job as refrigeration mechanic with a residential real estate company in Brooklyn, New York. After passing some professional examinations, he secured a better job with an engineering firm as a watch engineer (HVAC) from 1989 to 1996. He got married in 1984, had a son by his wife and divorced in 1996.