Chargris worked for the City of Dallas – Department of Aviation at Dallas Love Field Airport for 29 years as an Airport Operations Officer. During that time, he became an Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) from the American Association of Airport Executives (A.A.A.E.) organization in 2017. He retired from Dallas Love Field in 2018. When his father died in December of 2013, Chargris wanted to do something to honor him. Therefore, Chargris became a volunteer reading tutor for children at Reading Partners in February of 2014. A few years later, he volunteered for Readers 2 Leaders. Chargris’s father was his inspiration to go to college. His father was a science teacher and a principal, so he had degrees in Biology (minor in Chemistry) and a master’s in Education. As a child, Chargris saw all of the awards that he received.
He said to himself, “Is this what happens when you get a college degree? All of this respect.” The reason that Chargris was able to attend Purdue University was because of the financial support of his parents and grandfather, and he acknowledges that he could not have done it alone. Getting a college degree was Chargris’s number one goal in life; it means more to him than any fancy house or car. They can take your car or house, but not a degree.