5 Questions With, Alec Schapiro, Senior Engineer, InfoPathways Inc.
Alec Schapiro is a Senior Network Engineer and Account Manager with InfoPathways, Inc. with ten years’ experience helping customers make impactful IT decisions, improve network designs and working alongside his customers to leverage all aspects of IT.
March 13, 2024
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1. What did you want to be when you grow up? How’d you get from there to here?
When I was younger, I often thought about being a construction worker “playing on equipment” as I believe most boys do. As I made my way through high school, engineering was more of a focus for me. I loved math and I loved figuring things out. Taking things apart, seeing how they worked and coming up with new ideas. It was never uncommon for me to have something torn apart and fix it. I am still that way today, whether having computers I’m building at home or having a mower I’m fixing in the garage. I enjoy working with my hands.
I went to college for Mechanical Engineering at York College of Pennsylvania. There I learned a lot but had some important life challenges thrown at me. I had broken my leg pretty badly which took me out of school for a while and while I was able to graduate it changed my trajectory for what I wanted to do. I grew up on a farm raising animals being in 4H and FFA (something I am still passionate about today). This made me question where I wanted to go from engineering. I got a job at a John Deere dealership which is how I got my start with IT as well. As mentioned, I always tinkered with things computers included but never thought about doing that as a career. My job there encompassed so many things. I got to “play on equipment”, do IT, some marketing, and software development, but learned so much. When I moved to InfoPathways it was the next step for growing in IT. I never expected to be doing biotech IT, but I have fallen into a niche within that world that even after many years within it, there is always something new to learn.
2. How are you helping to build a more connected community?
I think the best way I am trying to help build a more connected community is to become involved. Within the biotech space, IT is kind of the glue behind everything nowadays. All aspects within the industry require tech to some degree. One thing I enjoy is getting to know different people within different areas of the industry so that if I have a customer with a specific need, I can help point them in the right direction. It’s a continuously ever-growing network. Being able to have a relationship and connections with someone to call when you need something for a system getting implemented for environmental monitoring or to help troubleshoot a lab instrument is crucial to me.
I also am involved greatly with my county fair which I serve on the board overseeing IT and within my church leading worship. Both of those keep me pretty busy and interactive throughout the week! It’s rare for me to not be busy working on something for the fair or church. DJing is something I also do often so I am always meeting new people through that.
3. What are currently buzzing about? Anything and everything…
Probably work-wise it’s related to cyber security. It is talked about so often, yet I find that a lot of people still do not take it seriously within their businesses looking at the human aspect in all of it. You can put in as many safety measures and security features as you would like, but if your employees are not trained properly and being careful your company is still very susceptible to an attack.
Outside of work, there is always a plethora of things I’m working on. Playing music and learning more to help our worship team at church or practicing my DJ skills for weddings and events. I am very involved with agriculture so anything revolving around that I’m always interested in. The way that technology is becoming entangled with farming nowadays is truly amazing. I’m very excited to see what the future holds with that.
4. If you could travel back in time – what early career advice would you give yourself?
If I could travel back in time to give myself advice it would probably be slow down a little. You don’t have to know everything that you want to do right out of high school. Start building good connections and relationships then. I think that is more important to lead to success. Also, be willing to try new things. Even today I wonder what I could be good at, but I’m sometimes afraid to try new things or step in a new direction. Don’t hold yourself back. Something I am working on these days.
5. FUN question. Music… if there was a soundtrack for your life what would it be?!
This is probably the hardest question out of all of them. I love so many different varieties of music and this answer could probably change repeatedly depending on when asked. As random as this is though thinking at this very moment it may be the song from Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift. I like to get things done. Knock out work and power through things. It’s a quirky, fun, fast-paced song that to me I could put on, be goofy and jam out but get work done at the same time. Like I said there’s probably a soundtrack for every aspect of my life as much as I like music depending on the situation.
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