1. What did you want to be when you grow up? How’d you get from there to here?
I wanted to be an architect, the movie “Click” starring the great Adam Sandler had a major impact on me as a child. I took drafting classes as a Junior and as a Senior in high school. The decimal conversions for the common fractions needed to draw blueprints in my school’s drafting software are still seared into my subconscious. When it was time for me to progress to the next level of schooling, some research that my mom had done gave me cause for pause. “Architects are the #1 most unemployed college graduates among STEM majors”. Do I really want to go to school for 4 years only to struggle to find a job once I’m finally done? I had to reassess. I talked to my great uncle who was a computer scientist. He sold me on a high hourly rate and job security. 5 years later, thanks to one of those classes that seems to never be offered in a semester that’s convenient, I graduated with a B.S. in Computer Security. I wish I could say that this shifting of gears achieved my desired outcome of job security, but alas, I found myself working in retail as a college grad. Thankfully that was a short-lived profession as I got a CSV job in biotech through a contracting agency and here we are, albeit at a different contracting agency. CSV has allowed me to work in a field where I can use the computer skills I learned in school while also learning a completely new field in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
2. How are you helping to build a more connected community?
Previously, I hadn’t focused a lot of my time on attending industry events, but I am trying to change that. I have been mainly focused on building a more connected “local” community if you will. I take part in the event planning committee for the Mid-Atlantic region of CAI. I also do my best to keep in touch with my coworkers. One thing I enjoy about working for CAI is the truly familial atmosphere. Everyone looks out for each other, sometimes to the chagrin of others. I can’t tell you how many times multiple people reply all on a company wide email asking for assistance. While it can be a bit annoying being pinged with emails that have nothing to do with you, I think it speaks to everyone’s willingness to help their fellow agent that there are so many replies.
The company ‘retreats’ are my personal favorite. They kind of feel like a big family reunion where you get to see your cousins that live on the other side of the country. Granted, there are 8 hours of work/meetings to kick off each day but you know what they say you get to do when you work hard!
3. What are currently buzzing about? Anything and everything…
On the professional front, I’m buzzing, and have been for some time, about a client with whom I am doing some CSV work on a GAMP 5 category 5 software application. It’s not everyday that you get to work on a truly custom built system. While not representative of typical CSV work, this project has been very rewarding and tested my hard and soft skills to the max. Whether it’s critical thinking and problem solving in writing protocols and specifications or interpersonal and communication skills in collaborating with the development/quality teams this project has allowed me to strengthen them.
On the personal front, as anyone who knows me could probably tell you; I’m buzzing about fishing! As soon as the weather permits (around 01 March), if I’m not working it is a safe bet that I am somewhere trying to catch a bass or a trout.
4. If you could travel back in time – what early career advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself to be patient. My early days in the industry were spent in frustration at times. It seemed like everyone around me knew more about everything than I did. I found out that most of these people had put in double the time I had… or more. You can study all you want but experience only comes with time. It’s ok to not know everything.
5. Now for the fun question – if you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would you choose?
If I could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, I think it would have to be the late great Kobe Bryant. In addition to being my personal favorite as well as the greatest basketball player of all time (I’m open to debate on this), he was a great philanthropist, academy award winning short film creator, brilliant investor and contributor to communities all across the country. A true renaissance man.
