Age: 32
Occupation: Automation Support Manager, Van Meter Inc.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
I wasn’t a model student in high school. I was unmotivated, aloof and floated by. When I announced my desire to be an engineer during a parent-teacher conference, my math teacher) asked if I was sure about my plan, and indicated it was a hard path. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but it was the best advice I could ever have received.
What would most people be surprised to learn about you?
I absolutely love board games and video games.
What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Sometimes life goes in strange directions. The key isn’t to fight change, but to thrive with it.
How do you ensure a balance between work and your personal life?
Van Meter is awesome at encouraging a true work/life balance. On a daily basis, we’re encouraged to disconnect at the end of the day. I have a work phone but there’s absolutely no expectation that I pick it up after-hours. In fact, it’s routinely discouraged.
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support?
I’m on the board for the “Friends Helping Friends Foundation” which is a non-profit that supports Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control. I’m very passionate about finding animals their forever homes. Whatever remains would go to a charity called “Extra Life,” which supports the Children’s Miracle Network.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Bar owner.
Who are your local mentors?
Mike Golden, who hired me at Van Meter.
