I am currently an Applications Specialist, and I've been with The Institutes for almost 3 years. I originally started as a contractor for the IT Hardware team and have since moved into this position.

My biggest inspiration for getting into my current role was the learning opportunity that it would provide. As an Application Specialist I find myself participating in meetings and demos for a variety of software products that have a possibility of being added into the organization's catalog. With these meetings I am able to examine additional roles within IT to determine if I could see myself in that specific area of work in the future. 

I'd say my biggest professional accomplishment is where I am today. I have the privilege to work with incredibly smart and talented people that have a level of trust in my ability to produce high value results in the tasks I'm given. Truthfully, if I were told 5 years ago that I'd be working at a place where I have the ability to learn rapidly about what IT has to offer as a career, I wouldn't believe it. 

Most people don't know that I love playing chess. It has been one of my favorite activities since I was about 7 years old. My most fond memory of chess is a single game I played with an uncle when I was about 9 years old where he ended the game in 4 moves using a set of moves known as "Scholar's Mate". That loss is probably what has kept me interested in chess until this day.

I would say that the current way Black History Month is celebrated does not hold a high level of importance to me. I say this because in my experience with school as well as in the wider scope of America, Black History Month is a time when generally well-known African American historical figures are the exclusive talking points. I've read dozens of re-creations of accomplishments made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, and George Washington Carver, however the same cannot be said for other figures such as Madam C. J. Walker, Jane Bolin, or Charles Richard Drew. I would not learn about many figures. In addition to this sentiment, I firmly believe that the Black History we celebrate is a fundamental part of American History and should be celebrated as such. I also firmly believe that if American History was taught with better structure and integrity, there would be little to no need for the formal celebration. One of the founding principles behind what we know as Black History Month today was created out of the goal to recognize Black History as a serious area of study which my former point addresses.