I was lucky to take notes on the following interview I conducted with my mentor, Heather:
Q: How long have you been working at AlphaTRAC, and could you tell me a little bit about your background?
A: The business was founded in 1992, by my family, so I have been working on-and-off with projects at AlphaTRAC along schoolwork, and since then I have taken on the positions of: Human Resources, Office Manager, and Project Manager, all of which I currently work as. At AlphaTRAC, the team works together to complete certain tasks, so I work with the team to help them reach whatever outcomes they need, and I help out wherever I can, whenever. I have been a part of AlphaTRAC since I was twelve years old, so basically my whole life, but I have had other jobs in past. For example, I worked as an Extension Agent while I was attending CSU. I was double-majoring at CSU in Horticulture as well as Business, and as an extension agent, I worked with the National Guard to promote certain types of agriculture, like the cultivation of wheat, for example, in Afghanistan, as a lot of the people there were, at the time, and still do, cultivate fields of poppies. These lead to the production of opium, and sold as opium and heroin as these are major profit crops in some Afghani regions. So, I worked wI ith the National Guard to persuade farmers to cultivate other crops in place of opium-producing poppies. In addition to my majors in CSU, I also had a masters in tropical plants & soil sciences at the University of Hawaii.
Q: How has your experience been working with the other employees here at AlphaTRAC?
A: When we hire employees at AlphaTRAC, we like to see good communication skills along side a good work ethic, so relations between myself and employees are very good.
Q: What, for you, has been the most challenging part about working here?
A: At AlphaTRAC, I'm always trying to help the team look for, and create, the "next best thing", and this takes a lot of pulling ideas out of the blue, so the challenge is, really, making the "impossible" possible. That's what I like to do is accept a challenge, and fulfill it.
Q: What is the best part for you about coming into the office at AlphaTRAC each day?
A: I really like challenges, like I said before, so I really like to deal with the things I hadn't seen coming before. Other than that, I like client operations, like going out and meeting with generals, or lieutenants, and interacting with them to help them out however is needed.I just genuinely like meeting all of these different kinds of people and interacting with them.
Q: What has been your most memorable experience at the office here?
A: My most memorable experiences include the activities we, as the employees, do to promote team-building, not so much in the office, but, for example, during the chili cook-off that is held yearly between everyone, including firefighters. I think that in the long term, these comradery-building activities will stick with me as memories the most.
Q: I know AlphaTRAC is working with firefighters, hazmat ops workers and the USMC, but is it considering broadening its reach sometime in the near future?
A: We are always trying to broaden our reach, and I have worked with AlphaTRAC in building relations with different organizations. For example, a big client of ours used to be the Department of Energy, and we're working currently alongside the Department of Defense.
Q: If someone were to ask you for a job here, what expectations would you have for them?
A: Well, some technical capability is always helpful, but I mainly look for people that are problem-solvers, quick learners who like to learn new things, and experts on communication; someone that can be an entrepreneur of their own. Communication is definitely key, because we like to work with people that interact amongst others easily, and don't just necessarily sit there all day working alone.
A: The business was founded in 1992, by my family, so I have been working on-and-off with projects at AlphaTRAC along schoolwork, and since then I have taken on the positions of: Human Resources, Office Manager, and Project Manager, all of which I currently work as. At AlphaTRAC, the team works together to complete certain tasks, so I work with the team to help them reach whatever outcomes they need, and I help out wherever I can, whenever. I have been a part of AlphaTRAC since I was twelve years old, so basically my whole life, but I have had other jobs in past. For example, I worked as an Extension Agent while I was attending CSU. I was double-majoring at CSU in Horticulture as well as Business, and as an extension agent, I worked with the National Guard to promote certain types of agriculture, like the cultivation of wheat, for example, in Afghanistan, as a lot of the people there were, at the time, and still do, cultivate fields of poppies. These lead to the production of opium, and sold as opium and heroin as these are major profit crops in some Afghani regions. So, I worked wI ith the National Guard to persuade farmers to cultivate other crops in place of opium-producing poppies. In addition to my majors in CSU, I also had a masters in tropical plants & soil sciences at the University of Hawaii.
Q: How has your experience been working with the other employees here at AlphaTRAC?
A: When we hire employees at AlphaTRAC, we like to see good communication skills along side a good work ethic, so relations between myself and employees are very good.
Q: What, for you, has been the most challenging part about working here?
A: At AlphaTRAC, I'm always trying to help the team look for, and create, the "next best thing", and this takes a lot of pulling ideas out of the blue, so the challenge is, really, making the "impossible" possible. That's what I like to do is accept a challenge, and fulfill it.
Q: What is the best part for you about coming into the office at AlphaTRAC each day?
A: I really like challenges, like I said before, so I really like to deal with the things I hadn't seen coming before. Other than that, I like client operations, like going out and meeting with generals, or lieutenants, and interacting with them to help them out however is needed.I just genuinely like meeting all of these different kinds of people and interacting with them.
Q: What has been your most memorable experience at the office here?
A: My most memorable experiences include the activities we, as the employees, do to promote team-building, not so much in the office, but, for example, during the chili cook-off that is held yearly between everyone, including firefighters. I think that in the long term, these comradery-building activities will stick with me as memories the most.
Q: I know AlphaTRAC is working with firefighters, hazmat ops workers and the USMC, but is it considering broadening its reach sometime in the near future?
A: We are always trying to broaden our reach, and I have worked with AlphaTRAC in building relations with different organizations. For example, a big client of ours used to be the Department of Energy, and we're working currently alongside the Department of Defense.
Q: If someone were to ask you for a job here, what expectations would you have for them?
A: Well, some technical capability is always helpful, but I mainly look for people that are problem-solvers, quick learners who like to learn new things, and experts on communication; someone that can be an entrepreneur of their own. Communication is definitely key, because we like to work with people that interact amongst others easily, and don't just necessarily sit there all day working alone.
