Spotlights
These are the career stories of diverse individuals working in a variety of careers. Watch or read about what inspired them to pursue their career, what they were like growing up, what they love most about their career and more!
Gladeo League reporter Katelyn Torres interviews Mitu Walia about her job as Architectural Manager at Lennar Homes in the Bay Area. Mitu shares her story on why she was destined from a young age to do what she does!
During 9/11, Paul J. Schmick was working as a District Manager for a telecommunications firm in New York City. After working in Ground Zero’s harsh conditions led to a family member’s diagnosis with lung disease, Paul felt an urge to serve his country. Looking for a place to start, Paul pursued a low wage job in the private security industry to gain experience. While working his way up from his weekend part-time security job, Paul pursued a role within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On March 17, 2008, Paul was sworn in as a Transportation Security Officer for the U…
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Marcela Denniston is the Vice President of Field Engineering at ShieldX Networks; a San Francisco-based company that focuses on protecting organizations against cyber threats. Marcela’s cyber security career began at Hawai’i Pacific University (HPU), where she joined their U.S. Navy program immediately out of high school. Marcela worked in the Navy for seven years, then moved into the commercial sector. She said cyber security is about protecting information systems and networks connected to the internet, including computers, servers, cell phones and vehicles.
What kind of people…
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Gladeo reporter Katelyn interviews Patty about her career as an environmental planner at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
Juan Sebastian Vasquez immigrated from Colombia to South Florida when he was about 10 years old. He attended the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor of Science in Advertising, Specialization in Business. For about a year after graduation, Vasquez worked as an account executive at an advertising agency called On Ideas before moving out to California. He arrived in Los Angeles in November, 2012 and began working as a digital outreach director and field organizer for Emanuel Pleitez’s 2013 Los Angeles Mayoral campaign. Then, for two years he worked for the tech company…
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“Keep a clear vision of what you want to achieve in your career, be self-motivated in achieving this goal, and don’t get distracted but adapt to whatever unexpected challenges may be thrown your way.”
Ramachandran Balakrishnan is a Malaysian national currently residing in Georgia, where he works as a Business Controller with SKF USA, Inc. Raised in an estate (a remnant of the colonial era) in rural Malaysia, at a young age Ramachandran could not benefit from the presence of positive influences and opportunities, but always enjoyed and thrived in mathematics at school. This…
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