What did you do in your first job?
I worked for a local tri-weekly newspaper, The Sand Mountain Reporter (circulation around 20,000). I was hired to do the “Society Page,” including taking pictures and writing articles and announcements for bridal showers, engagements, weddings, etc.

How was your job different than you thought it would be?
Having not worked in an organization before, I was really surprised at the office dynamics—the interaction between the staff, manager, and publisher.

What important lessons or skills that you learned in your first job were instrumental in your success?
The responsibilities outlined in a job description are just a starting point. I learned to look for things that weren’t being done, and just do them. I learned to get out past my comfort zone, and push myself. I began working at this job before high school graduation and continued through my junior year of college (summers and holidays). I was not only doing the “Society Page”, but had also written news stories and editorials, and had been involved in sports reporting, as well as just about every other area of the newspaper—all before I graduated from college. And I did so while building camaraderie and goodwill among my co-workers, who were all professionals. I learned diligence, persistence, and the need to listen carefully. I gained new confidence in my abilities with every accomplishment.

Which of those lessons, and how, carried into subsequent jobs after your first? How do you use those skills in your position today?
I have utilized these lessons in every job I have had since then—and even in my educational pursuits. My undergraduate degree is in engineering, because I wanted to learn why things in nature are the way they are. Then I pursued an Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) so I could learn more about the business world I worked in. Additional executive studies took me to programs at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Duke.

I have never had a job where I was constrained to only do what I was hired to do. I have always searched for ways to make things better in the job I am doing, and for ways to get things done that aren’t being done (and have done them in a way that is inclusive for other team members). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say ‘here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well’.”

I also believe that my positive attitude, energy and enthusiasm, and strong communication skills have helped me in every job I’ve held.

Have you seen how lacking those first job skills had negative effects on others?
Absolutely. I have seen people who are so busy looking ahead to their next job and their next promotion that they don’t do their current job as well as they should—and they say, “I will do better when I move into my next position.” That simply doesn’t happen. I also have seen people who resign themselves to doing only what others tell them to do—not searching out beyond their defined job. They get bored, or too comfortable, and begin complaining they are not challenged. If you aren’t challenged, you should do something about it. If you can’t do anything about it at work, then take classes or find hobbies to keep you challenged. I have also seen how not being a team player, being negative, and/or having poor communications skills can hurt a person’s potential—both in school and in the workplace, as well as in personal relationships.

Is there a specific event in your first job when you learned something you still use today?
I was asked to cover a certain event for the newspaper, which included a big crowd, releasing thousands of balloons, etc. It was a pretty routine assignment, so I didn’t put much effort into preparing. I went and took lots of (what I thought would be) great pictures, as well as interview people. When I got back to the office to develop the pictures, it turned out I had forgotten to check and make sure my camera had film in it. Two hours of clicking action photos, and I had nothing for the story! I learned then the importance of preparation and planning for every part of my job, regardless of how routine it is.

At that point, did someone give you advice that you carried and/or later passed on to someone else?
No one had to. I learned my lesson!

What obstacles that you faced had the greatest impact on your career path?
Learning to face each day with renewed enthusiasm and energy and not letting others define who I was or what I could do has come in very handy as a woman in engineering, especially in a highly technical and male-dominated industry such as power and energy.

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
My father. He is a very bright, talented man who had a very difficult childhood. He wasn’t able to go to college until much later in life (I was the first person on either side of my family to go to college), and he always made learning a lot of fun for me when I was growing up. My brother and I both worked to pay our own way through college and we now both have advanced degrees. My father always told me I could do and be anything I was willing to work hard enough for, regardless of what others might say. He was right.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
Approach this job with 100% of your energy and enthusiasm. Find ways to make your job and your workplace better. Learn from everyone around you, and show your appreciation to them.

What is most important for young people to know about the power and energy industry?
There is a bright future and lots of opportunities for high paying jobs for young people who enjoy science and math, and want to have careers in energy. What we do is critical to having strong communities and quality of life. The fact is that developing countries first need electricity and water before they can have the most effective technology advances, medical breakthroughs, or improved standards of living. We offer a vital service and products to a rapidly changing world.

What do you find most rewarding about your position today?
The people I work and interact with. First being our customers. One of the areas we serve electricity to is Pensacola, Florida, which was hit with two Category 3 hurricanes in less than one year (September 16, 2004 and July 10, 2005). We realized that, following a hurricane, we don’t just bring electricity back to people who had lost so much; we bring them hope. Hope that there will soon again be some sense of normalcy to their lives.

And then there are our employees. I have the privilege of working with my heroes every day. After Hurricane Ivan, 18 of our employees lost everything, and over 300 more had major damage to their homes. The day after the hurricane, a reporter from Gannett in Washington D.C. visited our storm center and I introduced him to one of our employees who had lost everything. When he asked her why she was there working when her family had lost so much, she looked at him and said simply, “because we have to get the power back on.” If that doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what can.