J a l cweasa valu a bconlributnr

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al Fark. wegrewfroma couple
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inferconnecled
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port was better information.I helped improvethe rudimentarydatabase experienceit was to teach some of my former teachers!(And,of course,
systemswe had in place,which were usedto track customerinformation sittingat the teachertableat lunchbeingthe only one addressing every-
and log calls.Thisenabledthe continuallyexpandingsupportteamto one as Mr. Miller,Mr. Kellogg,Mr. Katz,Ms.Cunningham,Ms.Tucker,and
know customersbetter,reducecall length,and increasecustomerreten- MadameCabot.)| havefond memoriesof the many Parkteacherswho
tion when thingswent wrong. taught me in the classroom,as well asthe teachersand schoolstaff whom
As a consultantfor eight years,I was able to work at the forefront I knewthroughmy sisterand parents.
of web-basedinformationcollection/collaboration tools,advancedana- l'm inspiredby the continuingadvances in technologythat change
lytics/optimizationsystems,and the latestin e-commercetechnologies. the way we live,work, and communicateon a daily basis.I am excited
I helpedclientssolveinterestingproblems,suchas how to buy 5400mil- to seehow cloudcomputingand mobiledeviceswill evolvein the
lion worth of folding cartons(food boxesfor cereal's,Popsicles, etc.)more next coupleof years.Personally,I am working on a number of projects
efficiently,or how to createweb-basedproductsfor digital photography that combine my love of travelingand learningabout historywith mobile
that would drive"foot traffic"to 5,000stores. technologyand location-based services.Longterm, I anticipatesome
Two yearsago, I was lookingfor new challengesand decidedto join currentlyunimaginable developments in materials
sciencewhichwill
the startup air taxi service,Blink,in London,which is where I was basedat bringaboutsignificant advances in hardwaretechnology-digital paper,
the time. lt was an opportunity to work on building somethingfrom batteries,nanocomputers,and who knowswhat else!
scratchand to do things that no one had done beforein the sector.This
new role leveragesmy experiencein logisticsand optimization,e-com-
merce,and online marketing,aswell as my broad exposureto security,
hardware,and software.Accurateand timely informationis a core compo-
nent of running a low-cost,low-margin,high-volumebusiness. Whereis
fuel cheapest? Whichpilotsshouldwe usefor thisjob? How shouldthis
flight be priced?How effectiveare our salescampaigns?How do we cap-
ture, analyzeand archivesafety-related data?How do pilots relayimpor-
tant customerinformationbackto salesand operationsin realtime while
in the cockoit?
Parkplayedan important role in my technologycareer.I remember
playingon the old Applell computersin the computerlab on the fourth
floor.When I was at Park,we didn't do much more with computersthan
that. But it was my ongoingrelationship with Parkthroughouthigh school
that brought me backas a technologyvolunteerfor Tom Smithas more
modern Macswere replacingolder computers.One of my favoritetasks
was servingas a "computerhacker"who would test out the securitysys-
tems to make surethat privateinformationremainedprivate.I alsostayed
activelyinvolvedwith the Parkcommunityat large,helpingmanyPark
famllieswith homecomputingneedsasan independentconsultant. I also
rememberhelpingTom run trainingsessions for faculty-what a neat

The Park School Bulletin I Spring 2010 27