You May Ask Yourself, “How Did I Get Here?”

At the age of 18, I thought the most important decision of my life was deciding which dress I should wear to prom.  Looking back now, I see that I couldn’t have been more wrong.  At the age of 18 I also made the decision to attend Drexel University for the next five years. Wait… five years to finish college? Upon hearing that someone went to college for five years, one usually assumes that the student had a little too much fun in college and had to take an extra year in order to graduate. In reality, Drexel professors take the “15-week semesters” and complete them in 10-week quarters. Oh, and summer breaks? Drexel doesn’t have those; we go to school all year round.

What is the benefit to learning the same material in less time and not having a summer vacation? Drexel students use the extra time to participate in six-month internships, known at Drexel as “co-ops,” to better prepare their student for careers after graduation. I was able to pick out three different full-time, six-month jobs within the field of Environmental Engineering. I spent my co-ops designing green infrastructure, investigating ground water and soil contamination, and monitoring air pollution, with the goal of learning what exactly I wanted to do after graduation. I graduated in June 2012 with a great degree and a resume that was able to show off five years of hard work without having to mention my experience scooping ice cream at Coldstone Creamery or teaching the backstroke to children at a local swim club.

My journey to ALL4 as a Staff Engineer began in my junior year when I attended a local Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) event with Kevin Hickey.  After meeting Kevin and getting a sense of who he was as a consultant, supervisor, and business owner, I was sold on the idea of ALL4 Inc.  A year later, I had begun the application process with ALL4 and found myself at the same networking event.  At this point I had already memorized the faces of the ALL4 employees from the company website. While at the networking event I remember introducing myself to Meghan Schulz, with whom I was scheduled to conduct my phone interview the next day. Before I left, I made sure to talk to each of the faces I recognized as an ALL4 employee.

After surviving the phone interview and written expressions, the final step was a four hour interview in our Kimberton Office.  I wasn’t nervous about the interview; instead I was nervous about driving on the Turnpike for the first time in my life all alone in traffic.  After accidentally forgetting to grab a ticket, and thankfully meeting some very nice turnpike workers, I pulled into the Kimberton parking lot at 6:15 AM for my 8AM interview. I learned three very valuable lessons that day. Number 1 – don’t forget to grab the ticket on the Turnpike. Number 2 – when the GPS tells you the commute will take an hour, you shouldn’t assume that “with traffic” it will take you three hours.  And finally, Number 3 – ALL4 is the perfect fit for a recent graduate that wants to work hard, continue learning, and be exposed to a large variety of environmental clients and situations.  After one full month of working here I can say that I am very happy I chose ALL4. Although the work may be difficult at times, I am constantly learning and every day becoming a more integral member of the ALL4 community.