February 2015: I officially retired on January 2 this year from Accenture where I worked for the past 10 years as a Project Manager.
I won’t miss my alarm buzzing at 5 a.m. or my hectic commute to work each day, but I will miss my colleagues and the comradery we have shared over the years.
When I look back over the last 42 years of employment, I’m grateful for the opportunities I was given and I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish in those years. It was far beyond anything that I imagined.
I started working when I was 16 at the A&W as a Carhop. I worked many miscellaneous jobs, such as Cashier at Amy Joy Donuts and taxi cab driver, and then married and had 2 children before I finally found my passion, computers. After taking a course in Keypunching, I started work at Aeroquip in March 1970 and worked there 2 years. This was my introduction to computers and where the spark began. In January 1975, I returned to the workforce after having my 3rd child and started as a Keypunch Operator at the University of Michigan. At the U, my passion grew and I was given the opportunity to attend training and become a programmer.
This is where my job turned into a career. I steadily moved up the ranks each year, learning as much as I could. 5 years later, I left the University to become a Computer Consultant at General Motors. I have remained a Computer Consultant for the rest of my career and have never been bored. I have had the opportunity to work at many great companies, such as Brown & Root, Bank of America, Aramco, Shell Oil, and Halliburton learning more from each assignment. I was once told that my resume’ read like the list from the S&P 500. I was given the opportunity to lead the development and implementation of major computer systems for these companies, such as Personnel/Payroll, ATM Applications, and Financial Applications. I have traveled to many great places across the US, such as San Francisco, and Portland and also around the world, such as Rio de Janeiro, and Manila.
My most memorable moment was being invited to a Vice Presidential meeting at Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and being the first person called upon to speak. In this male domineered environment, where females are considered property, a woman has never been invited to this meeting let alone allowed to speak. It was a great honor for me.
Now I look forward with excitement to this new phase of my life. It is the beginning of a new adventure where I can reinvent myself and build a new mold called retirement. It’s a time to do new things, make new friends, and see new places. It’s also a time to rekindle old relationships and revisit old familiar places.
I can’t wait!
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