Mr. Ulysses Banks, Electrical Engineer, Booz, Allen and Hamilton

Career Path - Education and Experience

Mr. Ulysses Banks, an electrical engineer with one of the largest companies in the world, Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, is a man who likes to get involved in his community. “I like to give something back,” he says, as he combines his career of electrical engineer with coordinator of school volunteers.

Although he came out of high school with an interest in electrical engineering, after awhile Mr. Banks found it too difficult, and decided to instead go to school to become a pharmacist. “That was even harder, because I couldn’t keep remembering all the medical definitions,” he laughs. “The terminology kept changing.”
Once again changing his course, Mr. Banks joined the military and became involved in communications. There, as a network manager, he got experience working with encryption and modems, which proved to be a helpful precursor to his work now.
Deciding to continue on with his education, Ulysses earned a degree in telecommunications from Pierce College. Then, while traveling the world, he chose to register in school in Switzerland, and received a degree in communication technology. Later on in life, Mr. Banks was ordained as a minister, and now holds a Masters in ministry.

What he is woring on now:

Mr. Banks currently works at Booz, Allen, Hamilton as an associate, which is a level three analyst, for NSA. He came on board the company last September, after resigning from his position at a computer science corporation. The work setting was what drew him to Booz, Allen, Hamilton. “I’m used to working with others. Booz, Allen encouraged that. I was very excited about that; that’s why I came to this company,” he explains. Learning early through sports and the military the benefits of teamwork, Mr. Banks knew that a setting that offered a great collaborative environment was more productive, and to him, more favorable. “You always want to work with a good team. You get a lot more done.”

The team effort is important for a large company such as Booz, Allen, Hamilton. A consulting and contracting company, Booz, Allen, Hamilton divides itself into two different groups: the world commercial business base team and world technical base team. The former goes out and finds businesses for the corporation, while the latter, which is the group Mr. Banks works for, is the side that helps make the businesses work.
“We advise. We look at peoples’ situation and advise what’s best for them, and then how we can help them get to that level,” he explains. Responsibilities include helping organize the company, getting its business known, establishing a good customer base, and controlling funding to sustain business. “In every facet of that business, a consulting firm comes to compliment your business,” he says to sum it all up.

Ms. Bridget Boardman, Ececutive Director, West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce

Career Path - Education and Experience

by Nicole Schaffner Meade Senior High School
As the Executive Director of the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Bridget Boardman must oversee the day-to-day operations of the Chamber,a business organization that, through membership, provides certain benefits to those businesses. In addition, the Chamber works as a legislative advocate for these businesses to promote their interests with local governments. The Chamber also works a marketing tool for its members by publicizing how well business is doing in the Western part of Anne Arundel County. Specifically, Ms. Boardman’s duties include creating and attending community events, organizing seminars and community meetings, and attending public forums as a representative of the member businesses. A large part of her job also includes enticing new businesses to join the Chamber.
Ms. Boardman came to the Chamber in a kind of roundabout way. After graduating from Ohio West Lane University, where she studied biology, environmental science, and chemistry, Ms. Boardman was sort of a stranger to the business area. However, she learned a great deal about the field by operating her own event planning company for three years. After joining the Chamber as a member, Ms. Boardman became very active in its operations. When the job as director opened up, she was offered the position by the other members and graciously accepted.
“It was a welcome surprise for me. I love interacting with people and I enjoy bringing together events and possibilities to better people’s businesses. “ Ms. Boardman adores what she does and loves that every day brings something new to her plate. She has decided to keep her science background as her hobby so that she can donate her professional life to her new interest, the promotion of business.

What she is working on now:

In addition to devoting her life to bettering the business community, Ms. Boardman also has a new interest which she finds quite exciting. The Chamber has reinstituted its Education Committee in the hope of establishing more of a relationship between the Chamber and the private and public school systems. Career advice and professional internships for high school students are just two of the items on the committee’ s agenda. These programs, and others like them, would enable some interaction to occur and give aspiring students opportunities to come into actual business settings and explore what is available to them. Although these ideas are now only “in the works,” Ms.Boardman hopes to continue to grow and nurture the partnerships between education and business for years to come.

Ms. Regina Young, Administrative Assistant, Booz, Allen, and Hamilton

Career Path - Education and Experience

By Laken Roberts

As an administrative assistant at Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, Ms. Regina Young has the important responsibility of helping out one of the company’s four regional vice presidents. From travel details, to meetings, to company events, Ms. Young is at hand to make sure everything is organized. Her boss’s absence from office does not let Ms. Young off the hook; cell phones have made it easy for her and her boss to talk when separated, even if he’s half the world away. Mrs. Young is no stranger to the pressure that comes with last minute details. As with any job that deals with a lot of particulars, Mrs. Young relies on organization to help make her work a success. She writes down everything she hears, which is usually only once. When given a certain task with little specifications, sometimes it’s all up to her to “make it work.”

A graduate of Arundel High School, Ms. Young went on to attend Anne Arundel Community College, where she earned an Administrative Arts degree in office management. She worked at NSA in the personnel department to gain her clearance, and was thinking of returning to school, but realized she didn’t like human resources. Instead she took up a job with another company, but it wasn’t long before she switched over to Booz, Allen, and Hamilton. She started out in Bethesda working at the corporate office, but rapid growth soon called for the need to expand, and so Ms. Young moved out to McLean, VA, where the corporate office now resides. She has been working at the National Business Park office for seven years, brining her total number of years at Booz Allen to seventeen.

What she is working on now:

Mrs. Young enjoys the job of administrative assistant because it allows her to work and collaborate with other people; sitting in front of a computer monitor all day was something she didn’t want to do. When a new project – the Workforce Leadership Council – was proposed, Mrs. Young volunteered to get the program running. At first she was alone in trying to kick start the program, but her persistence paid off, and this past year over 150 employees came out in support of the council, which reaches out to other branches of the company and sponsors events outside the main offices. It was a way for the employees to come together and feel more connected with each other, and it’s because of Mrs. Young commitment to Booz Allen and her peers that the council became a success.

In addition, Ms. Young works with the community, from getting involved with local high schools like Meade and Arundel to participating with the Relay for Life and Walk for the Cure. One project she is working on through Booz Allen is in association with the Kennedy Krieger Institute; she and her group are creating circuit boards to help teach children their ABC’s. So whether in the office or in her daily life, Mrs. Young always finds time to help others. It’s this benevolent attitude and positive work ethic that helps Mrs. Young enjoy what she does.