Loading up on Education: Valdrin Sadiku

Valdrin Sadiku, Class of 2009, Prospect, CT

What are you up to? I’m in my final year at The University of Hartford, studying Risk Management and Insurance. I also just started a full-time position at Travelers Insurance in Hartford, CT working in the claims department. I have also been very fortunate to work with a start up company Tauruseer, a Risk Management Platform, for this Spring semester.

How'd you get here? After my high school career was in the books, it was a rough road of working countless hours. I wasn't interested in going to college right after high school, so I moved to Florida in 2010 and worked for a home improvement company loading trucks at Raymond's Building Supply Company. The long physical hours put a big toll on my body, physically and mentally, and I knew that this was not where I wanted to be. I felt that the only solution to make something of myself was to pursue my education again.

After years of being away from school, I finally enrolled to Pasco-Hernando State College in Wesley Chapel, Florida in 2015. I found myself with a new generation of students where I thought I was never going to fit in, but man was I wrong. Joining the institution was a great eye opener for opportunity as well as understanding that age is just a number. In 2017 I received my AA (associates degree). This was just the beginning of a long road in education.

In 2018, I moved back home to Connecticut and had the goal of finishing my education in a well respected university. I chose The University of Hartford to study in the Barney School of Business. By working hard to meet deadlines and to be the best student possible, I achieved membership status in the National Honor Society, which is truly something I thought I would never accomplish.

Just remember that it doesn't matter what your background is or how old you are, the opportunity to grow starts with the will you have in yourself.

What are your goals? I am grateful to be employed and start a career with a well established company at Travelers. I feel this is just a starting point in my career where I can learn the principles of the insurance industry and keep moving forward. I plan to work hard and become an Underwriter or Risk Manager for a well respected firm. The ultimate goal is to own my own business or reach the level of a Vice President in the insurance field. Don't let fear get into the way as risk can be a valuable reward. The sky is the limit, if you want it bad enough.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? Crack the books harder. Be responsible for your positive outcomes, learn from the negative.

Training for Adventure: Kristin Mabry

Kristin Mabry, Class of 2013, San Dimas, CA

What are you up to? I’m currently living in California. I road tripped here from my hometown, Watertown, CT in 2018. I’m a personal trainer and nanny as well. I am working hard every day to grow my own personal business in personal training in hopes to be a successful entrepreneur that allows me to travel the world and take work with me wherever I go. My aspiration is to inspire others to feel empowered to be their best selves physically, mentally, and emotionally.

How'd you get here? I came to California because my boyfriend lives here and we were doing long distance for a while. I decided to make the move when I felt like it was ready to take the next step. I also also dreamed of living in California and it all seemed like a dream coming true. ALWAYS trust in your journey, through the good and the bad. God works in amazing ways and everything happens for a reason, don't rush it.

What are your goals? Ah jeez, I have too many! I plan to be successful as a health and fitness coach sharing my passion for helping others around the world. I have met some INCREDIBLE people along my journey that helped me become better every day. I also want to travel the world, have a healthy and happy family one day, and to open my own gym (way in the future) once life settles down after adventure,

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? RELAX. Things don't need to be planned out. You never know what life will throw you way and it's important to enjoy each day and live in the moment. Don't rush growing up, it's not as free or fun as you may think. Looking back, high school was one of the BEST times in my life. I wish I enjoyed it more rather than wanting to get out so quickly. You only have these moments and days ONE time, so soak it in and ENJOY.

The Power of Predicting the Future: Ryan Jacovich

Ryan Jacovich, Class of 2009, Watertown, CT

What are you up to? Currently working as a database marketing analyst at Reed Exhibitions in Norwalk. They are the worldwide leader in organizing trade shows in both the business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) realms. Some of the more well known shows we organize include the PGA merchandise show, New York Comic Con, PAX shows, and Book Con. 

My job comes into play on the data side. I spend a lot of my time writing SQL code to pull data from our internal database of contacts. This determines our set of individuals that would receive messaging about an upcoming show. 

The other major portion of my job is devoted to special projects mostly of a statistical nature. This is the area that interests me the most because I can try to literally predict the future! We use statistical modeling techniques to try and solve business problems. A few examples include predicting which of our exhibitors are likely to not come back to the following year's event, and scoring a specific list of individuals to try and figure out who the best customers are. Some of these projects are being done for the first time within the company, so I've been able to grow with these projects. The fact that all of this can be done using math is honestly pretty amazing. 

My most recent project has been to build an entire database from scratch using a newly learned programming language.  Myself and two others from the team have been pulling our best "Silicon Valley" impersonation by not only building the database, but putting that data into a visualization software program for others in the company to be able to consume it easier.  Rather than having to make some charts and graphs in excel, you simply just pick what you want to see and everything you need to know appears at the push of a button.  It has been the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do, but it has been incredibly rewarding.

I have been granted the opportunity to work on some amazing projects here.  It is easy to go to work when you love what you do and enjoy who you do it with.  Our team knows how to stay loose and have fun.. certainly not your stereotypical data nerds.

How'd you get here? I graduated from Bryant University in 2013 with a degree in Business with concentrations in Finance and Applied Math and Statistics (quite the mouthful). I started off planning to be some sort of Wall Street banker managing my investments, but quickly learned that it wasn't all that interesting to me. 

I've always been a math person and my first statistics class had me hooked. I graduated with a 4.0 in my stats concentration and got my first job right out of college at Mohegan Sun. I was privy to all sorts of interesting data on our customers and was able to learn my second programming language. I also was able to apply the statistical modeling techniques I had learned at Bryant. I was there for a year and half until I was headhunted on LinkedIn (get a profile if you don't have one) and wound up at Reed 3 weeks later.

What are your goals? I want to keep learning. I have the privilege of working with a full-time statistician, which has been amazing for advancing my knowledge in the field. I want to be able to answer questions with data rather than opinions. An answer backed up by numbers and facts is a powerful answer indeed.

It's also a goal of mine to get my work-life balance back in order. I've been spending a lot of time focusing on work, so I've made it a point to go out more. I've picked up golf in the last year, joined the company softball team, and made some more appearances at happy hours in the Norwalk area.  I'm still undecided, but I've thought about moving down to Fairfield/Norwalk as well.. great area!

Advice for WHS Students? 

1. Although you may be a ways away from the work world.. make sure you find something you enjoy doing. Sitting down at a desk job would be brutal if I didn't honestly love working with data. 

2. I mentioned it earlier, but get a LinkedIn and keep it updated.  I've come across countless opportunities from it and it's the only reason I'm at Reed right now.

3. Be respectful and open to helping people.  They will remember; trust me!

What is your greatest weakness? Probably my attention to detail. Sometimes I get too wrapped up and focused on a problem. I can do 90% of the work in 30 minutes but the last 10% might take 2 hours.  That 90% might be good enough already!

Business Chic and Inspired: Gina Bianca

Gina Bianca, Class of 2009, Southington, CT

What are you up to? I currently own a successful hair salon in Southington which I established in 2014. Gina Bianca Hair is one of the best hair salons in the state and I employ eight talented professionals who are dedicated to making people's day! We service clients from all walks of life and always enjoy the diversity that our location and brand gives us. Currently, I am in the process of expanding my location from 1600 square feet to 4,000 square feet and we have only been open 18 months. Outside of working in the salon, I am in the process of closing on my first home, which will double as an income property. In my free time, which is scarce, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and family, spoiling my dog and traveling when I can.

How'd you get here? When Junior year at WHS came along and I had to start thinking about college, I must have applied to 20 random schools for all different things. I wanted to be a plastic surgeon, a marine biologist, a teacher, a guidance counselor, a social worker - I had no idea. I had never performed well in school, so I ended up finishing high school and planned on working until I figured it out. Right before graduation, Mrs. Zimmerman assigned us a project where we had to create a business plan and a business for our final project. For no specific reason, I created a hair salon that doubles as a tattoo shop. I was so excited about it and put more time and passion into that assignment than any homework I had ever had. It got me thinking about hair school. I ended up signing up on a whim at the Paul Mitchell School in North Haven and it changed my life forever.

Flash forward a few years and I was doing hair, stuck in auto pilot and not truly fulfilled. I was partying every night, not giving work much effort and pretty much lost passion for what I loved. If you really want to know the secret of how I became successful so quickly, it was that I gave up drugs and alcohol for a solid 3 years and became solely focused on my goals. I knew I wanted to open a business and the one thing holding me back was myself. I spent all my money at the bar, didn't have motivation and surely wasn't looking professional; so I completely stopped! My sobriety opened my eyes to a new world. It hadn't dawned on me that I was never truly myself all of these years, I was living a lifestyle that was destructive and not pushing me towards my goals. I stopped drinking 9/13/12 and remained sober until January of 2016. After all of my hard work and accomplishments I decided that I was allowed to have a little fun again! The discipline, focus and control I had when I was completely sober and focused is how I got where I am today. Now I have no issue partying and having fun in moderation but I am so grateful for the time I spent focused on my career goals!

What are your goals? My goal is to follow through with our expansion and help my team achieve all of their personal and professional goals. I hope to have a staff of 20 inspiring people and grow GBH into a million dollar salon by 2018. We are projected to hit our goals if we keep going the way we have been. I also would like to build my dream house by 2020 and invest in a few more rental properties!

Advice for WHS Students?

1. Always be true to yourself and never think your dreams and goals are too big. Have goals and dreams that are so big you feel uncomfortable telling small minded people. You will be surprised how much support you receive from strangers over friends and family. The people you think will be there for you sometimes won't and that's okay - some journeys are meant to be traveled alone.

2. You have no control over how people act or what happens to you. The only control you have is how you react to what life throws at you. Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react. Also know that if your dreams and goals aren't happening then chances are the problem is you. If you are strong enough to make sacrifices and adjust your behavior you can literally achieve anything in this world that you want - and if anyone tells you otherwise cut them out of your life because chances are they will never be happy for you anyway. 

3. If you're the smartest person in the room you're in the wrong room.

4. Make your Mom proud.

What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? I can't even remember the last time I was at the movies but I'm obsessed with Netflix and am currently watching The Office for the 10th time!!!! Something therapeutic about it for me :)