GirlGeek of the Week
September 1999

Sheryl Glore

I have been interested in technology ever since my first job as a cashier at a grocery store in 1977. Our cash registers would calculate the number of items per minute we would ring up-this was way before scanners. I used to race with the cashier next to me to see who was the fastest on the keypad. I clocked 132 items per minute once!

From there I progressed to an IBM programmable workstation where I would enter in receiving reports from our vendors and transmit the data to our headquarters. When I got my first computer, a Zenith Z-100 in 1984, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I was working in a budget office at that time with people who were used to doing everything in the "stubby pencil" method so I took it as my personal mission to automate the office. I was hard pressed to find something that I couldn't put on the computer. It was then that I knew I'd found my place in life.

Eventually I worked my way into a system administrator job for Wang Minicomputer. After a huge learning curve from the world of personal computers and five years of 2:00 a.m. phone calls I moved into my current position of program manager dealing with network infrastructure and architecture. I have the best job on Patrick Air Force Base because I have the opportunity to learn about all the latest technology and am involved in determining the future direction of the network for Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

When did you first discover your love and/or obsession with computers and technology?

When I got my first personal computer in 1984. I was a secretary in the budget office and once I learned the capabilities of the system I was writing spreadsheet macros and programming in dBase II as well as my word processing duties. The first time I hooked up a modem and transmitted data at 1200 baud I knew life would never be the same.

Do you consider yourself a Geek?

Yes! And proud of it! I even have my own pocket protector. The best thing about being a GirlGeek is there is never a line in the ladies room at a computer conference. There aren't enough of us yet!

What is your favorite Website?

The Daily Miscellany. It is a wonderful way to start the day.

What do you do when you are not working?

My favorite thing is spending time with my husband and 10 year old daughter (who I hope is showing geek tendencies). Left to my own devices, I love to read.