February Question of the Month - Join the conversation and receive a badge

Jaime Ciabattoni

I went through so many careers as a kid! When my grandmother took me to "Take your daughter to work day" at Merck I wanted to be a genetic engineer...then I found out you needed to be good at math. Then I wanted to be a writer...but figured out quickly I wasn't fully committed to that either.

In middle school I did my first play and then in high school found how much being part of a community theater filled my soul. I started performing at multiple theaters. Of course, as a Leo, I adore the applause and praise from being in shows (🤩), but when asked why I really do it I always say..."For a few hours, I'm able to bring an audience into a world outside of their own. Where they can leave their troubles and worries at the door and just BE here with me."

Now, I'm a project manager which has its ups and downs but I still do theater. In 2023, I declared it "Jaime's Year of Theater" and I was lucky enough to be cast in FIVE shows at five different theaters!! All the while building up a community of friends in the town I now live in. And I can finally call it home. 💖

I attached a photo of my different 2023 roles....from top right and around....

John/Elvis - "Four Weddings and an Elvis"

Sister Augusta - "Drinking Habits"

Lucy - "A Charlie Brown Christmas" <-- Dream role!!!

Zena - "Women & One Acts"

Celia - "The Misanthrope"

I am VERY honored to be starting this year in my favorite play (and another DREAM role), "The Glass Menagerie" where I am playing Laura. We open March 8th!

boeshcameron

I was all over the place with career ideas as a kid - I went from veterinarian, to doctor, to lawyer. However, as I got older the only thing that really stuck with me was the idea of doing something that helped others in a positive way. Now I work in Recruitment and I get to do that in a way - I am connecting people with their passions or helping them start out their careers in the field they wished to be in as a child in some instances. It feels very full circle!

Joe Goetschel

When I was a kid I wanted to be in a touring band and play music as a job! I was in many bands and still play drums to this day, but I am 100% good with not living the life of a full-time musician!

Today I get to do what I love! (Started this week!!!) I am the Smartsheet Director for SCS Cloud! Now I get to build and provide solutions every day for anyone who needs to grow their business to the next level using smartsheet!

I couldn't be happier! 🤩

Rebeca S.

Congratulations @Joe Goetschel, very happy for you! 🎉🎉

Nick_the_PM

When I was a kid, I went back-and-forth between two possibilities for my grown-up life:

1. 🔬 Scientist - I had no idea what kind of scientist I wanted to be, but I wanted to the white lab coat and to work in a lab
2. 👨‍🍳 Chef - I was obsessed with my play kitchen set and all my plastic play food and cooking utensils (see image below for a pretty-close example of what I had as a child):

Freshman year of college I was pre-med but soon realized that I hated the idea of being a doctor -- so, I ended up studying computer science with an emphasis in web development & design and eventually fell into the realm of program/project management! 👨‍💻

Melitta

I wanted to work with people and I worked in a wide variety of areas before landing in project management. As a project manager, I work with a lot of people. I really enjoy that it's solving problems and lots of communication.

Cvo

Growing up I had aspirations to be a lawyer. I always felt that criminal law is where I would end up. But life has a way of taking you down a path and leading you to other waters. I now work in project management within special hazards fire suppression. Definitely not where I saw myself as a little girl, but definitely rewarding!

MilesinAtl

I aspired to be an Architect until I realized I had to work as a drafter for years without recognition

Elizzj4

My name is Lizz Juarez, and when I was a kid, I first wanted to be an attorney because of my parent's nasty divorce; I did not want children to have to endure that type of pain and experience. Everyone in school kept telling me that it was a far-fetched dream and that I should be more realistic. Then later, for the longest time, I wanted to be a secretary in a high rise in Los Angeles because when I was a kid, in those times, women were not seen as anything more than secretaries. I have grown as a company's VP of a corporation in the construction industry. Now, I love to spend my time helping companies grow and be more efficient with Smartsheet.

Shaffi Mithwani

When I was a child I wanted to be an airplane pilot. I was intrigued by the sheer complexity involved in flying a plane and the satisfaction of landing it safely. In any art class, I would draw an airplane. With time, in grade five, as I got glasses and from the noise around me, I heard that pilots don't wear spectacles. This is where I painfully let go of my pursuit.

Currently, I sit in the cockpit of my own logistics business with over eighty passengers onboard, manoeuvring it through the highs and lows of internal & external factors. With some good fortune, I came across Smartsheet, a compass that has helped me navigate my plane safely for over ten years.

Flying a plane (not a commercial one) is in my bucket list. Should time be on my side, why not?

Shaffi Mithwani.

Marcus_Keller

During my younger years, I always envisioned working with children, whether as a teacher, pediatrician, or in a New York wrongful death attorneys. However, it wasn't until after college that I discovered my true passion for numbers and organization. Serendipitously, I landed a position in Accounting at the time, and my mentor eagerly introduced me to the "hidden Excel tricks." I was instantly captivated! Fast forward many decades, and I still find joy in my Accounting role. My days are spent tackling challenging problems (like solving the mystery of a penny off balance!) and continuously honing my skills, all while sharing my knowledge with others. I suppose I've ended up being a teacher in my own way. Regardless, my nerdy heart is content! ❤️

Laura ZJ

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. I actually 'taught' an 8th grade English class. My teacher got me out of Science class (I still had to do the work in Science) so that I could teach her 1st period English class and give her a break. I don't know if my school had any idea I was doing that, but the Science teacher was aware and I did it for the entire trimester.

I didn't go into teaching, however, in my current role as program coordinator, I am in charge of implementation/maintenance/training for a software tool. I'm also a go-to person for many software applications so I do 'teach' a few times a week.

cvvasey

As a child I wanted to be an author and English teacher. Once I went to college I realized I didn't like children enough to be a teacher and then wasn't sure what I wanted to "do" for work, so I kicked around retail jobs and secretarial work until the late-1980's when desktop computers began entering the workforce. I discovered I had an inherent affinity for understanding technology and applications, and that I had quite the knack for training others to be comfortable with all this new-fangled stuff. From there, I ended up as a technology professional over the last 30+ years doing training, technical writing/editing, process improvement, and project/program management. Regardless of my actual title, I always end up in a position to develop or improve processes and create customized tools for my current team, including custom databases, SharePoint solutions, Smartsheet systems, etc.

rosegarretson

When I was a child, I wanted to be a professional musician - which is actually what I studied in college. Music theory, is remarkably like computer coding. In fact, several companies recruited from the music theory and composition disciplines at the music school. Which leads me to being a Smartsheet nerd. It's all part of the creative, problem solving brain. Now, I'm professionally a Project Manager - the kid in me is still a musician. It's the best of both worlds!

Michelle Choate 2

I wanted to play flute professionally. I ended up getting my bachelor's degree in music performance. Now, I am the manager of operations for a company that builds low and median income modular housing, creating all of their smartsheet infrastructure.