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

Rebeca S. · 02/01/24

The Smartsheet Community aims for the stars, and we love that about you!

The responses to January's question were fantastic - You want to get certified, and be more present, but also do 365 kickflips, run a 5k marathon, become Smartsheet Overachievers, and so much more. The Community is cheering on you!

Now, let’s explore a new question & earn badges and points while getting to know your peers.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up (and what do you do now!)?

Let’s look back at all those childhood dreams. 😄

Notice something different? The Question of the Month badges got a fresh new look for 2024! Drop your answer in the comments below, and start collecting them all. ⬇️

About Question of the Month:

We kick off each month with a new question. These monthly ice breakers are just one way to help you get to know your Smartsheet peers and rack up some badges and points in the process.

Everyone who participates by answering the question prior to the end of the month will automatically receive a unique participant badge once the question closes at the end of the month.

In addition to the participant badge, the top three answers based on Community member votes will receive the Top Answer badge. To vote on an answer click on the upvote icon associated with an answer in the comments below. Multiple votes allowed and encouraged!

Will Duplex · 02/01/24

When I was a kid, I wanted to be just like my dad and deal with stocks/finance and be somewhere in that realm and industry. I always had a love for numbers and math as a student, and I took that passion with me throughout college.

I currently work for Target HQ and have overlaps into finance alongside handling the budgeting for my team. A large portion of my job also involves Project Management and stakeholder engagement which satisfies the "business" part of my brain.

I would be incredibly proud to know as a child that I'd wind up in a career that aligns with my passion! I'm also proud that I started from the ground up beginning at 16 years old pushing carts in a parking lot & cashiering, and knowing that I wanted to do more and to make a positive impact with the work that I do, regardless of my position.

AMPM_4ME · 02/01/24

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot and/or a clothing designer. I wanted to go places and meet new people. I love watching the runway shows and duplicating the designs. Of course I was teased about my clothes, but I didn't care. My small town would catch up in about 6 months to a year later.

I now work the legal department of an international company and speak to people from all over the world. I love traveling and enjoying the local cuisine.

My love of fabric has become my medium of art. I am an accomplished seamstress and can make anything from fabric. Here is my last project. And no, the center medallion is not a photo its about to 25+ pieces of fabric.

If I can draw it, I can make it.

Tamara Purchase · 02/01/24

I always thought I wanted to work with kids when I was younger. Be it as a teacher, pediatrician, or what have you. Took me until after I graduated from college to realize that my true nerdy love was numbers and organization. By chance, I managed to snag a position in Accounting where I was at the time and my mentor was more than happy to teach me the "secret Excel things". I was hooked! Now, after many decades, I still work in Accounting and I love it! My days are filled with figuring out the difficult problems ("Why is my balance off by a penny?!) and continuing to build my skills as I share my knowledge with others. I guess that means I'm still a teacher. Either way, my nerd heart is happy! ❤️

Tammy Sutton · 02/01/24

When I was a kid I wanted to be a pediatrician. I wanted nothing but to be able to help and heal children. Now, as an adult, I work for a company that helps our tiniest patients. We have cameras and other applications and resources in NICUs around the world. I am a Project Manager for the MilkTracker team which is a HIPAA compliant feeding management system. Prior to that I was an integration team lead doing both leadership and development of interfaces.

A lot of things happened in life to get me where I am. As a young adult, I never thought I'd be making more than $10 an hour and that I would just end up as another statistic. I was half right....I am a statistic being a woman in computer information systems.

Danielle Arteaga · 02/01/24

When I was a kid, I wanted to be the first woman President of the United States. I wrote an essay about this in the 6th grade. For some reason, I believed I needed to become a lawyer as the first step toward this huge goal (although - and I am dating myself here - Ronald Reagan was the president at the time, and he was an actor, so ... 🤷🏻‍♀️) My teacher happened to be married to a lawyer, and she would take me after school once a week to his office to observe. He, in turn, took me to court with him a few times. That path led me to law school. To my great relief, there wasn't a math section on the LSAT, and one of my favorite jokes was that I went to law school to because there was no math. (Although, that wasn't entirely true ...) I practiced for about 13 years before my dissatisfaction and disillusionment (such a long story) lead me to a second career in business strategy and operations. And, whoooo boy, is there math aplenty. But, that yielded one of the greatest revelation of my life - I am, in fact, not bad at math at all. I often wonder what path I would have followed had I "math" mentor the way my sixth grade teacher and her spouse mentored and nurtured my presidential ambitions (of which I now have negative-infinity-squared. 😆)

DesireeJones · 02/01/24

Hello SmartSheet Community,

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a UPS driver when I grew up. Long-term employment at UPS runs in my family, so that was all I knew as a kid. I idolized the brown uniform and the big trucks because I remember how much time both of my parents spent at work, even during the holidays. Although I did not become a UPS driver, I did eventually work for UPS for 5 years and experienced positions in many different departments.

Now, I work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Business Analyst in the Finance department. I work with different financial systems and help improve business processes and procedures while maintaining effective working relationships. Although I don't get to carry on the UPS legacy, I remain honored to use past experiences and apply my skills and knowledge to the prestigious organization.

Thank you!

CatSusk · 02/01/24

An astronomer, until I realized it involved more than looking at the sky through a telescope!

carol7323 · 02/01/24

I wanted to study archeology, live between Paris & Cairo & be a curator of Egyptian artifacts. I even studied art history & French, but never completed my studies. Today, my husband & I travel as much as possible and visit museums and historical places to feed my passion.

Ric T · 02/02/24

Growing up with sci-fi novels and tv shows, always wanted to work in the space industry. Today, I'm in business development in the Aussie Ag- an Food-tech sector. Reckon we'll see 'Space Farmer' as a job ad in our lifetime.

CodyRussell · 02/02/24

When I was younger, I wanted to be a pilot. I'm currently working in Supply Chain and Operations as a Director of Planning and Logistics.

Paul Newcome · 02/02/24

There were so many things I wanted to do when I was a kid. Some of them I have done and found it wasn't for me. Other things I have done and found they are better for me as a hobby. And then yet other things were great for a time but I have since moved on from. Now I get to express my inner nerd and build Smartsheet solutions full time, my tree service keeps me moving, and my small engine repair keeps me tinkering.

Monique Odom-Stearn · 02/02/24

The first job I can remember wanting was to be a teacher. I loved learning and answering questions, and so that made sense to my young brain.

Today, I am a Business Process Excellence Manager. My job is to learn how people do their work, learn the tools and programs available to us, help solve problems and create solutions, and teach and answer questions about those solutions. I love it!

Nicole Endsley · 02/02/24

I wanted to be a lawyer, astronaut, race car driver, marine biologist, and travel writer. What did I end up doing? I became a teacher and a state government worker. Maybe I need to go back to the drawing board and pick something more exciting 😂

adam.b · 02/02/24

When I was a kid I wanted to be either a movie director or a chef. I almost went to college for film, but decided on Business School. Luckily I never stopped cooking, started a catering business in college to pay for my tuition and housing. Unfortunately I never continued my culinary career, but like I mentioned I never stopped cooking.

Jen Lawson · 02/02/24

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I decided to study forestry- and went on to run a bookstore for 16 years. Then, I had to change careers and became an account manager for an OTC, cosmetic, tablet manufacturer. Once I found out how cool it is to be able to see how things are manufactured, I stuck with that- moving to soap manufacturing and then more cosmetic/OTC manufacturing. Now I work with pharma manufacturing in the R&D realm and get to see how mRNA is manufactured, as a planning/ order managing specialist.

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

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up (and what do you do now!)?

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Monique Odom-Stearn

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