HEY World,
On this day four years ago, I rolled up to the Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc. headquarters in Denver, CO for my internship orientation. It’s one of those corporate office buildings that has windows covering an entire side, and is sandwiched between a golf course and a busy regional airport. It’s actually beautiful. I parked and stepped out of the ‘96 Isuzu Trooper that I had been.. borrowing?, and then noticed a fellow intern strolling up to the front door in a nice ass suit. “Shit”, I thought. In that moment, for a split second, I considered hopping back in the car and going rouge. I looked down at my shoes. “Na, these are sick UGGs - let’s do this”.
Throughout that first day I’m sure I met everyone on my current team, including the people who are still my biggest role models, mentors, and friends. But, I couldn’t tell you what my first impressions were, or that I knew what the hell was going on. The details are mostly lost, which I think is the case for most things that are years in the past and happen so fast. What I do recall is the general feeling of being totally uncomfortable, intimidated, and somewhat dizzy (fairly normal for me). After giving my awkward introduction in a small conference room, the intern group was given a tour of the building. We all know the feeling. Walking around with strangers that you’re expected to build relationships with. The place was buzzing with professional looking people. Usually they were in pairs or small groups, talking business or whatever, carrying their laptops, texting or emailing on their phones. I had my Boeing notebook they gave me under my arm and would smile and do that nod thing when folks walked past.
Between Day 1 and the end of that summer, it’s all a blur. I’m sure I did a few things that helped the team in some way, but for the most part it was a couple months of trying to learn the basics (and fun events that were put together by the incredible program leaders). And that learning was not easy. At least not for me, I had virtually zero work experience and knew nothing about aviation or software development. So, I was very much “drinking from a fire hose” - a popular phrase that people love to use. Thankfully, my team had another intern who was my partner in crime. Amazing. We did well, helped each other, and had a blast.
After the internship I went back to Fort Collins to finish school. I took some company equipment and set up a little home office in my apartment right off campus. I wish I had a picture. Between classes, homework, and the few tutoring jobs I held down, I would call into meetings and occasionally work on Jeppesen stuff. When I started to realize that it could turn into an actual career, I dropped one of my majors and.. most of my classes. I replaced the tough ones like Advanced Mathematical Statistics II with Intro to MS Office. That one was online and I blew threw it in about 3 weeks. I was all in on Jeppesen. But, I remember it being a tough decision. I had worked so hard to put myself in a position to graduate with the credentials I wanted. Reflecting on it now, I think there is a great life lesson (maybe multiple) to be examined. I’ll just welcome you to think about that with me.
Fast-forward to today. I’m still getting after it. Our team looks different, and the product (FD Pro) does as well. I continue to learn about aviation, software, design, business, product management, etc. And I’m happy that I get to learn by doing - that’s the best way. Surrounded by the top leaders, programmers, UI/UX designers, inventors, and thinkers in the industry. And not just at Jeppesen, Boeing, ForeFlight. We are working on a tool that’s used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. There’s a community within the airlines and between our teams that’s full of (and consisted of) so many passionate, savvy, talented individuals who truly formed the path to where we are today. Revolutionaries. I so wish I could have experienced the early days of it all. It’s crazy to think that I wasn’t even born when many of my coworkers were creating everything (they appreciate when they get reminded). Well, I love that I get to have a part in it now though, and I’m hoping that as I continue to grow as a PM, the impact I’m able to make in this space also grows along the way.
Funny: My first day as a full-time employee I was scarfing down a strawberry Poptart in my cube. Senior PM swings by, “Ah, Pret, still eating like a student, huh?”.
Here’s to four years, to whatever you’ve been up to. 🍻
On this day four years ago, I rolled up to the Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc. headquarters in Denver, CO for my internship orientation. It’s one of those corporate office buildings that has windows covering an entire side, and is sandwiched between a golf course and a busy regional airport. It’s actually beautiful. I parked and stepped out of the ‘96 Isuzu Trooper that I had been.. borrowing?, and then noticed a fellow intern strolling up to the front door in a nice ass suit. “Shit”, I thought. In that moment, for a split second, I considered hopping back in the car and going rouge. I looked down at my shoes. “Na, these are sick UGGs - let’s do this”.
Throughout that first day I’m sure I met everyone on my current team, including the people who are still my biggest role models, mentors, and friends. But, I couldn’t tell you what my first impressions were, or that I knew what the hell was going on. The details are mostly lost, which I think is the case for most things that are years in the past and happen so fast. What I do recall is the general feeling of being totally uncomfortable, intimidated, and somewhat dizzy (fairly normal for me). After giving my awkward introduction in a small conference room, the intern group was given a tour of the building. We all know the feeling. Walking around with strangers that you’re expected to build relationships with. The place was buzzing with professional looking people. Usually they were in pairs or small groups, talking business or whatever, carrying their laptops, texting or emailing on their phones. I had my Boeing notebook they gave me under my arm and would smile and do that nod thing when folks walked past.
Between Day 1 and the end of that summer, it’s all a blur. I’m sure I did a few things that helped the team in some way, but for the most part it was a couple months of trying to learn the basics (and fun events that were put together by the incredible program leaders). And that learning was not easy. At least not for me, I had virtually zero work experience and knew nothing about aviation or software development. So, I was very much “drinking from a fire hose” - a popular phrase that people love to use. Thankfully, my team had another intern who was my partner in crime. Amazing. We did well, helped each other, and had a blast.
After the internship I went back to Fort Collins to finish school. I took some company equipment and set up a little home office in my apartment right off campus. I wish I had a picture. Between classes, homework, and the few tutoring jobs I held down, I would call into meetings and occasionally work on Jeppesen stuff. When I started to realize that it could turn into an actual career, I dropped one of my majors and.. most of my classes. I replaced the tough ones like Advanced Mathematical Statistics II with Intro to MS Office. That one was online and I blew threw it in about 3 weeks. I was all in on Jeppesen. But, I remember it being a tough decision. I had worked so hard to put myself in a position to graduate with the credentials I wanted. Reflecting on it now, I think there is a great life lesson (maybe multiple) to be examined. I’ll just welcome you to think about that with me.
Fast-forward to today. I’m still getting after it. Our team looks different, and the product (FD Pro) does as well. I continue to learn about aviation, software, design, business, product management, etc. And I’m happy that I get to learn by doing - that’s the best way. Surrounded by the top leaders, programmers, UI/UX designers, inventors, and thinkers in the industry. And not just at Jeppesen, Boeing, ForeFlight. We are working on a tool that’s used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. There’s a community within the airlines and between our teams that’s full of (and consisted of) so many passionate, savvy, talented individuals who truly formed the path to where we are today. Revolutionaries. I so wish I could have experienced the early days of it all. It’s crazy to think that I wasn’t even born when many of my coworkers were creating everything (they appreciate when they get reminded). Well, I love that I get to have a part in it now though, and I’m hoping that as I continue to grow as a PM, the impact I’m able to make in this space also grows along the way.
Funny: My first day as a full-time employee I was scarfing down a strawberry Poptart in my cube. Senior PM swings by, “Ah, Pret, still eating like a student, huh?”.
Here’s to four years, to whatever you’ve been up to. 🍻