Balancing Work, College, and Volunteering An Interview With Joel Shift Operations Manager

"It's pretty busy in here," Joel observes as he fingers his gleaming Hewlett Packard* iPAQ pocket PC.

Joel's calmly spoken words may give the impression he is a soft spoken, reserved person, but to those who know him it's the calm before the storm of energy and vigor he brings to everything he does.

His schedule would make others drop. The well-liked Shift Operations Manager (OM) is also completing his degree in electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). After graduating, he has no plans to slow down. When asked about his next big goals, Joel breaks into a broad grin and launches into an animated listing of his numerous volunteer projects.

Joel's enthusiasm for volunteering has not gone unnoticed. On September 16, 2004, Joel joined Harry Danso as one of two Intel Massachusetts employees to win an Adult Achiever award from the Worcester YMCA's* Minority Achievers program.

"Joel is a wonderful role model who combines technical expertise, a love of helping kids, and enormous energy," says Rob Richardson, Intel's East Coast Education Manager.

When Joel started at WPI, he didn't think he had time for volunteering, but missed the satisfaction it gave him. So he strengthened his time management skills, synchronized his home and work computers with his new HP iPAQ, and found a way to do it all. Joel feels "extreme gratitude" for Intel's continuing education and work life balance programs that have helped make his WPI program possible.

Serving as a board member of WPI's Community Council, Joel focused on the importance of diversity and pluralism in the faculty, staff and student population within the WPI community.

He has also been an interim Student Senator and a member of the Black Student Union, raised funds for the National Society of Black Engineers* (NSBE), and plans to tutor NSBE Junior and middle school students through the Minority Achievers Program.

At Intel, Joel seems to have a hand in many of the company's Hudson/Worcester community projects. He has volunteered to judge school robotics contests and taken part in the recent Network of Intel African American Employees (NIA) cleanup of Worcester's Castle Hill Park. A member of the NIA board, he chairs the Shift 6 NIA team and has been instrumental in raising diversity awareness throughout the organization.

What's next? Joel's energy and enthusiasm seem to have no boundaries.

"I'm working with a great group of people and, as we grow as a team, I'm enthusiastic about developing new relationships and contributing to the success of the team," said Joel. I also plan to continue my involvement in the community through outreach efforts and by acting as a role model and mentor to others."

One possibility Joel is looking at is to move beyond judging school robotics contests to coaching them.

"It looks like so much fun," he says with a grin. And before you know it, Joel grabs his iPAQ and heads off to his next big adventure.