Being
Prepared Pays Off
Women of Color of Color in Government & Defense
by
Carole I. Smith
Page
3 of 3
Charlene
is concerned about the training of our youth, pointing
out that we will be dependent upon them in the future,
she notes that too many of them are not getting exposed
to technology in school. She wants one day to open her
own technology training center and urges us to put ourselves
out there and do what we can do.
Charlene
got interested in technology in high school
With over 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, Amicitia
Maloon-Gibson is the Territory Manager, EEO and Diversity
Field Services, Internal Revenue Services, Baltimore,
MD. A 21st century worker for real, she works in Baltimore,
drills in Atlanta and lives in Florida. As a Lt. Col,
in the Army Reserves, Cita, as she likes to be called,
is Chief Engineer of a command that supports military
operations and exercises, while also serving as supervisory
EEO and diversity manager for the command. Enlisted in
1975, next year she is eligible, and shooting for, full
colonel.
From
her perspective, in the country's current state of war,
IT plays a vital role. "Technology is a war fighting
multiplier that the U.S. must have to be a successful
force in the 21st century." "Tanks are now computer
driven," she says, "and cell phones are in the
battlefield."
Self-taught,
Cita is computer proficient. She's taken basic computer
courses, systems design and related classes. She has two
(2) Master Degrees and is working on a Doctorate. Married
with children, she understands the importance of a technical
education for her children as well as herself, and sees
the Army as a great place to acquire skills and grow professionally.
It
was great to hear so many success stories at the conference
in the midst of the bad news we hear daily. In spite of
the number of layoffs generated by questionable practices,
business at all levels is still moving forward. And, the
world of work is changing. The need for "knowledge
workers" is increasing. There will be certain base
skills needed to secure a job and remain employed. A certain
level of technical knowledge is going to be required of
all jobs. So too will be the ability to think critically,
communicate effectively and work in teams. So, I urge
you to do whatever you need to do to get the education
and training you need to assure that you have the dollars
to take care of you and your family's needs doing work
that interests you.
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