Keeper of Secrets

Fortunately (or unfortunately), I didn't become a software engineer.  When I was in high school, I was naturally introverted, had excellent analytical skills, and was advanced in math.  All the subjects I took and the career assessment tests I participated in pointed to the path of an engineer.   I couldn't imagine, however, pigeonholing myself into such a category. So I became a keeper of secrets instead.

I was supposed to attend San Jose State University.  But I enrolled at Heald Business College in San Jose and recieved an Associate of Arts Degree in Applied Science Secretarial.  That was a fancy name for a degree in becoming a secretary.  That's right.  I went to Heald to become a secretary and had nothing less than straight A's.  It was a trade school that enforced and reinforced my knowledge of the English language and the grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills needed to write well and edit.

I learned to take dictation in Gregg shorthand at 120 words per minute and built my typing speed to 93 words per minute on an IBM Selectric III.  It was also at Heald that I learned about accounting principles (those blasted T accounts) and added numbers quickly using a 10-key adding machine by touch.  I was word processing on a Wang system and learned about floppy disks and a disk operating system.  I even worked for Heald part-time to help teachers correct papers and tutor other students.  I also typed up papers for the technical students and charged them $5 per page.

The quick trade education helped me get my first real job -- as a secretary at Fujitsu America, Inc.  If you look up the definition of secretary, the original meaning is "keeper of secrets," "confidant."  I certainly kept a lot of secrets during my career as a secretary, and I still practice that today.  While I worked at Fujitsu, I decided that being a secretary would not be enough.  My then boss Rosalie was the one who encouraged me and told me that I would be a vice president some day.  She advised that I should go back to school.

So I did just that.  I decided to be smart about my money though.  I couldn't afford a full 4-year college education, and so I chose to knock out my undergrad lower division units at Mission College.   The upper division units would have to be figured out later.  But going to Mission, working full-time at Fujitsu, and raising a family kept me going.  I was young and full of life and energy.  I loved every challenging moment.

Wouldn't you know it....I worked really hard for a 3.98 GPA.  I was awarded an Associate of Arts Degree in Business at Mission and won a scholarship to Golden Gate University.  How fortunate I was.  I got a free ride to finish out my upper division and achieve a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management.  I will have to write about my time at Golden Gate because it involves an "it's a small world" full circle moment in my life.

But back to my education and work history.  During the time I went to Mission and then to Golden Gate University, I changed jobs and went to work for the City of Palo Alto as a secretary in the City Clerk's Office, supporting the Mayor and Council Members.  I blogged about that already.  After getting my Bachelor's, I went to work at Cooley Godward Goodrich  & Rosati as a document processor.  That experience itself is enough to blog on, which I will do in the future.  I later became the manager of the night-shift document processing department.  It was the beginning of my 2-firm stint at law firms, and I learned to manage people.  I also helped open up the Cooley office in Reston, Virginia.  It was my first time to travel for business, and I discovered that living in a hotel for 2 weeks can be quite boring.  I still am thankful for that experience though.

I picked up on legalese quickly and easily at Cooley.  I even thought about going to law school and getting a law degree, but seeing those summer interns and early year associates work like mad (spending nights at the firm sometimes just to keep up) disenchanted me.

After Cooley, I went to work for Preston Gates & Ellis (Bill Gates's dad's law firm) to help them open up a Palo Alto satellite office.  They originated in Seattle and opened up a San Francisco office.  The woman who managed the San Francisco office poached me from Cooley because she knew I was smart and could learn quickly and handle it.  I had reported to her at Cooley, and she contacted me while I was in Reston.

With the Preston office open in Palo Alto, I was just waiting for associates and partners and clients to use the office.  But hardly anyone came.   So most of the time, I was at Preston Gates in Palo Alto at the corner of Hamilton and Alma all alone.  I was bored out of my mind.  I was overpaid because I was being paid to do absolutely nothing.  There were times when I would go to the San Francisco office to stay occupied, but you could only keep asking for more work before you get tired of it.  I finally decided to quit and move on.  I didn't have anything lined up.  When I submitted my resignation, the woman who hired me became very unprofessional, which was a strange experience for me.  Maybe I'll blog about that in the future.  She was an interesting character.

When one of Preston's clients learned that I resigned, he asked if I wanted to come work for him.  He was starting a company called Cuica.  It was in my humble opinion (IMHO) ahead of its time because it involved online "context sensitive advertising." I'm sure you have seen and have experienced this idea and its very proliferation all over the internet today, but Cuica was circa 2000.  With my business background, accounting and finance experience, office management knowledge, legal talent, technical abilities, and secret-keeping skills, I was an all-in-one package and powerhouse.  It was also the beginning of my love affair with startups.

After Cuica, I joined Valdero.  Then it was off to HotChalk and a couple of years in New York City to collaborate with NBC Universal and McGraw Hill.  Then after moving back from New York City and significant life changing events such as my father's passing, I joined Egnyte, where I am today.  I also was involved with Espressi, Inc. and am still involved with LinkSV.  I almost stayed in New York to join a company called Funky Sexy Cool, but I needed my California family and vice versa. 

I love startups, I love technology, I love Silicon Valley, I love the fast pace.  I am fortunate to have the skills and talents I possess that expose me to these things.  These days at Egnyte, I am a director dealing with human resources, legal, IT and facilities.  I have accounting and finance expertise as well but have handed that off to a controller.

There is another startup that is rearing its beautiful head that I might be involved in, but only as an advisor, not an employee.  The technology idea of that startup seems exciting and might revolutionize the way human resource experts practice today.

As I look back on my career, I cannot forget that I started out as a secretary.  This was a solid foundation for me as I moved on and up to more and more exciting opportunities.  I feel fortunate  and am blessed.  I will never stop being a secretary at heart, a keeper of secrets.  Trust me.