Christina Sereday, DHL Christina Sereday didn’t always envision working in technology. From a young age, she enjoyed engaging with technology, but never thought about it as a career option. Her perspective changed during her military service. She belonged to a communications battalion where she learned about electronics fromworking with her peers on satellites and radios, which provided her with insight into the various ways in which technologies can be applied. That experience combined with her knack for problem solving has helped her grow into a role where she implements new tech tools and applications as an IT manager for DHL, one of the world’s leading logistics companies. “If you have a problem-solving mindset, then you have a good chance to do well in some realm of the technology world,” said Sereday. “That’s what computer programming and development are all about, looking at how to break down a problem and solve it, and how to replicate a real-world scenario inside of a system.” Sereday works in the lead logistics division of DHL, where she provides management and visibility for customer supply chains. This means that when DHL sells a solution to a customer, she’s part of the implementation team that assesses the current "as-is" process, then puts together the customer requirements and IT and supply chain knowledge to design the "to-be" process. She works with customers to understand their needs, and then along with a project team of other IT professionals, configures and implements a technology solution to meet those needs. Additionally, Sereday works on projects that use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Supply Chain Integrator (SCI)—transport management technologies that provide customers with greater visibility into the shipping process and allow them to monitor detailed updates about their orders. DHL and other logistics companies are also increasingly utilizing emerging technologies such as blockchain, which can improve the efficiency and security of supply chains. According to Sereday, it’s an exciting time to work in logistics. “I like that you get to solve complex problems and make an impact where the outcome is something tangible and can improve someone’s life,” said Sereday.
Rahela Anghel, Delta Air Lines Rahela Anghel’s career is taking off. She recently landed a job on an IT transformation team at Delta Air Lines, where she specializes in data analytics for one of the most forward-thinking companies in the airlines industry. Their analysis has helped Delta make strategic investments in its workforce, streamline communication between employees, and ultimately, enhance the travel experience for customers. Anghel loves working in IT, but her career path didn’t lead straight to tech. While working in an administrative role at LexisNexis, she had a chance to engage with IT specialists at the company. Fascinated by their work, she decided to enroll at Georgia State University (GSU) to study computer information systems. When she arrived on campus, Anghel was nervous about the coursework and prospect of finding a career, but she experienced a game-changing moment when she attended a Women in Technology panel discussion. “It demonstrated that success for someone like me is possible,” said Anghel. “That really encouraged me to reach higher than I thought I could at the time. I started picturing myself as a database administrator or cybersecurity specialist.” Delta’s investment in the Delta Student Success Center—a business development and learning hub that opened on GSU’s campus last year—also played a key role in Anghel’s career path. Anghel attended a recruiting session hosted by Delta’s IT team and saw an opportunity. She applied for an internship, and earned a spot on Delta’s IT transformation team. One year and two internship extensions later, Anghel graduated from GSU with a degree in computer information systems and accepted a full- time position with Delta. She says it’s an exciting time to join the IT workforce at Delta, which was recently named one of the most innovative companies worldwide by Fast Company, and a top company to work for as a software engineer by Glassdoor. Anghel says Delta Air Lines' motto “keep climbing” has stuck with her. “That’s something that inspires me,” she said. “It’s what I’ve been trying to do since I got here, and Delta is the perfect place to continue doing it.”
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CompTIAWorld | FALL 2019
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