Deborah Howington:
CLASS OF 1980
Kearny High SchoolClass of 1980
San diego, CA
Deborah's Story
Life
I graduated Kearny High in 1980 and then began the very exciting, often unplanned chapters of my life;
Chapter 1: I joined the US Army, Military Intelligence.
The next year and half was at Language School at the Presidio of Monterey (learning German), then other specialized Military Intelligence schools. I was then sent to Berlin West Germany (before The Wall went down) as a Military Intelligence Analyst where I spent 3 glorious years exploring Western Europe by planes, trains and automobiles.
Chapter 2: A Student and a Mom in Gainesville, Florida.
I married while in the military and my husband (Mike Howington - also US Army) went to the Univ. of Fl. We had a daughter, Katie, in 1987 -shortly thereafter elected to Divorce. My husband was ROTC Air Force and completed school in Gainesville, pending relocating for the military.
Chapter 3: The Mountains (literal and figurative)
Moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where I worked in the Film/Video Industry. My ex-husband lived there as he was now an Air Force Officer (NORAD) and we shared time with our daughter. In 1996 I began a career as a High Tech Recruiter.
Chapter 4: Recruiting - the Best Job in the World!
I began a career during the staffing boom of 1996+...couldn't have made a better choice. I was soon more financially secure than I'd dreamed and bought my first house in Denver. I was then recruited to Michigan for an offshore development company and then recruited yet again to a company called Computer Associates as their Regional Staffing Manager. Unbelievably I soon bought my second home in a lake suburb of Michigan. I moved to Chicago, Illinois shortly afterwards to more fully take on the role of Regional Manager for Computer Associates.
Chapter 5: Startups and Stops
The startup boom in High Tech was around 2000 and 2001 (until 9/11) and I jumped on that wave - until it crashed, as many did post 9/11. I became the Director...Expand for more
of Staffing, North America for T-Systems (a sister company to T-Mobile in the US) and bought my third home in about as many years - thinking it was time to settle in. Chicago was everything I had thought it would be....for awhile.
Chapter 6: Florida Hurricanes - all Four
In 2004 I moved to Florida for a short-term HR Consulting contract with a local Utility company (Electric)...just before all FOUR Hurricanes hit Florida for the first time in 40+ years. I stayed far longer than my short contract to help them through it. This turned out to be one of the best decisions as human character is often tested during times of duress - and I was grateful to see the levels of human kindness, thoughtfullness, and selflessness that people offered each other during this tough time.
Chapter 7: Microsoft
I was recruited to Seattle, Washington - and to Microsoft at the end of 2004 where I am living and working today. My daughter (now 20 years old) goes to College here. I work at Microsoft in Talent Management which includes Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Succession Planning for the Senior Executives of the Entertainment Division of Microsoft (Xbox, Zune, etc). I then took the (International) journey with Microsoft and lived & worked in Israel, Paris, Munich - and traveled to Singapore, London, Brussels, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Istanbul and many other countries.
Chapter 8: Recession brought changes and I was recruited to a company and moved to Washington DC (BAE Systems) (British Aerospace) where I run the Talent Acquisition for the Intelligence, Electronics and Support Division of North America.
Thus far, the Chapters of my life (all 8) have been full of challenge and opportunity - and I've felt blessed and grateful for all of it. I'd love to hear from any of my Kearny classmates and read about the Chapters of your life as well.
Remember Kearny High...we're not done yet...look out World!
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