Nadine Whitfield:
CLASS OF 1982
Northgate High SchoolClass of 1982
Walnut creek, CA
Northface UniversityClass of 2006
South jordan, UT
California State University Class of 1988
Hayward, CA
Los Medanos CollegeClass of 1985
Pittsburg, CA
Nadine's Story
Life
In Jan 2004, I returned to school fulltime in pursuit of a second degree in Computer Science. This required a move to Salt Lake City UT. My school is well connected in the industry and offers a revolutionary approach to computer science education with lots of real-time, experiential learning. The program is highly accelerated and takes 28 months to complete. I've had to put my freelance career as composer and musical conductor on the back burner for a little while, but as the current CA governer would say..."I'll be back".
It's a little strange being on a student budget again after being employed for so long, but I feel like I made the right decision because I am enjoying myself immensely. I still ride my BMW motorcycle for fun, and occasionally get back to CA for a visit or out to southern UT for a camping trip. I'm also hoping to make Sturgis and Daytona one of these days!
I've been using the wonderful research facilities in Salt Lake City to research my family history and have thus far ammassed a database of 400 names. I aspire to create and deploy a website that will enable members of my family to collaborate and combine their collective knowledge to tell the story of our family in America.
I also volunteer for the Sundance Film Festival and the Park City Jazz Festival in my spare time (a very short commodity!).
If you see this and want to get in touch, please do contact me. I have not been as good about keeping in touch as I would like, and want to improve!
Peace
Nadine
School
I had a crush on Earth, Wind and Fire.
In high school Mr Tippery (chemistry teacher) inspired me to learn and love a subject that I initially hated.
I would go back, but only if I knew what I know now.
Craziest, funniest high school memory: Learning how to play the trombone left-handed and qualifying for district honor band. Another great memory was when the women's basketball team made it to the state finals during my senior year.
College
College was when I started actively working as a freelance musician. I travelled all over the greater San Francisco Bay Area and played for musical shows, symphony orchestras, casual gigs and also tutored other students in music theory.
My most vivid memories from college were performing with Joe William...Expand for more
s (vocal soloist from the Count Basie Orchestra), playing a set with Tom Scott (composer of theme for Cagney and Lacey) and singing with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus....but thankfully not all at the same time!
Workplace
After graduating from college, I got a job with the US Postal Service. I was a mail carrier for several years and then bootstrapped my way up to being an electronics technician at the Oakland Processing and Distribution Facility. I was a postal employee for 15 years and it was an awesome place to work because I could still participate in musical endeavors to my heart's content (it just sucked to get up early in the morning the day after a gig). I also did a short stint as a mariachi musician and have the traje (mariachi outfit) to prove it!.
Current Job: L3 Communications West, Salt Lake City UT
After seeing that I had reached a career plateau, I decided to return to school for a second degree in Computer Science. I now study fulltime at Northface University in Salt Lake City UT. The program is accelerated and you earn a BS degree in 28 months of intense hands-on coursework. I started in Jan 2004 and will be graduating in Spring 2006. I'm loving the work and learning alot. I got tapped by the marketing department to help promote the school. This led to interviews with the Salt Lake City Tribune, KSL newstalk radio, and the Associated Press during 2004. They also used a picture of me for the homepage of the school's website. It's been fun, but I told them next time, it will cost money!
In addition to working on the degree, I'm studying for Microsoft MCSD and then will start on IBM WebSphere certifications.
Military
I was a member of the Air National Guard for 10 years and it was a great experience for me. My specialty (AFSC) was first Ground Radio Maintenance and then I cross-trained into Computer System Operations. Although I was a reservist and mostly served in California, I did have the opportunity to do a tour of duty in Honduras where we helped them rebuild their infrastructure that was damaged by a hurricane.
In April 2003, I got called up for active duty under operation Enduring Freedom, but the entire tour of duty was state-side. Still, I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve my country this way.
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