[This is the fourth in a series of posts exploring the personal stories of real women in technology. Every woman in tech overcame at the very least statistical odds to be here; this blog series aims to find out why, and what they found along the way. Those of you engaged in the virtual and IRL SQL communities may already know Erin Stellato from her active and informative presences at conferences and user groups, on Twitter and on her blog. Here, she talks Commodore 64s, nature vs. nuture and her evolution from Kinesiology major to Senior DBA. If reading her story inspires you to share yours, please feel free to email me.]
My name is Erin Stellato and I’m a Senior Database Engineer for a software company outside Cleveland, Ohio. I have been working in technology for almost 11 years, and with SQL Server for over 8. I’ve been involved in the SQL Community since 2010, and spend my time on Twitter, blogging and presenting at SQLSaturdays. I am active in our local user group and will be presenting at my first PASS Summit this fall.
1) Can you take us back to your “eureka!” moment—a particular instance or event that got you interested in technology?
I think it starts with my dad…he always had the latest electronics. My dad loves watching TV, especially movies. In our house this meant that we had a big TV, a satellite and a VCR. We also had an Intellivision, which was a bummer for me because all my friends had Ataris, but I still played it. A lot. We also had a Commodore 64. I remember my mom sitting down and typing out a “Hello World!” program. I tried it as well, and figured out how to make it type different words. I thought that was cool. My mom worked in the radiology department of a hospital, and when I would tag along when she got called in. I was able to see her use the Ultrasound or CT machines, which were pretty new at that time. It was a lot of lights and buttons, but you could see inside a person on the fly. It didn’t require the waiting of a normal x-ray…point, shoot, develop, wait, and then see. Technology was pervasive in my life growing up, but it wasn’t something we discussed. It was just there. Continue reading Stories from the WIT Trenches: Erin Stellato
