Photo Credit: Jes Schultz Borland

[This is the second in a series of posts exploring the personal stories of real women in technology. Back in April I wrote a bit about my own history and about the problems, systemic and idiosyncratic, plaguing women who chose  a career in most sectors of the tech world. Writing it was surprisingly cathartic, and the response to it was powerful enough to make me want to push it further. 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. This week we have the dynamic and inspiring Jes Schultz Borland, whom many of you know from her incredibly active social presence in the SQL and WIT communities. In March, Jes described her professional journey,with all its dips and twists and catalysts, for SQL University WIT Week, and reading her story was part of what encouraged me to tell my own. If reading this does the same for you, please feel free to email me.]

Hi! My name is Jes Schultz Borland. I live in central WI. I’m a runner, an avid cook, a Jaycee, and a database administrator for a Fortune 500 company. I love what I do. I love keeping SQL servers running with minimal downtime, I love writing scripts to automate or fix processes, I love writing reports, and I love helping developers tune queries. I’m also very involved in the (amazing) SQL community. I love answering people’s questions, I love speaking at user groups and SQL Saturdays, I love being on the board for my user group, and I love learning. I tweet, I blog, and I speak regularly.

1)      Can you take us back to your “eureka!” moment—a particular instance or event that got you interested in technology? Continue reading Stories from the WIT Trenches: Jes Shultz Borland →