When I was a kid I would spend my summers at my grandparents’ house and I have many fond memories from that time.
They didn’t have cable or the internet so we spent our days outside playing and if it was raining we would be inside playing board games.
Thinking back this is where my love of automation began. I would spend hours playing the game mousetrap with my brothers and sisters and the idea that one movement affected the next was fascinating to me. The Trap would be built piece-by-piece and once a player felt they had it completed they could start the trap and hopefully catch an opponent’s playing piece. The idea that one simple movement could control such a long string of events led me to where I am today. I went to school for engineering and took a job designing building automation systems for large corporate offices. These systems are meant to run and maintain everything from lighting to security and even Heating and Cooling. Having a fully automated system means that the people who work in the building never have to think about these things and once the key programs are set in place it only requires a maintenance professional to ensure that everything runs smoothly. I love my job and it can be challenging to come up with innovative designs to fit each individual facility so I am never bored. If my grandparents were alive I would certainly contact them and thank them for having that simple game of mousetrap because it sparked my career choice. If you know a child who has an interest in designing any type of automated system you should encourage this because it could lead to his career in the future too.