On Thursday January 26, Christy Wyatt, Corporate Vice President and General Manager at Motorola Mobile Devices and parent of Sophomore Taylor Mahal, came to the Upper School to speak to the students about her career experiences.
The talk, sponsored by the Tech Club, consisted of a brief introduction and discussion and then continued on to a Q&A.
Before working at Motorola, Wyatt worked at Apple for four years as well as Palm, Sun Microsystems, and Environmental Systems Research Institue (ESRI).
While her role at Motorola is a managing position, her previous roles were based purely on software programming.
“The transition was gradual,” Wyatt said. “I am happiest when there is a big, big ugly mess, and I fix it up and build it back up.”
When it comes to high school students who are interested in programming she recommends interning over the summer “at more than one place to really understand the various cultures.”
The three factors she believes are key when it comes to hiring are “A strong academic background, what interesting things you have done, and how passionate you are.”
“I had a strong interest in a lot of the engineering stuff she has done, but the fact that she was in a management position got me even more interested in coming.” said Shantanu Joshi, Vice President of the Tech Club.
After the Q&A, Wyatt asked a series of questions and gave out prizes, including a Xyboard Tablet as well as an inflatable Motorola headset for everyone who attended.