SSP: Tell me about yourself.

ALD: I was born in South Africa, and I grew up in a small rural town called Vredendal.  It is located on the west coast of South Africa. It was a safe and conservative culture. My dad was an insurance agent, and my mom was a music teacher. I wanted to be a horse trainer.

We did what small town kids do – we played outside and we spent a lot of time with our friends.  Since my mom was a music teacher it was required to play an instrument.  I also played Netball (a team game similar to basketball). I have always loved reading and spent a lot of time escaping through books.
My parents were very upset that I didn’t want to go to University, but I was holding fast about working with horses – until one day I literally woke up knowing that I had to go.

SSP: What did you study?

ALD: I liked Indiana Jones so I started studying archaeology. But the first day we did a practical which required digging. I realized then that I didn’t like getting my hands dirty.

SSP: And then what?

ALD: I also loved geography. That’s where I got exposed to GIS. So geography was my major, but I also went on to study urban design.

SSP: What was college life like in South Africa?

ALD: At the time I went to school, there were only a few accredited universities in South Africa. I went to Stellenbosch University. (Stellenbosch University is located in the town of Stellenbosch, which is South Africa’s oldest town after Cape Town.) It is a beautiful place. The scenery is amazing. It is the wine country of South Africa. I graduated on December 12, 1998. The next day, I moved to Atlanta and stayed there for 10 years.

SSP: Why move?

ALD: I had a student loan to pay back, but I couldn’t find a job that would pay a lot of money. This was right after Apartheid ended. The government was trying to shrink the wealth gap, so they weren’t paying highly-trained people much money.

SSP: Tell me about growing up with Apartheid.

ALD: It was like it didn’t exist for me. Rules were set, and most people worked within those rules and for a child it was the way things were.  It was only as I got older that I started questioning the status quo.

SSP: When did things start changing?

ALD: Things started changings in the late 80’s. People became much more active. The African National Congress – Nelson Mandela was part of this group – were considered to be terrorists. The AND got their arms and resources from the Libyans, who were working with the Russians. There was a lot of violence.

SSP: And what was that like for you?

ALD: We had bomb drills growing up. And classes on how to identify landmines.

SSP: And after Apartheid ended?

ALD: Affirmative Action took out well-trained people from white-collar positions, but they didn’t take time to train others. So people didn’t know what they were doing. The government did all of this to shrink the gap between wealthy and poor, so many people couldn’t get jobs anywhere. A lot of people went to Europe. However, as parents get older, the same people are now returning to live closer to their families. There is still a lack of formal jobs, so they started their own businesses. People became creative in technology. So in spite of everything that the government has done, a lot of people who moved away are coming back and doing really well. I think that these same people are going to apply their creativity to alternative power since a lot of power plants have closed.

SSP: Many people moved to the UK, but you moved to the US.

ALD: Yes, I moved to Atlanta. I was offered a job working in commercial real estate doing GIS. I taught myself ArcView 3.1 and got more involved in it. I never had the intention of moving from Atlanta, but the real estate market dropped and I applied for a job at MTEMC working in IT. I had just been a functional user of GIS before. I could not understand why MTEMC brought me in for the interview as I clearly didn’t fit the job description.  But I ended up having a good interview.

SSP: That turned out well.

ALD: John (Florida) and Dane (Appalsammy) saw something in me. Everything about systems is what they taught me here. I found out that I was a born project manager.

SSP: And what will the future bring?

ALD: I’m getting a little older, and the way I’m looking at life changes. I am becoming very serious. I need to buy a house and settle down. I am preparing for retirement. I am preparing for the End Game.

SSP: That sounds … dramatic. What else will you do?

ALD: Of course anything horse related.  Playing the piano is now a hobby.  I also belong to a supper club. In the past I have thought of myself as a foodie, but now I have made peace with the fact that I simply just like to eat (and enjoy adult beverages).  Of course a good meal would be worthless without the corresponding good company of my close friends.  I still read a lot for pleasure. It is part of my sleep routine and yes, that is what happens when you get to the last part of your life – you have to have a sleep routine. Note that exercise does not figure into my happy hobbies, but it is perhaps an unhappy hobby – required due to my advanced age and a certain happy hobby listed above.

SSP: And you will stay with MTEMC?

ALD: I’m in my sixth year at MTEMC. So far, so good. I have to plan on as if I will be here for the next 20 years.

SSP: Would you ever return to South Africa?

ALD: I won’t go back to South Africa other than to visit. Right now, I am applying for US citizenship so I hope to stay.

SSP: And, finally, who is your favorite SSP Project Manager?

ALD: This guy Matt is wonderful. But the whole team is great. SSP has given us hope that it is ok to have high expectations of our vendors.  That we are not crazy for expecting a quality deliverable and quality services.  To us, that is a gift, and we thank you for it and appreciate it very much.