About IBM People

A New Career: Making a Mark at Work and as a Volunteer Rob Firmature

Rob Firmature is a development engineer working in Boulder, Colorado, for the IBM Printing Systems Division. His current assignment involves development and customer support for industrial printers. Rob joined IBM in 1998 after receiving his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa. Though his first assignment was divided between both development and customer support for production color printers, the customer support work was particularly interesting to him. In this role, he had the opportunity to solve high-priority, challenging problems at customer locations as far away as France - - a far cry from his home state of Iowa. Rob's career is off to a fine start. He has been promoted to Staff Engineer, has been recognized for his work at the Boulder Technical Vitality Council's annual recognition dinner and will graduate from the IBM 2001 Leadership Excellence Program in August. In addition, Rob was recently recognized by the 2001 National Engineers Week (NEW) chair and IBM Chairman of the Board Louis V. Gerstner, as an outstanding NEW 2001 Volunteer focusing on diversity. His work with NEW was inspired in part by his attendance at IBM's Multicultural People in Technology (MPIT) Conference. This conference brought together multicultural technical professionals across IBM in the U.S. to understand marketplace dynamics and the implications to the IT business. Attendees also learned about technology trends within IBM and the IT Industry, gained insight into what customers are looking for in a solution provider, and had the opportunity to network with colleagues and senior executives. IBM: How did your experience at the MPIT Conference affect your outlook? Rob: Listening to all the excellent speakers and talking with the talented attendees not only gave me a much clearer understanding of IBM and our diversity strategy, but also truly inspired me to change my attitude from one of planning and preparing for all the things I want to do in the future, to an attitude of "just get up and start doing some good." I really believe that the conference was a turning point for me in my career. It inspired me not only to volunteer during NEW, but also to submit a patent disclosure. IBM: The invitees to the MPIT Conference represented multicultural backgrounds. Would you share a little about your background with us? Rob: My tribal background is Chippewa-Cree from Montana, on my mother's side of the family. I grew up in Iowa near my father's Italian-American side of the family and attended the University of Iowa where I received both of my degrees. IBM: Why did you choose to volunteer for National Engineers Week? Rob: The idea I had for visiting schools during National Engineers Week went along well with my long term goal of getting more involved and giving back to my family's community in Hays, Montana, on the Fort Belknap Indian reservation. I figured that NEW would be a great opportunity for me to talk to some kids about engineering and let them know what's available to them. IBM: How did you get your vision in motion? Rob: At the meeting I had with my manager after attending the MPIT conference, I asked if he would allow me to donate two days of work time for the school visits. He agreed to give me the time. I then consulted with and got support and some good input from my relatives in Montana and started making arrangements. I set up visits at three high schools and the tribal college. IBM: What were your impressions after the event? Rob: In general I thought the presentations went very well. I was surprised by the fact that none of the students or staff that I talked to at any of the schools had ever even heard of NEW, and that only about three high school students had any idea what engineers do. So, at the very least, I feel good that all of them now have a description of what engineering is and know a heck of a lot more about engineering than I did when I was in high school. And hopefully, I got my points across to them that not only is there a lot available to them, but that they really can become engineers if they want to. I also tried to emphasize that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to help them. IBM: How do you feel about your recent recognition as an outstanding National Engineers Week (NEW) 2001 Volunteer focusing on diversity? Rob: I am very honored by the recognition and feel very lucky to work for a corporation where my personal goals overlap with the corporation's goals and receive so much support.