I have been working for Gault Family Companies in Westport for a little over two years now and was recently promoted. I started in customer care answering phone calls and learning everything about the company. Now I am learning the install side of the business as the sales operation and customer success administrator. For those of you who have never heard of Gault before, it is a family owned company since 1863 six generations. It is essentially three companies in one. There is an energy and home solutions division, which is where I work but they also have a stone and landscaping division as well as properties and development division.
What was your educational path after graduating from St. Mary School?
After graduating from St. Mary, I went to Lauralton Hall and played three sports to keep me busy. Although I love all the sports I played, my favorite is volleyball which I continued to play in college along with the other two basketball and softball. I played intermural sports in college on a co-ed team. We played every sport they had to offer including dodgeball, handball, softball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, hockey and probably more that I can’t remember. Freshman year of college I went for mechanical engineering at University of New Haven. After the first year I transferred to Fairfield University. There I changed my major to Mathematics and graduated with a Bachelors of Science. Currently I am more than half way done with my masters program at Southern New Hampshire University. I am studying online for my MBA in project management and operations.
Do you feel SMS provided you with a foundation for your future?
SMS was such a great foundation for me as a child so much so that I’m sending my almost four-year-old daughter there now for preschool. I would not want her to go anywhere else. Learning a big life skill like time management prepared me for high school, college, and I am still using this skill today in the workplace. SMS helps students prepare for life by their strict structure and high expectations. All the hard work done there makes life a little bit easier.
What are some of your favorite memories of SMS?
Some of my best memories were made at SMS. One of the many great things about SMS is the community you build when you go to school there. My best friends from SMS are still my best friends that I see almost every weekend. I could not imagine my life without them. All around town at events or school functions I see alumni from other grades that also still hang out with their same group of friends from SMS. I can not stress enough how important the friendships you make at SMS are throughout the rest of your life. My two favorite times of the year at SMS were March Madness for the basketball tournament and of course September for the carnival. I remember looking out the window during school watching the rides get assembled. I loved the carnival to hang out with friends and family but one of the perks of going to SMS during that time was getting that Friday from school off or half day I can’t remember which one. My parents were the treasurers of the school at that time as well as helped out in the kitchen and on the grill. There was a big group of families that helped every year and we were all pretty close. All the kids of all ages would play basketball in the gym before and after the carnival. I remember the craziness of being in that gym & loved just being a part that, a feeling that I will never forget & want my children to experience.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan on being involved in the school so my daughter can experience the warm tight knit community which I was and still am fortunate enough to be a part of. Although I really enjoy my job and am getting great experience, one day I would love to have my own company. I am also looking to expand my family with more kids one day and also send them to SMS.
What advice can you give to our students?
I’ll leave you with this, enjoy the time you have at SMS, make friendships that you will never forget, and maybe one day you will be writing your own spotlight interview.
