My name is Daniel VanBeek and I am a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As most can tell from my choice of college, I have a passion for technology. My goal at Georgia Tech is to graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Engineering, and my graduation date is hopefully sometime in 2011 or 2012.

Career

I have been in the Georgia Tech Cooperative Education Program since the summer of 2008, and through the work program I was hired by Reachview Technologies as an Information Technology and Solutions Development employee. In the year I’ve been with Reachview, and the two semesters I have officially co-opped there, I have progressed to the unofficial position of IT Manager.  Soon after I was hired by Reachview, the company was acquired by Alcatel Lucent, the global telecommunications corporation headquartered in Paris, France. The experiences I have gained through working at both a small tech firm and for a large telecom corporation have been invaluable in my personal and professional development, and I can only look forward to what my future with both companies hold.

Need A Techie?

In the fall of 2008 I came up with the idea of the “Need A Techie?” service. I quickly developed my overall services list and the main overview of what I was personally capable of doing. The more I thought about actually running the service and eventually turning it into a business the more appealing the idea became. I have since committed myself to thoroughly developing my part time IT business as best I can, and I am enjoying every step of it.

Interests

Many of my defining high school and college experiences were what lead me to realize my passion for technology. Those experiences also led me to realize that technology is a vast ocean that is growing at an exponential rate. In relation to my knowledge about specific technologies I like to think of myself as a Jack-of-all-trades. I know enough about everything; I am an expert in nothing. Some believe that a lack of specialization is a waste of time, as what good are you when someone has a specific problem? However, I prefer my position with a breadth of knowledge rather than a depth as I feel I am able to incorporate countless solutions and experiences to the problem at hand. Knowing even a little bit about everything in the technology field is still an impossible feat though, and I have since begun to focus on the aspects of technology that make me the happiest.

My 67 year old grandmother rides Harley Davidson motorcycles. My high school employed a dedicated engineering teacher that the word ‘ambitious’ does not even begin to describe. My mother realized in 1994 that computers were going to change the world. My brother managed to convince my dad that our family always needed the latest and greatest technology when we were growing up. So where does that leave me? I am in my 20’s and I own my own motorcycle. I build and pilot racing hovercraft. I design and fabricate custom computer cases and case modifications.

The spectrum is wide, but my ambition is bigger. Don’t live your life vicariously through someone else, get up and go live it with them!