Al Gardner
Salud Family Health
Denver, CO USA
"Where you are is not who you are."
Career Roadmap
Al's work combines: Business, Technology, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Mass Communications
Wiley College
Bachelor's Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
American InterContinental University
Graduate Degree
Management
American University - Kogod School of Business
Certification
Executive Leadership
Cornell University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I went to college for mass communication with the intention of getting into news directing and writing.
2.
After graduating, I was working as a smooth jazz radio DJ but then took a job as an electrical helper to make ends meet as my family grew.
3.
I worked for an electrician for two years before taking the opportunity to switch into information technology.
4.
I went back to school, earned a couple more degrees in business management, and then was able to work my way up into IT management positions.
5.
I currently work as the vice president of information technology for Salud Family Health, a health center in Colorado.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
You can't do that. Your skills aren't good enough and you don't have enough discipline.
How I responded:
Outside of my family, I didn't have many people in my life who nurtured my aspirations. I heard more about what I couldn't do than what I could do. For example, at one time I wanted to become an airline pilot and I remember distinctly someone in my life telling me I could never do that. I did have one art teacher who told me, "You just need to do whatever you feel you need to do." It wasn't groundbreaking, but it stuck with me. That's when I decided to start trying harder to achieve my goals.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was raised by a single mother and we struggled financially as I was growing up. My mother always said, "Where you are is not who you are." Living on food stamps was where we were but not who we were.