{"613450":{"#nid":"613450","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Spotlight: Yolanda Walker","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Yolanda R. Walker\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EGT Degree(s):\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Master\u0026#39;s of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EYear Degree Awarded:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;2000\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ECurrent Title\/Position:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Principal Systems Engineer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ECurrent Company\/Organization:\u003C\/strong\u003E Medtronic, Inc. \u0026ndash; a leader in the Medical Device Industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDescribe your average workday.\u003C\/strong\u003E As a Principal Systems Engineer, I liaise between management, customers, suppliers, and specialty engineers for a new product development program. I am required to assess all program aspects from a systems perspective, which allows me to focus on the integration of all facets within a system or product. My workday can vary greatly depending on what phase the program is in. Currently, my program is in the verification and validation phase. My activities include verifying that the system meets the design specifications by developing verification test protocols to test the product with the system.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you enjoy most about your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E What I enjoy most about my current role is knowing that the products we develop help to improve the lives of patients by alleviating their pain, restoring their health, and\/or extending their life every day!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did ECE prepare you for your current role?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;The intensity of the ECE program gave me the confidence to be bold and fearless when faced with any new challenge.\u0026nbsp; Although I am a novice in the biomedical field, I do not allow that to be an excuse to not know the product(s) my team is currently developing. I also leveraged the ability to quickly adapt and be flexible and agile in competitive business environments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give current ECE students?\u003C\/strong\u003E Be flexible! Maintain a learning agility! Do not be afraid to learn something new every day or to change jobs or industries!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you think is the most important technological breakthrough of the past 20 years? \u003C\/strong\u003EThe internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen you aren\u0026rsquo;t working, what do you like to do?\u003C\/strong\u003E Traveling the world, volunteer work, running, pilates\/yoga, and strength training.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs there anything else you would like to add?\u003C\/strong\u003E The time I spent at Georgia Tech taught me the importance of working hard and the importance of building, maintaining, and sustaining relationships. Building relationships has aided me in completing some difficult projects and\/or tasks, finding new job opportunities, and developing life-long friendships.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EECE alumna Yolanda Walker is a Principal Systems Engineer at Medtronic, Inc.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ECE alumna Yolanda Walker is a Principal Systems Engineer at Medtronic, Inc."}],"uid":"27842","created_gmt":"2018-10-29 20:35:50","changed_gmt":"2019-01-18 19:23:18","author":"Ashlee Gardner","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"613448":{"id":"613448","type":"image","title":"Yolanda Walker","body":null,"created":"1540844188","gmt_created":"2018-10-29 20:16:28","changed":"1540844188","gmt_changed":"2018-10-29 20:16:28","alt":"Yolanda Walker","file":{"fid":"233539","name":"Yolanda Walker - Diversity.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Yolanda%20Walker%20-%20Diversity.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Yolanda%20Walker%20-%20Diversity.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":242769,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Yolanda%20Walker%20-%20Diversity.JPG?itok=TPmA6DiY"}}},"media_ids":["613448"],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"506","name":"alumni"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshlee Gardner\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ashlee.gardner@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eashlee.gardner@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ashlee.gardner@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}