Jennifer Bennett

Employee Spotlight – Jennifer Bennett

Tell us a little bit about yourself (include family info)?

I grew up with a younger sister in a family of four in Parker, CO. I enjoy hiking, fishing and golf with my family and running, cycling and swimming on my own.

Background/education:

I have a BA in Economics from CU Denver and 14 years experience in Mission Management operations.

As a Software Engineer or Systems Engineer at Northstrat, what is your daily routine like? Or is there one?

In the one year that I’ve worked for Northstrat, I’ve found my daily routine to be anything but routine. Every day seems to bring a new surprise, whether it’s confounding software behavior, a problem in OPS, a new study or simply a learning opportunity within the system … each day has offered a challenge and multiple new things to learn.

What aspect of your job do you enjoy most? 

Interacting with the NRT SE and SW teams as well as other programs. I enjoy collaboration and teamwork as well as troubleshooting and problem solving.

What do you enjoy most about working for Northstrat?

The welcoming, family oriented and friendly environment. I appreciate Northstrat’s excellent benefits and how they take care of employees.

Did/do you have a mentor? Tell us about that person.

I was lucky enough to find a mentor several years ago. He took me on as a challenge for himself and to help me grow. I learned the value of having a coworker and teammate you can trust for candid and constructive feedback. Along with trying to learn something from everyone (good or bad examples) listening. Really listen to what is happening around me… at my level, the program level, at the company level and beyond.

He taught me a lot about communication and how to learn from my mistakes. He is not perfect, but does inspire his teams to work hard and to find value in their products.

Any advice for young people who want to pursue STEM? 

Read as much as you can. Read anything. Explore classic literature, philosophy, free Kindle mysteries, whatever. Sample some of the many topics that are available, and then question what you read. Do you agree with it? Did you learn something? What? Your young minds are hungry… feed them! I found I enjoyed reading about the history of math after someone asked me where 0 came from. I didn’t know and had to go research