2.14 *ATTA GIRL*One Woman’s Portfolio Life in the Built Environment
Nancy J. Sanquist
Introduction
Thinking about the last 40 plus years of my life learning, working, traveling, and volunteering, I realize I have had a “portfolio life.” This is a term used by Professor Lynda Gratton of London Business School, describing how to “reimagine work” today. It means a departure from the normal linear progression in the stages of life (school – work – retirement) where one takes a more circuitous route by dividing time doing paid and unpaid work, taking time off along the way and indulging one’s passions while following multiple career paths.
This sums up my life’s journey; while working for salaries in the built environment, including two new professions, one in historic preservation of cities and buildings, and the other in facility management, I also volunteered in various community endeavors. Along the way, I indulged my passions for viewing and collecting art, traveling around the world, working with the latest technologies and visiting and saving great architecture (ATTA). Having insatiable curiosity can lead one to a life of continuous learning and careers that are meaningful, and purpose driven. Plus merging the sciences and the arts are a great combination for a truly fulfilling life where good salaries and opportunities can feed one’s passions (see Photo 1).
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month, and much more.
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
