Forge Your Future

We boomeranged back to raise our boys near family and to start a business. It was a great place to get my start because people really want to help you. The community is invested in its young professionals. There are so many things to do with young kids here too!

After college, I decided to move back to Kansas from Nebraska because Kansas feels like home. My college friends used to joke, “You’re not in Kansas anymore”, but after four years in Nebraska, I realized Kansas is where I belong. The welcoming community and everything that makes life here special drew me back. While I have many friends and family in Nebraska, the sense of home and community in Kansas is unmatched. Being in college with people from all over the U.S. made me appreciate how well the Olathe School District set me up for success. With my friends in college, I often joked, “It’s that Olathe education”, but I meant it. Having the opportunity to work and give back to a community that gave so much to me was an easy decision. Plus, it’s nice to be surrounded by Chiefs fans again!

I graduated from KSU in 2011 with an electrical engineering degree and immediately began my career as a product development engineer in fluorescent lighting. The transition to LED happened a lot quicker than anticipated and I soon found myself exploring other opportunities where I could use my degree. This led me to Arizona in 2016, where I ultimately transitioned into quality engineering for medical devices. While there were great opportunities out west, there is really no place like home when you’re from Kansas. The culture, the cost of living, the BBQ – you really can’t beat it anywhere else. When I heard about the kind of work Integra was doing in Wichita I was eager for a chance to return home to Kansas and join the team. The work done by Integra is key to the future of microchips in America, and I’m very excited to be part of that.

Kansas is the gift that continuously keeps giving back. The space where rural, suburban, and a city experience all merge to create a community that is one of a kind, rooted in community support and investment. Kansas allows for your wildest career dreams and aspirations to become reality; a reality that exists today not 20 years down the line.

Kansas has always been my home, but I haven’t lived in the sunflower state since going away to college. Proximity to family as well as the amenities, lifestyle and job offerings in KS made it the perfect choice for our family. I am so appreciative of Rosa and the team for helping us with connections and suggestions so we could make it home again!