BTS Behind the Scenes is a chance to showcase the people who are making things happen at BTS and give you a “behind the scenes” look into their worlds. In this month’s feature we’ll dive into April’s journey through unexpected career twists, her approach to leadership (and Halloween), and, of course, her larger-than-life pet pig, Rosalee.

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Your career journey has taken you from solar to GovCon and contracts—what key experiences along the way have shaped how you approach your work today?

I never say “no” to new experiences, opportunities to learn, or requests for help. My resume is quite the collection – solar energy, monster trucks, the circus, and government contracting. I think my work ethic and people skills have really carried me through my career. People that worked with me at my first job out of college still keep in touch and have offered jobs or opportunities when available. When asked to be the HR, Accounting, Payroll, Admin, unofficial “den mother” to a small start up, I replied “absolutely but, I don’t know how to do some of those things.” I was told, “that’s okay, we can teach you, we know you and your work ethic. We just want you to join.” I feel good about my job when I make my team and boss’ job easier. I’s really motivating to feel like I’m making an impact on the team.

Your pet pig, Rosalee, has quite the personality! Tell us how she became part of the family and how she keeps life interesting.

I wanted chickens, so I could have fresh eggs. When we got our chickens from a company called “rent a coop,” my husband saw they also had a mobile petting zoo called “Squeals on Wheels” and they adopted out baby piglets. He looked at me and begged. So, being the sucker I am, we came home with a piglet too. She was tiny and adorable, but has now grown to be about 220 pounds over the past 11 years. She roams our backyard most of the day, enjoying the compost that my neighbors chuck over the fence for her. We have a pool and she has gone “swimming” once or twice but was not a fan. 

She has also learned how to open our fridge and has been known to crush a beer can like a stereotypical frat boy, so we had to padlock our booze/beer fridge. It’s fun to say you have pigs but they are definitely way too smart for their own good. Since moving my home office to our basement, she often comes in and steals my space heater so it only blows on her.  

What drew you to BTS, and how has your experience here been different from past roles?

I found out about BTS through Mimi French – she and I worked together at a previous company. She knew that BTS needed me and knew I would fit right in, so she set up a meeting. I think we all walked away feeling like it was “right.” The past few years of my career have had a lot of change through mergers and acquisitions, but BTS finally feels like home. From day one, I was trusted with tasks and asked for input. I never felt like I had to prove myself, they just knew I was here to work hard and would be an asset. It’s been so refreshing and so welcoming to feel like such a solid part of a team right off the bat. 

Speaking of bats, we heard your family goes in 1000% for Halloween. Tell us about that (and let’s see the pics)!

My husband and I both love Halloween and it’s one of the things that brought us together. Our parties have grown so much over the years. We are often asked where we store everything in our small home and the answer is… in every nook and cranny we can find. In late August, we start by building a pallet maze at the top of our driveway. September and October we spent most weekends and often a lot of weeknights, making props and decor and filling the maze with animatronics, fog machines, strobe lights, homemade halloween decorations, and more. We try to pick a new theme every year and try to out-do the previous year. Needless to say, our collection has gotten out of hand. 

Some of my favorite themes have been the haunted forest and this past year was a dungeon/catacomb theme. My family also dresses in coordinating themed costumes. I always spend the few days before our party cooking and baking halloween themed foods like cinnamon roll intestines, skull pizza bites, zombie deviled eggs, worm jello shots, and more. We’ve even added a tarot card reader the past few years. I finally convinced my husband to let trick or treaters go through the maze on halloween night and our neighborhood absolutely loves it. Every year we have families come to see the progress and take pictures in front of our house. It’s a lot of work, but we love it.

Work-life balance is a big priority for you, how do you maintain that balance while staying engaged in meaningful work?

I had parents that had careers that gave no flexibility for work/life balance. My grandparents were often the ones to step in when my parents could not. I don’t have family nearby anymore so I try to save my PTO for my family – sick days, appointments, travel, and volunteering at my kids’ school. I always make myself available for emergency work, but try to give my family the time they deserve. I’m a big believer in family dinners at the table together, something my family never could do with my parents’ work schedule. And I use that time to talk about our days and things my kids are excited about and/or may be going through. We also spend our weekends trying to go on some adventure, usually outdoors as we love hiking/camping. My kids know that there will be times I need to step away in the evening or during the weekend to finish a task or take care of some work, but they also know they are a huge priority and I do everything in my power to be there for them.

Ok, Lightning round!

• Favorite sick day movie: I love campy horror movies – Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland… anything to make me laugh

• Place you most want to visit that you haven’t yet: I have always wanted to go to Sweden to see my family. Or eat my way through all the sushi in Japan.

• Go-to Halloween party snack: pizza skulls are always a huge hit and boozy blood bags

 

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Tags: behind the scenes, features, pigs