All 7^th graders look forward to the day when they can attend high school, but as they prepare for that day, they will have to consider that one important question everyone has to face (and some still don’t have an answer for)…. “What do I want to be when I grow up?”  At the age of 13 a young mind can go crazy with all the possibilities. Do I want to be a professional athlete, race car driver, doctor, fireman or a teacher? Dave Smith had already made up his mind...a computer programmer. 

Since the 7^th grade, Dave had already began taking some QBasic coding classes, as junior high came and went, Dave's interest in computers grew. In high school he engrossed himself in HTML, Visual Basic, C++, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In May, Dave graduated from Michigan State Univeristy with a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications. Dave’s hard work and determination paid off.  In June, he accepted a position as programmer analyst in Agency Services working for Louis Rutare.

Prior to becoming a programmer analyst, Dave was a student assistant for the State of Michigan for more than 4 years. Today Dave is doing application development and support/assist for the DNR/HAL Application Development Unit. What Dave likes best about his job is that it allows him to interact with colleagues & clients, helping them accomplish their job. Dave believes that DIT is a great idea, “The department is still in its infancy and I like the direction we are heading in”.

Outside of work Dave is actively involved in the following professional organizations: Webmaster for the Michigan Capital Area Chapter of the Project Management Institute – he is currently the technical lead for the Web site upgrade project from static content into a Content Management System. Treasurer for the Greater Lansing Linux Users Group – he is currently (slowly) heading up an effort to incorporate the group as an official non profit entity. Dave also participates in the Management Information Systems Association, the Greater Lansing User Group .net and the Lansing Investor's Business Daily Group.

When Dave is not working with computers or organizations associated with computers, he enjoys playing sports, especially basketball, which he tries to play at least three times a week.  Dave also just started to learn how to golf this summer. Later this month Dave will purchase his first home. Congratulations Dave and good luck!