Veronica Sharma

The best career advice I ever received was from my undergrad head of department, Carrie Rohmeyer, at San Jose State University. She told me to take the shot and just get my foot through the door. That was the advice she gave me when I was first graduating, and it's the same advice I give to others today. She has been pivotal in where I am today, starting with helping me get my first job. She's still a huge part of my life - she was even invited to my wedding. I've turned that mentor relationship into a friendship, and she's now one of the closest people we have in our lives.

Get your foot through the door. I say this because I've been to many campus hiring events at the University of Nevada, Reno, and I think the new generation is looking for guidance on how to approach or get their foot through the door. We have all these set expectations - if you're getting a certain degree and starting out, your starting salary would be a certain amount - and once they apply and their expectations are not met, they're confused on how to move forward. My advice is always to get your foot through the door, work hard, and those long hours and dedication will be recognized by the team. Especially in your early to mid-20s, you're not immediately held to a 50-50 work and personal life balance. As you progress through your personal life, you might get married, you might have kids, and there's not a whole lot of opportunity where you can take 80% of your life and give it to work. So while you do have the time, if your life allows it, go for it. Those efforts will be recognized down the line.

I want to touch on a sensitive topic - data centers and data center moratoriums. I was part of one of the early applications for a data center in the outskirts of Reno's jurisdiction, and there was a lot of conversation happening once that application came forward. Since then, the City of Reno has placed a moratorium on data centers, and I applaud that. We recognize that data centers are the new demand based on how our society is going forward with the use of AI - it's not something you can hide from. But thoughtful planning and land use, and understanding where we can put these data centers so they don't necessarily have to be right next to a household, is the next phase of challenges in our field. The notion is very negative from the get-go, but it's not something we can escape from. Rather than completely turning a blind eye on this, I would say let's take this as a challenge - as a society, as a group, as a planning entity - and use our thoughtful planning and guidance to make sure that if this is the need for our current world, we put this need in better land uses.