Employee Spotlight Background
Our Employee Spotlight for the month of December is Anthony Mikelson!
Anthony is the Solutions Manager at Sidwell. In his role he manages and leads all development efforts for Sidwell’s software products, including but not limited to, Parcel Administrator, FARMS, Map Plotter, and Portico. He has created many focused, customized client-specific applications by extending Esri’s product suite and integrating with 3rd party applications. He is proficient in many different programming languages ranging from C# and VB.Net to Python to JavaScript to SQL.
Q & A
If you had different plans in mind (in terms of your job) as you were growing up, what were they?
As a kid, I wanted to be a fire fighter. As I grew older I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school, so I joined the Air Force thinking maybe I would become an auto mechanic. After enlisting in the Air Force I was selected to be an Engineering Journeyman, which required me to work with different engineering disciplines. My duties included land surveying and producing Autocad drawings for capital improvement projects. This led me to pursue my degree in Electrical Engineering.
What’s your secret talent that no one knows about?
I can draw really well.
What is your favorite thing about GIS?
Making any type of data spatially aware in the world.
What kinds of trips or activities do you do when you take time off?
Recently it has been visiting family. Since I live in Florida, I would really like to take a winter vacation out west to go skiing.
If you have you ever received any awards, whether they be work related or not, what awards have you received?
In the Air Force, I received a commendation medal and 2 achievement medals by going above and beyond in my duties.
What do you enjoy most about your job and/or working at Sidwell?
I enjoy the many technologies I have at my fingertips and the need for me to be proficient in all of them. Since we are a small company we have to become very knowledgeable about a lot of different technologies.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
A perfectly grilled rib eye steak with a side of Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon.