Caroline Van Slyke recently joined Aspect's Seattle office. Here are five questions we asked to get to know her better.
Caroline Van Slyke, Senior CAD Specialist
1. Where are you from?
I hail from a small town in northeast Ohio that had one stop light. We lived on a dirt road and couldn’t see the neighbor’s house because it was too far away. After years of high humidity, winter blizzards, and lake-effect snow, I packed everything up and headed west to the Emerald City of Seattle. I’ve been here for almost 30 years and never tire of this beautiful state.
2. What inspired you to pursue CAD? What made you curious about it?
To me, CAD wouldn’t exist if drafting never existed. One of the classes I took during my senior year in high school was a drafting class where we used pencils and T-squares because CAD did not exist. The subject matter came very easily and as a result, I was put into a small subset of students affectionately named “All You Others” that did advanced studies while the rest of the class followed the standard curriculum. it was so enjoyable that I decided to pursue an AA in Mechanical Engineering.
3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?
Every day, there is something new and exciting to work on! Over my career, I have helped engineering professionals with many different projects spanning all engineering disciplines, which affords exciting learning opportunities daily. It’s fun to have a pulse on the Puget Sound region by way of being involved with projects in our line of work.
4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I secretly rock out and play the blues on my guitar and when it’s not raining, drive my car around the track at Pacific Northwest Raceways at high velocities. I also indulge in video games when time permits.
5. What is the most unusual thing in your wallet, pocket, or purse right at this moment?
Just for conversation starters, I have a 45-rpm record adapter that I will occasionally show to a post-vinyl record era person and see if they can guess what it is.