Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the Mar/April 2011 issue of New River Valley Magazine
When Dr. Jennifer Rathmann first moved to Blacksburg in the late summer of 1999, she was introduced to something she had never experienced before: The passion an entire community had for college football.
Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of New River Valley Magazine
Bob Summers has a vision for entrepreneurs in this region. He believes the area can have a high-tech ecosystem with the quality and caliber of companies in Silicon Valley or Boston. But some basic fundamentals need to be laid down first. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of New River Valley Magazine
It may be hard to think of a good reason to leave the water and weather of Florida for Southwest Virginia, but for Alex Greengold, 36, the answer was easy: he wanted to be part of a company where he could make a difference. So when Dish Network offered him the opportunity to be the Director of their Southwest Virginia site in Christiansburg, he and his family packed their beach bags and golf clubs and headed to the mountains. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the May/June 2010 issue of New River Valley Magazine
Joshua Gambrel has a story to tell. That isn’t surprising since he has spent the majority of his life collecting subject matter – varied personal experiences gathered from the miles hiking on the Appalachian Trail to helping a remote village in Mongolia get hot water. Gambrel even got a masters degree in storytelling. But we’re getting ahead of the tale. Let’s start at the beginning.
Gambrel, now 33, works in Virginia Tech’s Cranwell International Center as a Community Liaison. He also is an instructor in Tech’s philosophy department. And it is his experiences prior to moving to this area in 2008, that enable him to be successful in both. Originally from Johnson City, Tennessee, Gambrel needed to reflect on how to use his life after college. In step with many outdoor enthusiasts, he hit the Appalachian Trail and found his direction – not only from Georgia to Maine – but also the path he would take thereafter. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professionals Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the March/April 2010 issue of New River Valley Magazine
Hot yoga was more than just a form of exercise for Becky McDaniel Crigger, it was something that cured her panic attacks.
When this Blacksburg native, now 33, was teaching sixth grade in Hampton, Virginia seven years ago, she felt very stressed and tense after a day’s work. She started to attend and teach hot yoga classes, an arrangement of poses performed in a room at least 100 degrees in temperature or more. The poses allow the muscles a full range of motion while the temperature causes the body to release toxins through heavy sweating. Within a few sessions, Crigger felt a difference. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of New River Valley Magazine
When he landed his first client, Charles Lattimer, now 38, knew nothing about business management or high-tech entrepreneurship. After all, he had planned to live his life on stage.
With some acting and directing experience, he dropped out of college, worked in Chicago until he joined his brother who was getting a PhD in Blacksburg. Surrounded by academics, he enrolled again, getting a theater degree and later completed his masters in English from Virginia Tech. While in school, he joined a friend who got a consulting job with Club Corporation of America. The company wanted help in training managers to work better with their board of directors. Lattimer had no idea what they were talking about – but he acted like he did. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – Published in the Sept/Oct 2009 issue of New River Valley Magazine
Jonathan Stewart, 27, learned a lesson from his dad very early in life – if he needed something, it was provided. If he wanted it, he had to earn it.
So Stewart decided what he wanted and set out to earn it. He knew he wanted a job and he also knew he didn’t want to sit behind a desk. So at the age of 14 he started cleaning boats at the Claytor Lake marina. The work taught him to be industrious, punctual and to appreciate the value of a hard day’s labor. Then he wanted more responsibility. After graduating Pulaski High School, he took a job in Salem working at a local gas station and soon rose from a cashier to a shift manager. Then he wanted to shine. So he used his charm and witty personality to make friends and contacts by interacting with his customers. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Professional’s Profile
By Krisha Chachra – published in July/Aug 2009 issue of New River Valley Magazine
It is Sunday morning and Beth Barnett-Boebel is up early in her kitchen making bread and pasta from scratch. By 5 p.m. the boxes of freshly prepared meals, all wrapped in biodegradable, reusable microwave safe containers, are out the door and delivered in person to hungry clients in the New River Valley. The business model is easy – order online by Thursday at 7 pm and receive your tasty but nutritious meals for the week by Sunday. No hassle, good health. That’s what The Fresh Palate can deliver you – right to your doorstep. Read the rest of this entry »
by Krisha Chachra – published in August 2009 issue of Bella Magazine
You remember how recovering from a summer romance used to be as easy as starting one in the first place? It didn’t matter that you both knew it would be over when your parents pulled up to fetch you from a fantasy of summer camp; yanking you away from the forever-lasting weeks of canoeing in the moonlight, sneaking away to skinny-dip in the lake and making outlandishly dramatic declarations of love and devotion to a tussle-haired boy you bonded with over water balloon fights, clip-art projects and campfires. He was so into you and you both got giddy just thinking about sneaking kisses at the dock and holding hands under the table. And when the summer came to an end, you said your good-byes, exchanging promises to write all year and meet again next summer. Even if that never happened, the prospect that it might thrilled you. Parting wasn’t devastating and soon summer love was reduced to nothing more than a good story to tell your girlfriends at the lunch table at school. Read the rest of this entry »