Employee Spotlight: Andrea Alcorn-Dominguez

Andrea Alcorn-Dominguez is a Technical Project Manager here at OLogic and has been with us for a little over 3 years. She is an integral part of our team and brightens up the room with her positive attitude and smile.

When asked about what her favorite part of her job is, she replied, “I love the big picture planning! The first couple of meetings with a client or potential client are so exciting – learning about what project or idea they are trying to tackle, figuring out how we might be able to help, and then writing up the proposal for how we can make it happen.”

Andrea majored in Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman, a small STEM school in Terre Haute, Indiana. After college, she decided to move to California because it was something that she’s always wanted to do. Soon after moving to the West Coast, she joined OLogic.

Since joining OLogic, Andrea has had the opportunity to work on a variety of fun and interesting projects, including Snorble, which has been her favorite project so far.

It’s probably the most intricate project I have been a part of and I’ve learned a lot about managing a larger team internally as well as working more with other contractors. It has been an exciting, albeit challenging, process to see certain major features of the product go through a lot of trial and error, but it has been so cool to see the pieces start to come together. It’s also just a great team of people over there, and the world they’re building around this product is so creative and has so much potential to build on other ideas. I think it taps into that big picture thing for me – the possibilities of where it can go are exciting.

When it comes to project management, Andrea enjoys being able to see a client’s idea come to life and to look back on a project and see how far we have come. She enjoys looking back when a project is completed because when a project begins, the to-do list can be overwhelming, but thanks to awesome teammates (and a great project manager), that to-do list becomes smaller and smaller until the project is complete.

Andrea went on to give major kudos to her awesome teammates: “I’m also constantly blown away by the things my teammates are able to do. Engineering is something I tried my hand at, and I struggled with it so much that I think it gives me some helpful perspective on what we’re accomplishing here everyday. So looking at Project Management as a way to support the team in that effort is what makes it fulfilling to me.”

Andrea’s favorite part about working at OLogic is definitely the flexibility of her schedule, both in terms of time and location. She loves the fact that she can work at OLogic while living in San Francisco. Also, she’s able to visit family in Mexico and Ohio, which is really valuable to her. In terms of company culture, Andrea says, “I always think one of the things that makes OLogic a great place is that no one is competing. No one is trying to prove that they know more or are better than anyone else. It’s just a group of people working together towards a bunch of common goals”. 

When asked about what her proudest moment at OLogic is, Andrea said, “My proudest moment(s) at OLogic are always when I hear myself say something technical or project management related that I definitely couldn’t have said when I started. Recognizing that you’re learning and progressing in those little moments can be really rewarding.”

Mistakes can sometimes happen, but Andrea has a great way to view that “If you’re worried about something, it does no good to dwell on it before asking for help. A burden shared is a burden halved and all that.”

When Andrea is not at work managing client projects, she is busy exploring the great outdoors and trying out new skills and talents.

Don't Miss These Industry-Leading Events!

October 1-3, 2024
Cincinnati, OH

October 7, 2024
Memphis, TN

October 8-10, 2024
Memphis, TN

November 12-13, 2024
Atlanta, GA

She recalls, “When I moved to California, I met some friends who got me into rock climbing! Since then, I’ve gotten to go climbing outside quite a bit, which has been a great thing to have to lean on as a social outlet during covid”.

Andrea loves anything that gets her outside – camping, hiking, climbing. She also experimented this past winter by dipping her toes into skiing for the first time. “The diversity of California’s natural beauty is one thing I’ll never stop being amazed by”, she reflects.

Andrea has also tried her hand at knitting, singing, playing the ukulele, exploring San Francisco, alone or with friends, and roller skating (claiming that going backwards “smoothly” has been her arch nemesis).

She has a “precious cat named Lynnie” who “I love an unbelievable amount”. As the story goes, she got her at a shelter in Terre Haute her senior year of college, and the sweet volunteers there had named her Lynette when she arrived. She felt a little bad about changing her name, so she went for a nickname instead.  

When asked about a food she cannot resist, Andrea’s immediate response was, “Olive Garden breadsticks dipped in their alfredo sauce. I don’t go to Olive Garden very often at all, but I almost feel like I don’t even need to order a meal there, just gimme those breadsticks. I wish my answer was more cultured, but they’re so good I can’t help it.” 

We all have our secret wishes when it comes to Super Hero powers. For Andrea that power is Shapeshifting. She gives two primary reasons: “for one thing, I feel like it’s an underrepresented superpower, so if one day this question is no longer rhetorical I think it’ll stand out.” Also fascinating, “You can do so many things! Turn into a bird, you can fly anywhere. Or a sea creature and swim really well. Or a bug and now you’re really small. You could explore the whole world!”

Andrea brings so much enthusiasm and positivity to our everyday operations here at OLogic. When asked how she would share some of that optimism with others, her answer was this.

I think it’s important to remind students who are going to school for engineering and have found themselves feeling lost and/or struggling to feel like they’re going to succeed after school, that there are so many ways to measure success, and it’s not always in the ways presented to you in school. When I was in college I was so freaked out. I felt like I had committed to doing something that I didn’t feel good at, and I struggled so much to get through each class.

I was surrounded by so many students who seemed to have it all together, or who at least seemed to have a sense for where they wanted to go. And they were getting multiple internship opportunities across the country while I was going to the same career fairs as them and getting my resume handed back to me over and over.

In further contemplation, “I never realized how many different places an engineering degree could take you, and how little time I should have spent comparing myself to all those people and feeling alone, when there were plenty of people who were quietly having the same difficulties, feeling ashamed and alone in similar ways.” 

Her successful conclusion, “Engineering itself is such a cool, diverse field and I’m happy to have been given the opportunity to find my own little place in it eventually, where I still get to be inspired by all the things that pushed me to try it out in the first place.”

That inspiration works both ways and we here at OLogic have been the lucky recipients of Andrea’s cheerful presence and supportive team collaboration.