Lindsy Hoopingarner grew up in a military family, so she was constantly moving. They did mostly settle down in Richmond, ME.

“We moved to Richmond when I was in the fifth grade and I fit right in, which is kind of hard to do in a small town,” she said.

She chose Thomas because it reminded her of her small town and she could be close to home.

“Growing up in a military family, you realize how important family is,” said Lindsy. “Thomas was far enough away where I could be independent, but also close enough to home so I could call my parents and meet them for dinner. I also played soccer and softball at Thomas, and it was really important to me that my dad could come watch me play.”

Lindsy loved the close-knit community at Thomas.

“Thomas allowed me to be the busy bee I was in high school. At Thomas, I played sports, was a resident assistant, worked for Career Services, and so much more,” she said. “I felt comfortable enough to participate in all of those activities because Thomas created that kind of environment.”

Lindsy was able to land a job right after graduation at a big technology company, Collaborative Consulting (now CGI) in Waterville, thanks to a Thomas career fair.

“I worked as a business analyst for a year, which helped me build my technology knowledge and made me realize I wanted to switch gears to the kind of work I am doing now in quality assurance.”

Lindsy now works at WEX in Portland, ME, as a software quality assurance engineer. Her job is to ensure the quality of software products for the company’s clients.

Lindsy works for the International Fleet, which includes WEX’s offices in New Zealand, UK, and India.

“I love the different cultures that each office brings to the table. We have a few people in the U.S. office who have moved from overseas offices to help build out the U.S. office. Being able to interact with people from around the world has to be the best part about my job. Hopefully, I will be able to travel to the other offices for work one day.” Lindsy says her favorite part of her job is also the hardest part.

“Working with teams from different time zones has been challenging,” she said. “I have to plan in advance what my day is going to look like so if I have any problems or questions, I know the New Zealand team will be in their offices to assist me.”

Lindsy said she never imagined this is where she would end up in her career.

“I went to school for business, and now I am in a computer science-related field,” she said. “Technology is forever changing, and this job keeps me on my toes.”

Lindsy said Thomas prepared her for her career by helping her build relationships and by teaching her how
to network.

“If you talk to anyone in Maine and say you went to Thomas, nine times out of ten they will know someone who either goes to Thomas or went there. This is what networking is all about—finding a conversation starter and making connections,” she said.

Lindsy said she is proud to be a Thomas alumna. “I love coming back to Thomas for events and seeing familiar faces,” she said. “I still have a professor who checks in with me on LinkedIn to see how life is going. That is why I am glad I chose Thomas, the small community that allows you to build great connections with people.”

*This story was originally published in the Winter 2018 Thomas Magazine.