满帆 graduate and 名人堂 inductee Michael La Plante has loved technology since he was a kid – his mother taught a computer class at a local school, and he spent his summers crawling through the school’s ceilings to help install cables.

“Every summer I got to play around with [technology at the school where my mother taught]. 他们为学校建立网络, and we went from networking hardwired cables – now considered Ethernet – to wireless. And I got to have a hand in that [by] crawling through ceilings [to install the cables],他说.

Michael’s work today is a far cry from installing cables: He’s currently the Vice President of 技术 at 形式发票, a promotional product and packaging supplier, and the owner of LaPlante Web开发. 他喜欢自己作品中的技术元素, but helping up-and-coming web developers and giving back to 满帆 students are his other passions.

Michael grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and started exploring technology early in his life. 除了帮助当地学校安装有线电视, 他喜欢玩电子游戏和拆电脑.

到了上大学的时候，迈克尔决定学习 web开发 全速航行. He fell in love with the university and developed a strong work ethic while he earned his degree. He also realized that well-developed networking skills could help him land rewarding jobs.

“I think why I'm so passionate about [talking about networking] with students and the younger generation is because it can have such a huge impact on their career,他解释道. “When you're coming out of [满帆], you have skills that you were taught here, of course. 但是当你第一次进入工作的时候，你并不真正了解这份工作是什么样的. So really that first couple of interviews you're having isn't necessarily so much about the technical skills. 更重要的是你是一个怎样的人. 你能适应吗?”

Networking helped Michael find roles that were a great fit as he moved forward in his career. He has helped create internal applications for 脸谱网 and HIPPA-compliant applications for the healthcare industry; he also worked for a cybersecurity company where he helped a large client figure out how they were hacked. 除了, Michael ran coding bootcamps and did a freelance project where he made a suite of iPad apps to help young children learn color theory.

现在，Michael是形式发票公司的技术副总裁. He leads the application development team and helps build technology for people who own 形式发票 franchises. 平均每天, 他会见客户, 帮助建立招聘活动，为形式发票带来新的人才, 并帮助他的团队解决问题，提高他们的技术技能. Michael’s favorite part of his work is making a difference to his team and to the company’s franchise owners.

“这是我热爱自己工作的原因之一, 不仅因为我帮助我的团队成长, but I [also get to] see the direct impact of what we do and how it makes people [with 形式发票 franchises] successful in their careers,他说. “你知道, they have stories that go from ‘I was living in my car because my house burned down,到现在, “我可以建造我梦想中的房子，让我的孩子上私立学校, 你们的技术让我做到了.’ Those little anecdotal stories really drive me now… Seeing the impact that I make and being very intentional about the work that I do, that's the stuff that's important to me currently in my career and will be for the rest of my career.”

Michael is also making an impact by connecting with current 满帆 technology students. 在过去的几年里，他多次进入名人堂, participating in panels and talking with students who want to get involved in the tech industry. He thinks that devoting time and energy to the next generation of tech professionals is the best way to send the industry in the right direction.

“One of the cool things that we've done at other 名人堂s in the past is these networking events where you get to have one-on-one time with certain select students. And every single one of [those students], I follow their careers, I see what they're doing. 我每年和他们联系几次，这对我很重要. 我真的在乎. 我想看到每个人都成功.

“I'm really passionate about empowering the next generation because at some point I'm going to get old or something's going to happen and I'm not going to be able to do this anymore,他继续说道。. “我得找点别的东西来帮忙了。”. So I want to make sure the next generation's doing really cool stuff and taking technology in the right direction, 还有什么比真诚地关心他们更好的方式呢?”