David Emery
My academic career at Norwich was a bit unusual. I started off with a double major, BA program in history & math, but ended up as a BS math major. This was before Norwich had a computer science program, which I helped pioneer by taking every single CS course Norwich offered at the time and helping to frame course/textbook selections for the computer sciences minor that Norwich instituted the year after I graduated.
Academically, Norwich offered me flexibility in customizing my degree, which I appreciated then and which has definitely contributed to my current success.
~ David Emery
Academically, Norwich offered me flexibility in customizing my degree, which I appreciated then and which has definitely contributed to my current success. More importantly, Norwich’s emphasis on undergraduate education meant that every single course I took there was taught by a real professor, something that I contrasted with my high school classmate’s experiences in more expensive schools (where they encountered too many courses taught by graduate students).
Place of employment, job title and brief description of duties
Chief Software Architect, DSCI, Inc, supporting PdM FCS (BCT) Software Integration, Ft. Monmouth NJ. I’m “consulting architect” for the Army’s Future Combat System, focusing on software integration across the entire program (the largest program in Army history.) I’m also involved with international standards efforts in software engineering. In the past I’ve worked for The MITRE Corporation as a software systems engineer, and I was a lead software developer for the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (Hughes Aircraft of Canada.)
Can you recall what made you choose Norwich for your higher education?
At the time, I planned to make the military my career, and Norwich offered a unique program that combined strengths in engineering/technology with military education. The clincher for me was the Mountain Cold Weather program.
Even though I didn’t make high cadet rank, Norwich prepared me for my time in the Army, and the leadership lessons learned from both Norwich and subsequent military service have paid major dividends in both personal and professional life.
~ David Emery
Did you visit Norwich before matriculating? Can you remember what your first impression of the school was? If you did not visit the campus, can you remember what your arrival experience was like?
Yes. I loved the location, and the MCW program presentation was particularly impressive.
If you could choose one word to describe Norwich and your time spent here, what would it be and why?
Leadership … Even though I didn’t make high cadet rank, Norwich prepared me for my time in the Army, and the leadership lessons learned from both Norwich and subsequent military service have paid major dividends in both personal and professional life.
How has your Norwich education benefited you in your personal life? Professionally?
Personal life: Lots of good friends and good memories. The Norwich experience reinforced some of my better personality qualities (e.g. focus/drive) and my love of the mountains and XC skiing.
Professional life: Leadership, which includes
- Communications skills (making sure the recipient gets the message)
- Willingness to take charge
- Drive to get stuff done
- A sense of ‘engineering’ – the need to be practical, as a core consideration, and most importantly
- The core qualities of a leader to take care of your people, and they will take care of your mission. Except for the time I’ve spent actually writing software, most of my time has been spent working with other people towards a common goal. In the world of technology, leadership skills are very valuable (and not all that common.)
What would you say to a prospective student contemplating attending Norwich for their higher education?
Norwich is not your typical education. It’s not for everyone. However, what you learn here will include stuff you probably won’t get from most colleges. If you decide to attend Norwich, remember that the big advantage is the leadership training, which pays dividends later on. Make sure you gain as much of this value as you can, whether or not you attain cadet rank and/or continue into the Military. Oh, and enjoy the campus and life in Vermont!
Is there any one memory from your time at Norwich that you feel characterizes the school and its values?
Lots and lots of memories … most of them involve the camaraderie that the Corps of Cadets built up. It’s hard to pick one, but here goes: Sophomore year, Mountain Cold Weather Winter Survival Bivouac. We were broken down into small groups, given the minimum essentials to survive: knife, poncho, sleeping bag, matches. Through teamwork we cooked our survival meal (rabbit, as I recall), built our snow caves, and the next day skied back down the mountain and back to academic life.
As an alumnus, can you describe a favorite tradition that occurred at Norwich in your time that continues on campus today?
Parades were a pain-in-the-butt, particularly on a fall Saturday (before a football game) when you’d rather be doing other things. But they’re part of the military tradition that makes Norwich unique.
When was the last time you visited Norwich? What was the biggest change you noticed on campus?
1998? Certainly it’s all of the building that has happened since I left. Norwich today is physically a very different campus than when I left in 1978, but it retains the essential ‘architecture’ of a small school in Vermont, focused around the Upper Parade Ground and cadet life, that I remember.
