Employee Spotlight: Sarah Unruh

In a very male-dominated world of IT superheroes, we bring you our own Lois Lane.

Tough-as-nails and rarely needing rescued, “Superwoman Sarah” is an ace player who fearlessly directs executives day and night, armed with fast thinking and all the top-secret codes.

Sarah’s responsibilities span across many facets of the business, including overseeing marketing and HR departments. A model for hard work and dedication, Sarah has worked effortlessly in front of, and behind the scenes the past two years to ensure A2U continues to run smoothly.

Looking for someone to bring order to a company meeting or leaden spreadsheet of data? Sarah uses her OCD superpowers to take charge and sort the task to impeccable structure.

Need an official signer? No problem, Sarah’s a notary so she’s got you covered.

You want to track down the CEO? Yep, she knows where he’s hiding (probably a Pens game, by the way).

Friends, we introduce you to A2U’s executive director, Sarah Unruh who is long overdue to be recognized as the Employee Spotlight. Get to know Sarah in all her different hats as leader, wife, mother, and… martian? Yes, she’s from Mars – keep scrolling.

 

Q: Are you married? Do you have any children?

A: Yes, I’m married to my fantastic husband, Michael and we have four boys (Isaac, 6 yrs.; Gavin, 12 yrs.; Garrett, 13 yrs.; and Griffin, 19 yrs). If you were wondering how outnumbered I am, we also have a male cat, Milo.

Q: Where do you live?

A: We’re proud to have just built our forever home in Mars, Pa.!

 

Q: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

A: Getting to watch the growth of not just the company, but of the staff as individuals in their careers. 

 

Q: What does leadership mean to you? 

A: Leadership means serving, empowering and supporting your team while removing barriers in order to enable them to be the best they possibly can.

 

Q: Do you have a personal philosophy or motto?

A: Work smarter, not harder.

 

Q: What have been the top three highlights of your life? 

A: Marrying my husband, the birth of my son Isaac and meeting Adam from the Counting Crows!

 

Q: What is the one thing you cannot resist? 

A: A medium rare filet and an ice-cold Dogfish Head.

 

Q: Where did you attend college?

A: Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), Butler County Community College (BC3)

 

Q: Can you tell us some things that might surprise us about you?

A:

  • Mike and I spent six months in dance lessons to do a choreographed dance at our wedding.

  • I’ve seen over 30 bands live, mainly 90’s punk rock.

  • I’m first-generation Italian; my family is from Calabria, Italy.

 

Q: What’s your favorite movie or book?

A: My favorite movie is probably either “Boondock Saints,” “Step Brothers” or “Bad Moms.” My favorite book is anything that Nicholas Sparks writes. I have read everything he’s written and eagerly await his new releases every two years. 

 

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you can share with recent graduates?  

A: “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re too young to accomplish something. A baby shark is still a shark.” This is a quote that someone passed along to me when I was younger.

 

It’s easy to see why we’ve handpicked Sarah to spotlight this month. She’s been an asset to our company since Day 1 and our company continues its success in part, due to her leadership.

Like Sarah, big things come in small packages. Take IGEL, for example, and their super-awesome thin client (you can demo it here). In November, we invited a group of IT professionals to a hands-on workshop at A2U hosted by IGEL and Citrix. As part of this session, customers learned how to convert their own PC to a thin client.

Are you interested in a similar workshop featuring training on Nutanix, Citrix or Nimble Storage technologies? Shoot us an email and let us know your thoughts.