Like every other company in the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented Aquicore with many challenges. Our employees have now been fully working from home since March and some have had to navigate being a full time parent and a working employee. In this spotlight we highlight two employees who have had to adapt to the “new norm.” 

Our first employee is Rae Honore, a Mechanical Engineer here at Aquicore who is the mother of two beautiful daughters ages 6 and 8. As Rae walked us through her journey as a parent and employee through this pandemic, she stated that it “surely has been unprecedented to say the least”. This time has shown her how resourceful and nimble she can be and made her even more grateful for her husband and extended family as they parent sometimes anxious and confused kids in this new normal. Rae has reached a new level of resilience from facing these unique challenges at work and home.  

Rae’s children attend the same public school and transitioned to virtual learning mid-March. Their school had a rigorous online program with multiple Zoom calls per day and assignments due on a weekly basis. The teachers were very involved so Rae never felt that she had to take over the primary teaching role. Her role resembled more of an after-school tutor. It was time intensive to learn the new platform at first for all parties involved, parents, teachers, and students alike. However, they eventually settled into a rhythm. Rae’s husband works mainly during the evenings and nights. Their opposing work schedules worked to their benefit in this case as they were able to trade off on online school duties. This next school year their school district has elected to return virtually for the time being.

Although this pandemic and quarantine has been a challenge, Rae and her family managed to have a fun summer! Her family took up fishing in the lake behind her home and the girls participated in a few online camps. One particularly interesting camp they enjoyed was bug camp. Bug camp involved local teachers delivering the girls different bugs to study and learn about each week. They had worms, butterflies, and ladybugs then decided to add two bonus weeks with a gecko and tortoise. They were surely entertained by taking care of all these creatures and Rae was happy as long as the bugs didn’t get loose in the house! 

As a Mechanical Engineer, Rae acts as a technical resource to our clients, particularly the building engineers. She helps property teams leverage real time data to optimize energy use. Rae is also a conduit of information from our end users to our software development team, ensuring our product is constantly improving to meet the needs of our clients. To balance her work schedule, Rae is typically up before the rest of her family to get work done. Once her family is up she takes a breakfast break with them and helps them get their day started. From that time on she can work till the evening with a lunch break with her family depending on meeting commitments for that day. After her work day, she likes to read and relax before she starts her second shift of the day as a part-time student/mom/wife. 

Our second employee is Carlos Diaz, father of Gaby, Jules, and Logan. Being a father of three children, Carlos expressed that it is frightening to think that your kids can come in contact with such a contagious virus. It has been pretty challenging to keep a 14, 12, and 7 year old all entertained during quarantine, but Carlos’s wife has been a major player in keeping the kids quarantined, entertained, and safe! 

When transitioning the kids to online schooling, Carlos mentioned that the process was easier than they expected. He stated that kids are resilient and adapt better than we give them credit for. For their classroom setting, his wife converted the dining room area into The Diaz Academy! Of course during school hours Carlos is banned from this restricted area because of how much he bugs the kids. Carlos’s 14 year old daughter, like any teenager, wishes she was hanging out with her friends at school, but has found enjoyment in rolling out of bed in pjs and not having to rush out the door for school. They all know that it will end one day, so they are making the best of the situation we're all in. The kids will continue virtual school this coming school year until they announce that it is safe to resume back to school in person. 

Like Rae and her family, the Diaz’s also had a great summer. Carlos and his family rented an apartment in Miami Beach for the entire month of July. Even though the beach was closed for five days during 4th of July weekend, this was a chance for the kids to connect with their friends and families on the beach without electronics. Everyone was on the beach everyday from dusk till dawn and had a great time. In August, the Diaz family went to Myrtle Beach, SC for the Cal Ripken Baseball Experience tournament for Carlos’s older son Julian’s baseball team. This tournament is a pretty big deal to be a part of. Julian and his team got to play against teams from all over the U.S. Carlos said the highlight of the trip was the second day when they got to witness his son hit his first homerun (260+ feet)!

As the Vice President of Business Development at Aquicore, Carlos looks for creative ways to produce new revenue streams in strategic accounts. There are many verticals and many opportunities to expand our technology, he says the key is to find the right path. On a typical day, Carlos looks at what deals are in the pipeline for the month or quarter. He is always following up with opportunities that he is working on along with reaching out to new ones. Carlos tries to keep the ball moving on strategic accounts, which usually can take quite a while to barefruit, but is worth the effort in the end. 

Rae and Carlos are two high level employees that are greatly valued. Both have had to face various challenges between working from home and parenting full time during Covid-19, but yet have managed to navigate through it resiliently.  

Interested in joining our team? Check out our careers page.