Get to Know Core10: Pat Shaver

What does it feel like to have your dream job in the place you call home? Just ask one of Core10’s Software Development Engineers, Pat Shaver. Pat has had an extensive career ranging from positions in journalism, technical training, and customer support. After returning to her home state of West Virginia and applying her can-do attitude, Pat found the opportunity to explore software development and launch her career at Core10. In just three short months at Core10, Pat has remarkably embodied our core values of We are Here to Grow and Success Comes in Cans!

“Pat Shaver has been an excellent addition to the team. Her hard work, desire to expand her development knowledge, and attention to detail have proven to bring success to the new and demanding tasks assigned to her.”

 - Mitch Miller, Team Lead 

As always, Core10 loves to learn more about our team members’ career journeys and experiences. Read on to learn more about Pat Shaver and why she calls Core10 her dream job.

How did you hear about Core10?

I first heard about Core10 when a couple of their employees came to the Newforce cohort that I was attending to tell us about the company.

Why did you choose to work at Core10?

I chose to work at Core10 because of the opportunity to do something I have dreamed of doing since I was a child, and I wanted to work for a company I felt good about. Core10 is not just a for-profit company, they are also concerned with helping build the community and creating a greater quality of life for people in these smaller communities like Huntington, WV. They also have female leadership and innovators, and I feel like my work and suggestions are taken seriously, and I get a lot of support from more senior developers and managers. 

What did you do before joining the team?

After graduating from Marshall University with a degree in Journalism, I wrote commercials for WCHS radio in Charleston for a while. I really wanted to be working in the computer field, and since jobs like that in the Charleston/Huntington area of West Virginia were few at the time, I moved to Charlotte, NC. My first job there was at Pitney Bowes, installing and training doctors on digital dictation equipment. I then went to a small software company that did time and attendance software. I got to travel a lot installing the data collection terminals for them at hospitals, manufacturing companies, and warehouses all over the country. After a couple of years there, I landed at Microsoft, where I worked as an Excel Support Representative. I learned SO much there, but I didn’t enjoy sitting in a cubicle nine hours a day. I left Microsoft after a year and went to work at a software company called SunGard Asset Management Systems, where I stayed for 20-plus years. SunGard was the perfect balance between traveling and being in the office, and I learned something new almost every day. Eventually, SunGard was sold and my job was sent offshore to India. I moved back to West Virginia to help care for my elderly parents and got a tech support position at a managed service provider in Charleston. After about five years there, I saw a GenerationWV Facebook post about the Newforce Software Development school. I applied and was accepted into that, saved my money, quit my job, and spent the next six months in a full-time software development training program. And, now, thanks to Lee Farabaugh and Core10’s Hereshore^® model, I am working at my dream job as a software developer — and in my home state, no less! I could NOT be happier!

What got you interested in a career in software development?

I got interested in programming when I was just a kid when my older sister was traveling around the country training folks on early PC software. In the summer, she would sometimes take me out of town with her. While she was working, I would read through the training information and DOS books trying to teach myself to program in BASIC. I really thought it was fascinating that you could type in some words and equations and basically (pun intended) create a computer game!

What is your favorite project you have worked on at Core10?

That’s a tough one, but I would have to say that the CoreConnect project that I am currently on is my favorite! We are building an API that provides fintechs and banks with the ability to connect and securely gain access to multiple core systems without the expense of custom software development.

Tell us about your life outside of Core10.

I love to listen to live music, dote on my 7-year-old long-haired Dachshund, and enjoy floating down the beautiful rivers in the area with my fiancé and our friends. Some things people would be surprised to know about me are that I love to dance, I play trombone and piano, and I have run two marathons, three Charleston Distance 15-milers, several half-marathons, and many 5k-10k races.

My favorite things about West Virginia are the people and the fact that I can go from the busy city to the middle of nowhere in a matter of minutes. West Virginians are some of the strongest, most resilient people in the world, and the natural beauty here is incomparable to any place I’ve been. I went away for a while, but I am very glad to be back home.