Putting The Spotlight On Our Innovators During National Engineers Week

In recognition of National Engineers Week, we’re highlighting the backgrounds of five Netsmart engineers! Whether working in our Overland Park, Springfield or Great River office, their invaluable work supports our overarching mission to equip providers with seamless, secure and intuitive technology.

Continue reading to hear how each associate found their passion for the field and what they enjoy most about being an engineer at Netsmart.

We appreciate the work of all our engineers this and every other week of the year.

Tricia Milano, QA Engineer

1. Where did you receive your Bachelor of Engineering degree? Southern New Hampshire University.
2. What was your major? I hold an MBA in health informatics.
3. What influenced your decision to go into engineering? When the health information technology company I worked for closed, I was unable to get a job in the field without a degree, despite my experience. I began work in higher education and then started my own education later in life. Ultimately, I completed my bachelor’s degree then returned for my master’s with a health informatics concentration.
4. What do you enjoy most about being an engineer? I love to troubleshoot and use my critical thinking skills. Working with the engineering team and being a part of my current project enable me to take on more responsibilities, which keeps things moving quickly.
5. What makes you excited to come into work every day? I love the team and people I work with. I also enjoy what we do: providing our clients with the tools necessary to be successful in their industry.

Julia Drahozal, Software Engineer

1. Where did you receive your Bachelor of Engineering degree? I received my degree from the University of Kansas.
2. What was your major? Computer science.
3. What influenced your decision to go into engineering? I had zero experience in engineering until college and went into my freshman year very undecided in what I wanted to study. That year, I took a required introductory computer science class and it just clicked! I changed my major and never looked back.
4. What do you enjoy most about being an engineer? I love being able to come up with creative ways to solve problems. Programming is just a big puzzle, and each line of code is one puzzle piece. There’s nothing more satisfying than getting it all put together and running smoothly!
5. What makes you excited to come into work every day? My team! I work with an amazing group of people that help me learn and grow in my role every day.

Angelo Gonzalez, Senior Software Engineer

1. Where did you receive your Bachelor of Engineering degree? I received my degree from Skidmore college.
2. What was your major? Computer science with a math minor.
3. What influenced your decision to go into engineering? Funnily enough, I started college as a music major. I’ve always had an interest in computers growing up, though. My dad and I had a little business where we would fix computers. I decided to shift my focus to computer science and pursue that interest. Still love music, as well!
4. What do you enjoy most about being an engineer? I’ve always loved building and creating. Engineering allows me to still express my creative side, whether it be through how a problem is approached or building something new from the ground up. I love it.
5. What makes you excited to come into work every day? Having the opportunity to solve new problems and bring ideas on paper to deliverable solutions keeps me excited to come into work every day.

Joseph Barker, Senior Software Engineer

1. Where did you receive your Bachelor of Engineering degree? I received my degree at South Arkansas University in Magnolia, AR.
2. What was your major? My major was in computer science; I also had a minor in mathematics
3. What influenced your decision to go into engineering? In high school I attended a “jump start” program at the local community college. The program I was more IT-focused and highlighted topics like computer building and network installation and repair. I spent most of my free time on my computer, so that education in high school really spoke to me. When I entered college, I decided that I would have an easier time finding a job if I majored in computer science over what I had previously begun to learn in high school.
4. What do you enjoy most about being an engineer? What I enjoy most about being an engineer is being able to listen to a problem and help design a solution to that problem. I get a great sense of self accomplishment from problem solving. Also, the freedom of work hours are great.
5. What makes you excited to come into work every day? The thing that most excites me to come into work every day is the feeling of accomplishment with every stride toward the success of what I’m working on. When I first started, that success was just learning and completing work; over the years, that success has grown into helping direct the engineering effort of large projects.

Jesse Bandel, Senior Software Engineer

1. Where did you receive your Bachelor of Science degree? Creighton University.
2. What was your major? Computer Science and informatics
3. What influenced your decision to go into engineering? I knew that I wanted to work in an area that required critical thinking and problem solving but wasn’t sure in which field. I took a computer science course and fell in love with it; I immediately knew that was what I wanted to do.
4. What do you enjoy most about being an engineer? The ever-evolving landscape. There are always new things to learn, read and try. I get to visualize things and make them become a reality—I also love how impressed my family is when I use the command line.
5. What makes you excited to come into work every day? I get to work on complex tasks and unique issues. I know the things I work on are being used to help others. Being able to look back at projects we’ve done and see the impact they’ve made is an incredible feeling.