Marquita Culross’s first placement with a temporary employment agency put her behind the front counter at White County REMC. She answered phones and opened mail.

She never received another placement after that. The REMC hired her five months later, and it’s been for keeps. Now, she’s the data systems analyst at what is today Carroll White REMC in Monticello, Indiana.

“It still amazes me,” she said of her career path, which tracks like a logarithmic trend line. It’s moved continuously upward and onward. “For not having that education — those letters behind my name — I’m amazed at how much they trusted me. A few people at the time must have seen some secret skills I had or realized my potential.”

After high school, Culross was headed to Indiana University to study accounting. But life had other plans, and she didn’t finish her degree. But she said a brother-in-law introduced her to an early personal computer. “I was kind of hooked at that time. Everything I learned, I just learned on my own. I had a knack for the technology.”

She and her husband and kids had just moved to Monticello from the Fort Wayne area when she signed on to the temporary employment agency. The REMC asked her to stay on after her temporary stint was up. She excelled at whatever her supervisors sent her way over the next couple of years. Then, she said, one day they pulled her aside and put her in charge of billing that was about to undergo automation. “That was a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Several years after that, she was promoted to systems network administrator. In that position, she managed the computer servers, the network and software, and the automated metering system the co-op had begun using. Since then, two more promotions came along as office supervisor and now data systems analyst.

She cites the strong network of support from peers within the community of electric cooperatives around the state and the opportunities the REMC gave her to expand her education on the job. She’s since earned an associate degree in informatics. In her current role, she’s helping manage the co-op’s migration to yet a newer metering technology.

“The technology has just changed so much. I feel proud that I led some of our changes. We use iPads now. We don’t send meter readers out anymore. And consumers have their meter data updated every 15 minutes. I hope we can keep moving forward for the few more years I may have left here,” she said.

“There’s nothing wrong with people having degrees and all that. That’s very important. Sometimes those skills are there; we just don’t have the letters behind our name to show that. I appreciate the co-op was willing to still believe in me and my skills.”