ArcStone Spotlight - Alicia Cermak

Alicia Cermak

Title: Chief Technology Officer 

Start date: September 2004

Path to ArcStone. I worked in a public library as the page, so I answered questions, shelved books, repaired books, helped kids with programs, read stories, and did a little bit of IT work. Prior to the library, I worked at the help desk at my college. Professionally, ArcStone is my first web gig at an agency. I always knew I would end up in computers, but growing up, when you had to come up with an idea for a career, it was usually not an IT Director. If this web thing doesn’t pan out, I’ll probably open a cupcake shop.

Send a resume and cover letter. I had always done stuff with the web, and I got my 2-year degree and started looking for a job. I interviewed at these other places that were more in line with what I had been doing -- school districts and city governments. I interviewed at ArcStone and with the Minneapolis public schools to do IT work; I was offered a position at both places, but I really loved the interview process here and the laid-back vibe and the people here. It was a completely different environment and a huge shift from what I was used to working in.

Women in STEM. It’s like being a female firefighter; it’s not a role you see a lot of women in.

Professional strengths. My focus is taking something highly technical and make it accessible. I try to do a lot behind-the-scenes things, so it’s easier for our customers. A lot of what I do can be complicated and a pain in the butt for the customer. I like to be able to take that off their hands and reassure them that we’ve got it. They don’t need to worry about it, and they shouldn’t have to.

Redefining the nerd. Growing up, I was into the punk scene, so I had a personal style, but it wasn’t feminine. I wore baggy pants and band t-shirts; I wore makeup, but it was garish, and I colored my hair to make it crazy, not pretty. On the flipside of that, I hung out with my mom, and I had a pink bedroom. But I still played video games with my brother, and I loved the Minnesota Vikings, and I spent my summers on the computer. I was more of a nerd than a tomboy.

Favorite places to eat -- faux real. My favorite restaurant is Evergreen on Nicollet. It’s in a basement; it has a terrible atmosphere. It feels like a church basement; it has the asbestos tiles on the floor and stackable chairs. It looks like a dump, but they have the most amazing vegetarian Chinese and Taiwanese food. They have every type of faux meat you can imagine. You can order faux squid. Normally a restaurant will only have vegetarian chicken or a veggie burger; this place, you can get any kind of food you want vegetarianized or veganized. It’s fun having more than two options on a menu.

Bacio in Minnetonka makes a great grain salad. It’s farro, quinoa, avocados, tomatoes -- it’s just clean, wholesome, delicious, and flavorful.

Everyone and everything has a story. I’m really into genealogy, so I’m an ancestry.com addict. I find it fascinating. I’ll get to the point where I’m at a groove and go back generation after generation. At one point, I traced my lineage back to Charlemagne. I was super jazzed.

I’m also really into old historic houses and architecture. I’ve researched the history of houses I’ve lived in. Who owned it? What was their business? What were their interests? Their history is what is interesting to me. Researching that, visiting salvage shops, antique shops, and estate sales are fun to me. I’m an old lady. I listen to talk radio in the car and go to estate sales.

Vegetarians can be foodies. Cooking and baking are some of my hobbies. When I bake, I know what I can play with, but baking is essentially chemistry. I might change the extracts or do chocolate chips instead of raisins, but you can’t really change too much without changing the entire dish.

When I cook, I’m terrible at following the recipe. It’s usually, “You know what would be good in here? Garlic!” I experiment and make it my own, because you can with cooking.