The Driven Divorcée
Sandra Kopecky
Sandra Kopecky was a computer programmer for years, but bowed out of the profession to raise her two children.
“In 2010,” says Kopecky, “I was handed a divorce.”
Approaching her 40s and a few years removed from the workforce, prospective employers told her she was under-qualified.
In the fall of last year she returned to the New York Institute of Technology to pursue a master’s and reboot her career.
She was among a handful of NYIT students to work on Motorola’s Golden-i, the world’s first hands-free, wireless headset computer before it comes to the market. The project is part of NYIT’s technology partnership with Motorola Solutions
Golden-i, a sort of wearable Mac-meets-microphone, is expected to give workers the ability to multitask, communicate and access information in the fields of medicine, manufacturing, distribution, the military and law enforcement.
Doctors, for instance, would be able to discuss procedures with colleagues while in the middle of procedures and architects could view 3D renderings while standing in an open space to get a real sense of how buildings would appear when finished.
This summer Kopecky, 45, was developing barcode and QR scanner applications for the device, which is slated for consumer release next year.
She hopes to jump back into the technology field after getting her graduate degree.
“It was very very scary not being in a formal classroom in many years,” she says. “But after taking the first round of tests and doing projects and students not knowing my age, I felt more comfortable.
“I was a little self-conscious about my age. But I’m pulling a 4.0 and they’re not. Age plays a factor. I do know how to study and I do know what’s expected of me.”
Kopecky is on track to graduate this December.
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