The geek in query: Fola Adeleke-Adedoyin The employment title: Developer, MSIT Relationship Expertise Division (RXD) So what are you currently functioning on?
I’m a developer with MSSolve, the Microsoft Services business incident management solution, which is on track to replace a 12-year Clarify legacy system with a Microsoft technology stack such as WPF, WCF, MS CRM Dynamics 4.0 (titan), and much more. Goodness. I see you like acronyms. How long have you been at Microsoft, Land of the Acronym (LotA)?
A year and a half — although I did a six-month internship before that. Right, I heard that process was a bit rough.
It was a long stretch. I kept applying for an internship while I was at Howard University — I applied for four years and never got in. I kept going at it year after year. I was finally accepted during my graduate program. That was a big break-through. And how many years have you been swimming competitively?
About 22 years. I'm 27 now. My mother is from the Czech Republic,
Office 2007 Activation Key, and she really wanted me to swim. My dad's Nigerian,
Windows 7 X64, and he was more interested in me playing soccer, but my mother definitely pushed me to get better at swimming. We hear a lot about how Microsoft is a competitive workplace — are there any other ways that your competitive swimming profession mirrors your career as a software engineer?
There's a love/hate romantic relationship with both. You love what you're doing, but sometimes you hit a roadblock or a frustrating situation or you're tired or you had a bad day and suddenly you hate it. Both of them you must question every day whether or not you have succeeded what you needed for the day. "Did I accomplish anything today, or am I just going through the motions?" I know you swim at the ProClub, where all ‘Softies get a free membership. Are there any other benefits you're taking advantage of in your pursuit of the Olympic gold?
Well, I was in a motorcycle accident last year — I hit a pole broke both femurs in my legs. Microsoft benefits completely took care of me. I had no out of pocket expenses, and was able to take operate off without feeling like the whole building was falling because I wasn't at perform. The initial cost for the operation on my legs was something like $65,000 — and then there's the ongoing physical therapy and rehabilitation which has probably pushed it over $100,000 in benefits. That rehabilitation was crucial to my swimming profession. Now I have titanium rods the length of my femur in each thigh,
Microsoft Office 2010 Home And Stude/nt, with 4 screws per femur keeping them attached. Does all that titanium make you a bionic man in terms of your swimming?
I don't have any side effects with swimming — but it's a big inconvenience going through airports. Every time, I'm like "Alright, metal in my legs. Metal in my legs." So titanium isn’t like that new Speedo LZR suit, the one that's causing all the controversy?
Not at all … although the LZR is a really fast suit. I already have mine on order. Believe it or not, there's a ton of technology in swimming. Wave technology is a big deal — waves in the pool can be eliminated with good gutters and lane ropes that have smart technology. The lanes at the walls of the pool are the slowest, because the water hits the wall and comes back. So the fastest swimmers are always in the center lane typically that is Lane 4. Which lane are you currently in at operate?
Lane 4. The tech industry isn't always known for being jockish. How does it feel to be an international athlete in an industry known for getting most of its exercise via mouse clicking?
I like breaking stereotypes. You don't just have to do one thing in life. You can have other passions that you can follow. Even with a mortgage, you can still get out and do other things. That said, there are a lot of people in the pool at the ProClub at 5am. I know that I'm aiming for the Olymics, but what's everyone ELSE doing in the pool at 5 in the morning? There are a lot of Microsoft people who are triathaletes, and Microsoft culture is definitely fit-conscious. We have good scenery, good clean air. The northwest is really health-conscious. People talk a lot about Microsoft's permissive dress code — so,
Office 2010 Professional Plus, would you ever wear your new Speedo LZR to operate?
The suit is expensive,
Office Ultimate 2007 Key, and it stretches a bit every time you wear it. If people want to see me the suit, they have to come to a swim meet. Links in Lane 4, please! Video about Fola’s path to the Olympics: Fola's five years of trying to be an intern: Video of “world fasters swimsuit” Speedo LZR Racer: FINA, world swimming federation: Fola is attending Beijing Olympic Qualifer June 26 – 29th in Montreal, Quebec: