Category: Q&A

On The Job – Jacob Zwicker

Jacob Zwicker

Pavement marking technician

Jacob Zwicker is the president and CEO of Vivid Line Striping, a pavement line striping company serving southern New Hampshire.

Explain your job and what it entails.

We specialize in parking lots and are expanding into athletic courts. We refresh existing lines and markings, create new layouts and install signage. I’m the owner, and we’re no corporate shop, so I tackle everything for the business, soup to nuts. I advertise, manage the finances, procure the materials, do the layouts and striping, so basically hustle, hustle, hustle.

How long have you had this job?

Vivid Line Striping was established in 2021.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I’m a professional civil engineer by trade. Throughout my years of experience, I’ve designed and overseen the construction of many parking lots. It got me interested in the various aspects involved and ultimately led me to starting up my own line striping business. I feel like it’s easy to overlook the impact of line striping and having fresh lines in a parking lot; customers’ first impressions of a business start in the parking lot.

What kind of education or training did you need?

The education that I have isn’t necessarily required for this particular job, but it has helped and led me to this place. I have an undergrad in civil engineering, a master’s in transportation engineering, and I hold a professional engineering license. My experience and education in civil engineering keeps me up to date on different line striping-related regulations and codes.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

A Vivid Line Striping shirt, jeans and a good pair of sneakers. You can rack up a lot of steps striping a parking lot.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

I started this company during the pandemic. It has definitely presented some challenges. First, the cost of paint has risen to an all-time high. Also, there have been periods of paint shortages due to supply chain issues. Despite these challenges, we’ve pushed through with great success.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

At the beginning of this particular endeavor, I wish I had more experience in marketing. As a young company, finding consistent leads can be challenging. Knowing what’s going to generate interest and business can definitely be a lot of trial and error.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That the right line striping really enhances the curb appeal of a property.

What was the first job you ever had?

The first job I ever had was delivering a local newspaper. I was 10 years old, and I would deliver the paper every day in and around my neighborhood.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

‘Never stop moving.’ There’s always something that needs to be done, and if you stop moving you might miss it.

Five favorites

Favorite book: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
Favorite movie: The Lord of the Rings
Favorite music: I enjoy a wide range, from EDM to classical. Although, these days, it’s a lot of kids’ music due to the little one I have at home.
Favorite food: Lobster
Favorite thing about NH: The beautiful scenery

Featured photo: Jacob Zwicker. Courtesy photo.

Student-led

A Nashua sophomore talks about the March for Our Lives

On Saturday, June 11, students from Nashua North and South high schools gathered in Greeley Park in Nashua for a March for Our Lives protest as part of a nationwide movement to raise awareness about gun violence and advocate for gun control legislation. Nashua High School North sophomore Aarika Roy organized the event.

What is March for Our Lives?

March for our Lives is a student-led organization that was created by the survivors of the Parkland shooting, which happened in Florida in 2018. [Students] started doing marches … fighting for gun reform and justice.

How did you end up organizing one in Nashua?

When they had their first [march], Nashua students had organized one. At the time, I was only in the sixth grade. My mom [was] a teacher [at the time], and she figured it was important to get me exposed to the political world. … She brought me to the protests, and I joined kids from all different ages. It was honestly a really great experience for me. It’s how I got into activism. I was able to hear all these people give speeches, I was able to meet Maggie Hassaan as a little kid, and it was really great. After the Uvalde shooting, I felt like everything was getting [to be] too much, and I figured it was time for another [march]. I started asking around, like, ‘Hey, is anybody doing this?’ because I knew some people might be interested, and everyone was like, ‘No, I don’t have the time [to organize it], but I would go to it,’ so I was like, ‘OK, I can make the time to do it.’

What was the turnout and the response like?

There were at least 150 people. … We were expecting counter-protesters to be there, and they were, but it wasn’t that bad. … We got a lot of news coverage on this, which is great. There were a lot of different groups there, like Moms Demand Action, so we were able to meet a lot of people. Jim Donchess, our [Nashua] mayor, was there, and he commended a lot of us. We were able to get Sen. Maggie Hassaan to come, and we had speakers like Shoshanna Kelly, Alderwoman at Large … and Laura Telerski, who is a state rep.

What topics were discussed?

As the main organizer of the event, I was the first speaker. I basically just gave a quick introduction. Then, there were student speakers, and they talked about how they felt unsafe … how we feel scared to go to school … and how people need to put pressure on their legislators to sign in the right laws that will keep us safe, and to vote in the right people who will pass the laws to keep us safe.

What was involved in organizing the march?

I’m involved in a lot of socio-political organizations. I’ve been [involved] in organizing protests, but never organized one on my own. That’s the reason I was a little bit hesitant before I decided to do this protest, but I’m so glad I did, because I was able to learn a lot. It took two or three weeks [to plan]. … I started by … [designing] a flyer and posting on my social media … [calling for people] to get involved. I got a lot of really great responses. From there, I started organizing meetings. We figured out a location, which ended up being Greeley Park in Nashua. … We were able to get a lot of press coverage. … We got a lot of parents involved. … The day before, I was just making posters all night, and they turned out really great.

What are your future plans for the movement?

I don’t want to have to do this again. It’s awful that we had to have it in the first place again. If [a shooting] like this happens again, I will definitely take part in setting up and organizing another one again, but our hope is that it never happens again, not in New Hampshire or anywhere.

Featured photo: Aarika Roy, speaking at the March for Our Lives Nashua event. Photo courtesy of Aarika Roy.

In the kitchen with Meredith Thomas

Meredith Thomas of Derry is the owner and founder of Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery (mimiraesglutenfreebakery.com, and on Facebook and Instagram), a producer of small-batch handcrafted gluten-free items like cookies, scones, breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, cake pops and more. Originally from the Chicago area, Thomas moved to New England about three years ago. She first got into making gluten-free treats shortly after her husband was diagnosed with Celiac disease — eventually, after a period of developing and mastering her technique, Thomas started selling her treats at the encouragement of her family. Find Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery at the Salem Farmers Market (Tuscan Village, 10 Via Toscana, Salem) on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at the Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market (1 W. Broadway, Derry) on Wednesdays, from 3 to 7 p.m. Thomas’s gluten-free treats can also be ordered online.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My No. 1 thing is my mixer. I have two mixers — one for making some bigger, heftier doughs and then one for frostings.

What would you have for your last meal?

Risotto is my favorite. I like the versatility of it.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

We love Sabatino’s [North] in Derry. Their risotto is amazing.

What celebrity would you like to see trying something that you’ve baked?

I follow a lady named Tara Thueson. She’s an Instagram influencer and she’s gluten-free.

What is your favorite gluten-free item that you offer?

The chocolate chip cookies. As basic as they are, I love to just take a regular cookie and then add a little flair to it. … For example, in the wintertime I’ll add in peppermint M&Ms.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

I see a lot of bakery storefronts now with these huge jumbo cookies. People get so excited for them.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Honestly, dinner is my favorite thing. We have four kids [and] we are so busy with activities and sports with the family, so it’s super important for me to always have a dinner prepared and ready to go. … My kids also love fettuccine alfredo, and the Barilla gluten-free pasta is our favorite that seems to hold up the best.

Gluten-free fettuccine alfredo
From the kitchen of Meredith Thomas of Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery

1 box Barilla gluten-free fettuccine pasta
2 room temperature eggs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup cooked bacon

Fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Add pasta. After five minutes, pull out one cup of pasta water. Whisk the eggs and slowly add the pasta water. Drain pasta and place back in the pot. Add egg and water mixture to the pasta and mix thoroughly. Add Parmesan cheese, peas and bacon (optional: if pasta is too thick, milk can be added to make it creamier).

Featured photo: Meredith Thomas. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Mike Gillespie

Mike Gillespie

Professional pooper scooper

Mike Gillespie is the franchise owner and operator of Pet Butler NH, a pet waste removal service.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own and operate a Pet Butler franchise in southern New Hampshire. Our tagline is ‘We scoop poop.’ All that translates into owning a pooper scooper service, managing a couple of ‘pawesome’ employees, managing the business operations and, of course, scooping poop.

How long have you had this job?

I started the business in 2019 and began scooping in January 2020. I left my health care career in January 2021 to operate the franchise full-time.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I needed a change from health care, and this was an opportunity to start a business with minimum investment.

What kind of education or training did you need?

You need to have an understanding of business. I’ve had a couple of other small businesses over my lifetime, so personally my business training has been on the job, along with support from the franchisor.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

We dress for the outdoors and the weather. For me, the most important thing is the shoes, to keep my feet dry. Lawns can be very damp in the morning, and having wet feet all day kind of stinks.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

We started right before the pandemic, so we had no idea what would happen. It turns out that our business was needed, especially with all the Covid dogs that were adopted. We were fortunate to be deemed an essential service — animal care — so we stayed working. Business is picking up and has been pretty solid.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

What we do is pretty simple, but despite being a dog owner for many years, families with two, three or four dogs have a lot of poop in their yard.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

It’s a pretty good job if you like working by yourself, can work with minimal supervision, like dogs, enjoy being outdoors and take pride in what you do.

What was the first job you ever had?

A couple of my high school teachers had a landscaping business, so I worked for them at the end of high school.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

‘It’s just poop in a bucket.’

Five favorites

Favorite book: I’m not a big reader, but I enjoyed reading the original Spenser: For Hire books.
Favorite movie: Young Frankenstein
Favorite music: Rock ’n’ roll music from my youth, which I guess is now called ‘classic rock.’
Favorite food: I love me a tasty steak
Favorite thing about NH: Having four seasons

Featured photo: Mike Gillespie. Courtesy photo.

Peace of mind

Broderick discusses mental health book, webinar series

John Broderick, senior director of public affairs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and former Chief Justice for the New Hampshire Supreme Court, discussed his new book, Back Roads and Highways: My Journey to Discovery on Mental Health, coming out at the end of this month, and a year-long webinar series about mental health called “Heads Up,” which he is organizing in partnership with Dartmouth Health.

What is the Heads Up Series?

The Heads Up series was started during Covid … [to talk] to the New Hampshire community about Covid-related mental health issues, for children, for families, for the elderly. It was very successful. … For the next year, we’ll be focusing on mental health issues … covering a number of topics. … There will be some virtual forums on these various topics that will be available to the public at no cost. Some of those forums will have Dartmouth Health people on them and many other folks, too. … The goal of this series is really to increase awareness and start a different conversation around mental health.

What topics will it cover?

A lot of it will be focused on adolescents. … Some of it will relate to social and cultural pressures that young people are feeling before, during and after Covid. We’re going to talk about social media, athletics, stress. … There will be a number of topics that I think will hit a broad audience over the next 12 months.

How did you determine those topics?

They’re topics that I’ve raised in the book I [have been writing] for the last six years with the help and support of Dartmouth Health. … I’ve been traveling all over New England and talked to 100,000 young people in grades 6 through 12 in 300 gyms and auditoriums about mental health awareness. Of those kids, probably 4,000 of them have talked very privately and confidentially to me about what they’re seeing and experiencing, not just during Covid, though a lot of it has been exacerbated [due to Covid].

What is your personal interest in mental health?

It comes from my own lived experience with my family. … I’ve been very open about my family’s journey. … Two decades ago, while I was in public life, I didn’t understand mental health at the time, and I didn’t see it in my own family for what it was. I made mistakes; I see them now. It took my family on a really hard public journey that I wouldn’t wish on another living soul. The good news is, my family came through it. We’ve healed, and we’re in a very different place now. … The reason I’m doing what I’ve been doing is because of my own ignorance and the unintended harm it had in my own household. … Over the last six years, [mental health] has become acutely personal in a different way. … When I go to the schools, I’m honest with [the kids]. I’m vulnerable in sharing my family’s journey. I’m asking for their help to change the culture and the conversation which we have avoided for generations, and kids respond to that.

What is the book about?

The book is not really autobiographical or a story of my family. That story is already public; I share it every time I go and speak. The focus of my book is … everyone else’s family. I wrote the book because I wanted people to come with me at my elbow, into the [school] gyms and auditoriums all across New England, and to feel and experience what I felt and experienced. I want people to realize the nature and scope of the problem, and to understand that we can fix it, but only if we talk about it. … My book really is [meant] to drive a new discussion about the needed change in America’s mental health system, and to say to people that treatment works; it’s not hopeless. We just need to expand the system and allow people to access health care when it relates to something going on above the neck.

How can mental health be improved in New Hampshire?

The numbers of families and people dealing with mental health and substance [issues] is enormous, and we don’t have a system in this country to deal with either problem. … We don’t have enough psychiatrists … or nurse practitioners who deal with mental health issues. We don’t have enough psychiatric social workers … or mental health counselors. It’s not because people wouldn’t go into those careers; it’s because we don’t incentivize it. We don’t pay them. Psychiatrists, for example, are among the lowest-paid members of the medical profession. … Also, [mental illness] is still stigmatized. People are still ashamed. I know because the kids have told me that. They don’t feel that way when they have a broken ankle or a bad back. [Kids] feeling like they’re letting someone down or are defective in some way because they have a mental health problem is on all of us. … We need to let people know that it’s an everywhere, everyday problem, and not the result of some personal deficiency or weakness.

Featured photo: John Broderick.

On The Job – Jennifer Gange

Jennifer Gange

Outdoor sensory play equipment designer

Jennifer Gange of Pelham is the founder and CEO of Earth Craft Creations, which builds custom children’s outdoor sensory play equipment for home and school settings.

Explain your job and what it entails.

Earth Craft Creations builds amazing outdoor sensory toys for home and school settings, [like] mud kitchens [and] oversized acrylic framed easels. … Working one-on-one with customers to determine the best fit for their needs and wants is something … I really enjoy. … I’m also able to work with schools to create custom sensory play stations for their specific outdoor spaces. I love the creative process involved in helping to see their visions come to life.

How long have you had this job?

I launched Earth Craft Creations almost two years ago during the early-ish months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

My love of playing outdoors and a predisposition for very involved daydreaming.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I needed all my prior life experiences to get me to this point. In my former work life, I spent years working in different roles with children and adults with disabilities. From these exceptional people, I saw the immeasurable value of living in the moment and the wisdom of finding joy in simplicity. I also became familiar with the multitude of benefits on well-being and all areas of development with engaging in sensory-based recreation activities. For a time, I [worked] for my father Anthony in his insurance business. … While working for my father under his very organized office manager, I was able to learn and practice some of this using record keeping and billing systems that would later allow me to create key elements of the systems I use now to manage the daily operations of my own business. … In addition to my prior work experiences, my formal education is in social work, education and counseling psychology. Different pieces of all of this aid me in the different roles I currently fill.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Most days I wear leggings, my favorite L.L. Bean sweatshirt and sneakers.

What was it like starting during the pandemic?

Amazing. Like many people, I think the changing circumstances we were all faced with brought some things into focus and perspective, including the idea for this business, which I had been working on for a year prior to launching.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I can’t really answer this. A lot of the enjoyment I have found in this career change adventure has been in learning as I go. I’m not someone who needs to have all the answers before starting a project. Inspiration, flexible thinking, good work habits, a bit of direction and faith in the creative process are more important to me.

What was the first job you ever had?

My first job was scooping ice cream.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

A dear friend of mine, an amazing woman and business owner I worked for while I was in college, told me, ‘It’s better to work smart than to work hard.’ At this point, I’m certainly working hard, but I like to think I’m also working smart. At least in overseeing an entire operation, I can now say I know exactly what she meant by that.

Five favorites

Favorite book: As far as fiction goes, I adore all of Jodi Picoult’s writing and am a fan of historical fiction. I enjoy nonfiction as well, in particular studies in spirituality, religion, culture, positive psychology and neurodiversity.
Favorite movie: The Last Unicorn
Favorite music: Fleetwood Mac, Smashing Pumpkins and Snoop Dogg are a few favorites.
Favorite food: Thai food and ice cream.
Favorite thing about NH: I love that we are surrounded with so much beautiful nature. Walking in the woods or being by the ocean are instantly healing and uplifting.

Featured photo: Jennifer Gange. Courtesy photo.

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