Above picture: Valerie and her partner, John.
Meet the Staff: Valerie Smith
Name: Valerie Smith
Position: Senior Credentialing Analyst, Certification Department
When did you join AACE?
I began my journey with AACE in March 2010 as a temporary employee and joined as an official full-time employee in April 2010.
Why do you do what you do, professionally?
I spent some years as a consultant, working with SAP implementations. While I enjoyed the work itself, I did not have time to spend with family and friends.
I came to AACE after a project ended as a temporary employee; I was looking for something to fill my time until I found another project. I had no expectation that this temporary position would turn into a full-time job for over 12 years (and counting)!
Like consulting, my job with AACE is challenging. I am not someone who is happy doing the same thing every day. AACE provides me with the challenges I crave and the opportunity to grow, and yet allows me to have balance with my personal life. In addition, I genuinely enjoy the people I work with, whether it is other staff, volunteers, or candidates and certificants.
What have you learned working at AACE?
I have learned that I still have so much to learn! I did not have experience in certifications, exams and testing, credentialing, and accreditation prior to my experience at AACE, but have learned so much. I am also avidly learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and try to apply what I have learned in my daily life. I think that my continual learning about DEI is helping to make me a better person.
Tell us about your interests, family, and/or a fun fact!
Most people don’t realize I celebrate a birthday month, and those who do know this may not realize there is a valid reason for this!
I was born in Japan and was at an orphanage in Yokosuka, sponsored by the US Navy. I was given the name Yukari, which was a name given to me by the mayor of the city in which I was found. The birthdate on my birth certificate was April 18th.
Some baby pictures of me taken in the orphanage.
Adorable photo of yours truly in a kimono.
Approximately a year after I arrived at the orphanage, my father and mother were living in Guam, where he was stationed with the Navy. My father went on assignment in Japan where he decided to visit the very same orphanage. With no intention of adopting when he walked through the doors, my father has told me that he “was instantly smitten with this little girl who played with the gold buttons on his uniform”. He then began the adoption process.
Picture of me being held by one of the orphanage employees.
It took my parents about 2 years to complete the adoption process. During that time, the orphanage did their due diligence to try to find my birthparents and put an article in the local papers.
Part of a newspaper clipping put in the local paper featuring yours truly!
Translation of a portion of the newspaper article, detailing how I came to be in the orphanage.
As you can see, the translation for my birthday is not April 18th, but May 17th! Although I didn’t see this article or translation until much later in my life, this gave me all the ammunition I needed to justify having a month-long celebration!
Nobody responded to the article claiming to be my birth parents, so I was on my way to Guam and my new family!
Family photo with my new family. (Note the cool pants my father is wearing and my really bad haircut!)