Kim Varghese
What are you passionate about and how do you pursue that passion at PMA?
I am passionate about photography, so for PMA I recently made a trip to Miami to capture recent projects for our website. On the personal side, I especially enjoy taking photos of family and friends at sunset and making people laugh to get a picture which captures their personality.
What is your career highlight so far? (at PMA?)
My career highlight has been to celebrate 10 years with a company I love and people I respect and care about. Another career highlight is to be recognized as a reliable and hardworking member of the PMA team.
What current project(s) are you working on?
I have established regular SouthEast Board of Director meetings and I’m currently working on resume role updates and database cleanup for future transfer to our new data system.
Who/what inspires you to push yourself?
My mom inspired me by the way I was raised. She emphasized ethics, hard work, and responsibility. I operate my life and career based on those principles. I watched my mom work two jobs putting in 12+hour days, cook, clean, help with homework, and raise three bratty kids. What I appreciate most about my mom is that she is a genuinely kind and generous human being. She’s always there for me when I need a listening ear or sound advice when it comes to my personal life or professional career. It could be 5 a.m. and she’s ready to listen.
What are the most positive aspects of working at PMA? Or Share your impressions of PMA’s culture.
PMA brings a passion for learning to everything we do, and that curiosity allows us to continuously grow as professionals. The Marketing group started holding marketing workshops where we could learn tips from grammar and punctuation to layout and design. I have personally learned so much from my peers in this casual setting. Having curiosity about your peers’ experience and how they lay out information during proposal development plus going through a sample proposal management process have been very positive experiences for me.
PMA also makes employee mental health and welfare a priority. Over the past 10 years, I have had personal events that almost knocked my life off track. During these stressful times, I was able to maintain my sanity by knowing I had a team of work friends who cared about me and would not let me fall at work too.
What is something innovative happening in your industry that makes you excited about the future?
Marketing communications has moved from being a one-way broadcast to a more personal two-way interaction with clients and prospects using social media. I also see many more employees acting as a member of the marketing team helping to share the company through social media posts and retweets.
What university or college did you graduate from?
I received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from Simmons College, Boston, MA.
What is your favorite local establishment/feature (restaurant, museum, stadium, etc.)?
I enjoy going to AVA MediterrAegean on Park Avenue in Winter Park.
Also, the Alfond Inn has dinner and dancing on the weekends. Fun fact: The ever-changing artwork on the walls at the Alfond come from the permanent collection of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum and the Rollins Fine Arts Museum.
Provide a fun fact or secret talent about yourself?
Having been a boater my entire life around Cape Cod, I have dealt with some intense weather, but I’ve never been seasick!