Middle school teacher Carolyn Hardwick took a summer job as a project coordinator for AirGate PCS 13 summers ago and never looked back. By the end of the summer, Hardwick had been offered a project manager job. AirGate became part of Sprint a year later, and Hardwick stayed with the company for almost five years, working on the development of new tower sites.
“I liked teaching, but I certainly enjoy being in the industry,” said Hardwick, who holds a BS in marketing, management and economics from Clemson. Hardwick won a series of site development jobs after leaving Sprint and for the past four years, she has been director of business development for the south region at SBA Communications Corportation. “I handle day-to-day account management for both national and regional accounts,” said Hardwick. “I travel quite a bit so I will go and see customers, look for new opportunities. We work with rural carriers and are also looking for government opportunities.”
Hardwick says a healthy work/life balance is one of her key priorities. She enjoys cooking, entertaining, Bible study, college football, ballroom dancing and golf. Clearly an extrovert, Hardwick says that being part of industry groups is important both personally and professionally.
“There are organizations like WWLF (Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum) who help to pair you up with a mentor, so I would just say get plugged in,” said Hardwick. “You can gain a lot of knowledge talking with others who have been in for a while and gain a lot of education and build your resource pool .. It’s very important to stay plugged in.”
The Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum has partnered with RCR Wireless News to recognize outstanding women in wireless infrastructure. The goal is to shine a spotlight on some of the hardworking women that make real contributions to our industry, reaching beyond the executive level to find the rising stars. Women-owned wireless infrastructure companies will also be spotlighted. If you know of a candidate for this recognition, please send your submission to Blair Bode of Kineticom or to Martha DeGrasse of RCR Wireless. Blair can be reached at blair.bode@kineticom.com and Martha can be reached at mdegrasse@ardenopco.com. Please use “Women in Wireless” as the subject line of your email.
