Tunnel 9's Susan Drinnon enjoys helping others

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  "How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world." William Shakespeare

Whether at work or afterwards, a consistent theme in Susan Drinnon's life is the pleasure she derives from helping others.

Drinnon, a computer scientist/system administrator for AEDC's Tunnel 9 Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel facility at White Oak, Md., recently reflected on her life.

In 1985, Drinnon came to work as a summer administrative aide at the Naval Surface Weapons Center at White Oak, Md., never thinking she would still be there 27 years later.

"I hadn't finished my degree in music when I came here," she said. "I had been working at McDonald's to pay for college, and it was one of the regular customers who asked what I was going to be doing over the summer. I told him, if I didn't get a job as a secretary, then I'd be working there. He told me about the opportunity to possibly work here as a summer aide."

With the Navy at White Oak, she found herself in a world unlike anything she knew existed outside of her hometown of Burtonsville, about seven miles from the Navy's White Oak facilities.

Regarding a career, Drinnon acknowledged she wasn't looking that far ahead.

"I didn't really think much about what I was going to do in the future," she said "After I got my BA in music; I took a class at a recording studio, thinking maybe that's the path I would take. I found out that working at a recording studio was a lot of work - very long hours - and little pay for it."

She then considered returning to college to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in music, which would allow her to teach. Although she continued to take courses after earning her undergraduate degree, her professional focus began to change.

"I decided, after changing the groups I worked with here as I got different secretarial positions, that I might want to move towards a technical degree," she said.

By 1990, Drinnon was pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science.

That was the year Drinnon transitioned from her administrative role to an engineering technician position.

"Then I became a computer scientist," she said. "Mostly [now] I support our desktop systems and our test network systems, I do both sides."

On Oct. 1, 1997, when AEDC assumed management of Tunnel 9 from the Navy, Drinnon stayed on.

Asked what gives her the most pleasure at work, Drinnon says the answer is simple.

"I like helping people," she said.

The job keeps her so busy; the biggest challenge is "being able to stay current with technology."

Carol Paschall, an ATA administrative assistant at Tunnel 9, like many workers, relies heavily on a computer network system to keep up with her job.

"Susan is always very helpful when I have a computer issue," Paschall said. "If she can't solve the problem, she will submit a ticket to network control. It's humbling when Susan usually knows what the problem is.

"It reminds me how 'technically challenged' I am. There are times when an issue can wait, but Susan takes care of it right away."

Paschall said Drinnon's commitment to helping others extends beyond the workplace.

"Susan works for her local volunteer fire deptartment," Paschall said. "They had a sign asking for volunteers, and she just went in and asked if she could help. I don't know many people that would volunteer somewhere without any connection other than being part of her local neighborhood."

Dan Marren, director of Tunnel 9, said Drinnon's helpful attitude reminds him of the movie, "Pay it Forward," about a teacher who inspires a boy to literally do good deeds that in turn inspires others to reciprocate, a process that continues throughout the story.

"Susan, besides being a valued member of my team, makes a positive impact in her community by volunteering at the local firehouse," he said. "In fact just this week, she received a second award from the firehouse."

Drinnon's involvement with the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company began five years ago.

"There was a sign in front of the fire department building saying 'volunteers needed,'" she recalled. "The sign was kind of calling me. And one of our guys, who worked here then, was a volunteer at a different station that's local to him.

"I asked him if he thought that our station would have anything that I could do, if I didn't want to do firefighting or EMT," she said. "He said sure, that they probably had administrative things so, then I contacted our station and became a member."

Drinnon found her place at the fire station and eventually became the sole member of the annual mail-out fundraising effort.

"This fundraiser raises the majority of the funding for our fire station," she said. "I also work every summer at the Maryland State Fireman's Association convention in Ocean City, Md., where I help set up the exhibit halls and sign in the vendors for the convention."

Odenten Volunteer Fire Company President Jimmie Allen said in Drinnon's award nomination letter, "One might think that as the chair of the committee, the only duties are leading the committee and ensuring that the members of the committee complete tasks on time and the fund drive goes off without a hitch. However, that is not the case with this committee. As it turns out, the mail-out fund drive typically turns out as a 'one man (woman) show.'"

Drinnon has been active on other fronts as well in her spare time, including donating her hair twice to "Locks of Love."

Around 10 years earlier, she was talking with a neighbor who worked for the American Cancer Society.

"She told me about Daffodil Days - they sell daffodils and they get the proceeds- and one of my favorite flowers is the daffodil, so I would order them from her," Drinnon said. "So, I bought them because they were daffodils and because I wanted to help the ACS."

Drinnon got involved with another nonprofit organization, too.

"I started participating in the Komen Race for the Cure about six years ago," she said. "The gym I belong to would go as a group, and so I have been participating with them every year. I have known several people who either had breast cancer or know people whose family has been affected by breast cancer, and a past co-worker died from breast cancer, so I feel very strongly about supporting breast cancer research."

Besides helping others, Drinnon said there is one other thing that is very important to her.

"Having a sense of humor," she said. "That helps."