By Paige Powers, Marketing Coordinator |
New employee alert! We recently hired Ewan Malenfant as our new Stringing Machine Technician. Ewan is a life-long tennis player and a pickleball newbie. As we start to release more stringing machine videos, you will be seeing a lot more from him. Read the interview below to learn more about him!
What is your current position at GAMMA Sports and how long have you worked here?
I am the Stringing Machine Service Technician and I started on August 3rd so almost 2 months.
How did you come to work with GAMMA?
I applied on Indeed and GAMMA was one of the only companies I ended up hearing back from. Three interviews and a trip to Pittsburgh later I was officially hired!
Where did you go to college and what was your major?
I spent 4 years at Allegheny College (go gators!) where I studied Environmental Science, Physics, and Astronomy.
Environmental Science? That’s pretty awesome! Have your worked on any cool research projects?
Yes! I am an author of 2 published research papers. My most extensive project was focused on understanding the availability of the wind resource at Allegheny. I measured wind speeds over the period of 3 months and used my data to determine the potential power output of a hypothetical wind farm on campus. One of my favorite projects was studying the abundance of marsh birds in Delaware, and I got to help catch and tag a clapper rail.
Assuming you also like the outdoors, due to your major! What are some of your favorite outdoor activities? Backpacking and hiking are my favorite things to do in the outdoors.
What are the top three places that you’ve hiked?
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- Presidential Traverse, White Mountains NH. The closest the east coast gets to the Rocky Mountains.
- Pemi Loop, White Mountains NH. Views for days.
- Shenandoah National Park, VA. I’ve done something like 95 of the 105 miles of Appalachian Trail in the park plus over 100 miles of side trails.
Are you originally from the Pittsburgh area? Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Middletown and then Dover DE where my family is still living.
After graduating from Allegheny College, did you know you wanted to move back to Pittsburgh?
I was pretty sure that I did, I still had other places in mind but once a bunch of my friends decided to come here my mind was made up.
What’s your favorite part of working at GAMMA?
I’ve really enjoyed the supportive atmosphere and I really enjoy that people here take their work seriously but aren’t afraid to leave at 3:30 on Fridays.
Do you play pickleball or tennis?
I live and breathe Tennis.
Since you recently tried pickleball for the first time, do you think you’ll play it more often than tennis? Do you think you’ll try to play in the 2021 GAMMA Pickleball Classic?
I don’t think I’ll play it more often than tennis, but I do think it’s a lot of fun! I plan on making a deep run at the classic!
If you had one day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?
Well I do really want to climb Denali but that takes at least a month so I’d probably find somewhere around here to go rock climbing.
What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had shared with you when you were younger?
To travel as much as you can while you're young and still have free summers.
RAPID FIRE ROUND
Summer or Winter: Winter
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
Beach or Mountains: Mountains
Cats or Dogs: Dogs
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Green mint chocolate chip or chocolate chip cookie dough.
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite Band/Singer: Pink Floyd/Tame Impala