Linda Orlando '77

Linda Orlando, a native New Yorker, graduated from Cathedral in 1977. She shares the Cathedral experience with her mother, who graduated in 1954.

Linda stayed active at Cathedral. She was on the volleyball, basketball, and tennis teams, a liturgical group guitarist and a photographer for the yearbook. As is often typical of high school students, Linda wasn’t sure what path lay ahead, which made having teachers she could go to for guidance and mentorship so important.

“There were some teachers that were easy to talk to and they provided mentorship and guidance. They helped students to make choices in their lives. That’s the role of teachers, but they went above and beyond,” says Linda.

During her senior year at Cathedral, Linda took a bookkeeping class that sparked her interest in accounting,
but it was at Pace University where she found her true calling. Linda majored in business with a focus on management and information systems. The department chair placed her in the university’s administrative computer office, which was her first break in the industry.

From Pace, Linda was recruited by J.P. Morgan. She worked with the company for 20 years, then worked at Bell Atlantic, a dotcom firm, and was the chief information officer for an investment bank. For the past three years, she has been doing technology consulting.

“Going from Wall Street to a dot
com was like placing your foot on
the gas pedal and going from 20mph to 120mph in a second,” says Linda. Being dynamic, agile, and adaptable have been critical traits throughout her career. Her love of learning has also served Linda well. “I like to learn. I like to do new things. You can’t be in the technology field and be static. You have to be very dynamic.”

She has seen some incredible changes. “When I started, programming was done on key punch cards. Knowing that those machines are now sitting on chips in our cellphones, and seeing the technology lifecycle of the last 35 years has been tremendously rewarding,” says Linda. “In my life and in my career, I have seen that change in how computers have affected our lives. It has made me take pause to think about what my parents experienced. To think about what the future holds for today’s 20-year-olds and what they’re going to see over the next 40 years of their careers. It’s mind-blowing.”

Most important to Linda, she has had the opportunity to serve as a mentor and team-builder. “One of my greatest accomplishments has been building great teams, mentoring staff, and working with some great individuals,” says Linda. “Seeing people who I’ve worked with over the years move on to some fantastic opportunities, and maybe knowing that I had some part of mentoring them has been very rewarding.”

The groundbreaking historical drama Hidden Figures is a movie that Linda connects with deeply as she reflects
on her 35 years in the technology industry. She has seen the industry grow and evolve and has been a part of those changes in different ways. As a woman, she has faced challenges and continued to grow from them, using some of the lessons that were instilled in her at Cathedral.

“My parents and teachers helped foster a sense of confidence, drive, and flexibility in me that helped me to navigate the waves of change,” says Linda.

Linda earned an MBA at Georgian Court University where she now serves as a trustee. Her interest is in working with local Catholic schools to encourage students to pursue higher ed degrees. She also hopes to get more involved at Cathedral as the school continues to grow and expand its STEM education program.

Looking back, Linda credits
Cathedral with exposing her to new opportunities. “[At Cathedral] the exposure to the prevalence of computer basics no matter what industry you’re going into, exposure to the sciences, exposure to business classes, these things all help expose students to possibilities and opportunities,” says Linda.

Linda offers some advice to current Cathedral students interested in the technology field. “Don’t ever stop learning. Don’t ever back down from
a challenge just because you don’t know something. Find a way to know it or find a person who can help you learn it. And, don’t ever turn down an introduction to someone because in many cases we are all connected,” says Linda.