(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association System Engineer Erik LaVine.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born Nov. 4, 1985 in Petal.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: Petal High School and once I graduated I went to Jones County Junior College for a couple of years then on to Mississippi State. I graduated from State in 2009.
Q: What was your childhood like?
A: I was raised by a single mother and have an older brother and younger sister. I grew up in a not too well off family, and there were definitely struggles. I got to see a lot then that I knew I didn’t want to have to deal with later in life. My mom, Marisa, did everything she could to make sure we had everything we needed. Overall, it was a good childhood, but there were just difficult battles with that.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: My title is system engineer, but really in the engineering department we have three engineers working right now. We don’t really specialize in any on area, and that way any day any one of us could be doing anything. It might be metering problems or questions one day to new developments, new subdivisions or big business coming in that we’ll work with the developers on. What I tend to do the most of is substation, relaying protection and substation upgrades. That’s something I enjoy, so I tend to get a large majority of those.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: I always knew I was going to do something with engineering. I went back and forth between mechanical and electrical and did aerospace at one point. I ended up between mechanical and electrical and basically just flipped a coin when I went with electrical. My degree was in electrical engineering, and once I was in the electrical side I knew I wanted to do power, some sort of testing and relaying type of work.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: The ability to get outside of the office to do stuff outside as well so I don’t have to be inside or outside all of the time. It’s a pretty good mix.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: The unknowns — the things that tend to come up in the middle of projects that are out of left field you can’t see coming. They tend to throw a wrinkle in any plans you may have or sometimes even the deadlines you may have make things more complicated.
Q: What advice would you give someone considering your career path?
A: I think the biggest thing is when you are in school make sure you do some sort of internship. That way you get a good idea of what you’re going to be doing. If you think you want one particular type of job, an internship will allow you to really see if you like it or if you need to move to a different job inside the engineering field.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I used to mow grass every summer, but the first real job I had was actually as a mechanic. I was a small engine mechanic at a couple of different shops. I did that until I had to quit and really focus on college.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: Definitely my grandfather Lloyd Smith. He was certainly my role model and leader when I was growing up. I used to spend a lot of summers with my grandparents because we didn’t see them a lot during the year. They lived about four or five hours away. His main thing was work ethic. He was a really hard worker and great provider for his family. He was a World War II veteran and POW. He worked at the post office, owned a grocery store for a little while and became a mail carrier once someone bought his store from him. He was also a mayor of his town for a few terms. He taught me about the work ethic needed to reach the goals I wanted.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Alison. She is a stay-at-home mom.
Q: Do you have children?
A: We have an 18-month-old boy named Connor.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: Probably going to be barbecue ribs of some sort.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: My wife and I both really want to go to Scotland at some point. It would be a neat trip. There isn’t any particular sites or anything, but we want to see that particular region.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I still actually love to turn wrenches and do mechanical work. I still do that on the side for friends, family and neighbors. I’ve got a couple of 4-wheelers and an old of Jeep I’m always tinkering with.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: Since I’ve been here, I’ve met a lot of really good people I enjoy being around and working with. Specifically working at Pearl River Valley, I get the chance to meet a lot of people in the community for different projects like different developers and people calling in with questions I can help them with. The part of this job I like with that is it’s different every day. I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to have going on because anything can always come up and happen.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: I’m certainly a family-oriented guy, so I’d say my grandfather. It would be nice to spend some time with him because I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I would like to.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: I would probably have a very large shop at my house and have never-ending projects.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: I love both, but these days I probably watch more movies. Most of the time I’m tired enough that I lay down with a good book I’m going to fall asleep. I can sit there and watch a movie and not fall asleep during it.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: Not one particular moment but seeing the way my mom worked and struggled growing up was definitely what had a lot to do with who I am. Seeing her always put everything we needed first before herself and getting to the point now where hopefully I don’t have to worry about anything like that was definitely a huge turning for me. It showed me what life could be.
Q: What would be the No. 1 thing on your Bucket List?
A: Just traveling with my family. Letting my son get out and see different things and places would be nice. There’s no definite places but just road trips.
Q: If you could describe your morals in three words, what would they be?
A: Loyalty, work ethic and honesty.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: As someone who people can come talk to if they have a question or a problem. Whatever it may be, whether it’s personal, life or work, I want to be approachable.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association’s Erik LaVine said he enjoys spending time working on his 4-wheelers and Jeep, along with doing mechanical work for friends and family. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
