Church Helped deBlecourt Find Duke Job
Administrative assistant originally moved to North Carolina to help start a church
Name: David deBlecourt
Position: Administrative assistant for the Clinical Data Management Department of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, known as DCRI
Read MoreYears at Duke: 3.5
What I do at Duke: I help coordinate job-training offerings for the 115 employees in Clinical Data Management, from compliance training to training on software and standard operating procedures. I also edit all of our standard operating procedures for consistency and quality assurance standards and edit our departmental intranet.
To start a conversation with me, someone should ask about: Trailhead Church in Graham. In 2008, the minister for my college group at Marshall University in West Virginia asked some of us to help him start a church. Four of us came to North Carolina with the pastor and his wife. We had to find a place to rent, gather all the equipment and get people to come. It was sometimes harder than what we expected but worth the toil. The church now has about 100 people every Sunday.
How I got my job at Duke: I met a lady at church who worked at DCRI. I sent her my resume and her supervisor, who worked remotely and was seldom in the office, happened to be in the office the day my resume arrived. She saw it on the desk, asked about it and ended up calling me in for an interview. It was a wonderful blessing.
What I love about Duke: I love that as an academic research organization, the DCRI can focus on what we are learning and how it can affect patient care, rather than just focusing on the dollar.
My first paid job: I washed cars at K O Carwash in Hurricane, West Virginia.
When I am not at Duke I like to: Spend time at church. I am the administrator, so I keep the books, manage the finances and work with the rest of the team to make sure we have everything we need for services, including volunteers. My wife and I also spend many weekends traveling to see family in West Virginia.
If I could have one superpower it would be: The ability to transport myself directly to any place. I'd be at the beach a lot more often if I could do that.
If I had $5 million I would: Give to the church. And I'd buy a house. My wife and I are looking for one right now. That would up our price range a bit.
A memorable moment at work: Before my wife and I got married in 2010, my co-workers hosted a reception for us. I love that our department feels like family.
A book I recently read: "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. It is the true story of a World War II pilot who was a prisoner of war.
Something most people don't know about me: I love the national parks and recently hiked the Grand Canyon for the fifth time during a church trip we took out west.