A Globe Trotting Alumnus
Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, John Starr never imagined he would become the world traveler he is today. However, his determination and professional success have provided him the opportunity to travel to destinations most people only dream about.
At the age of 14, Starr was intrigued by the newly forming computer field. Since his school offered no computer programming courses at that time, he enrolled in CMPSC 101 at Penn State New Kensington. He was the youngest student in his class that summer and eventually went on to earn 23 credit hours at the University before even graduating high school.
Starr continued his education with the University and graduated with an engineering science and mechanics degree in 1990. During his time at Penn State, he was a member of ROTC, the varsity wrestling team, and Alpha Sigma Phi. Starr explained that his relationships with engineering classmates, as well as those he met from his extracurricular activities gave him rich and rewarding Penn State experiences.
Shortly after graduating, he was offered a position with Westinghouse Electric in the Engineering Manufacturing Professional Development Program.
"When I graduated, I still wasn't quite sure what an engineer did. This development program offered a variety of different assignments in manufacturing, quality, and design engineering, which gave me a chance to experience varied aspects of my chosen field," he says.
One thing that Starr was surprised to find out, a week after starting his new job in Pittsburgh, was that his first assignment was in Sunnyvale, CA. Taking it in stride, he bought a car, packed his belongings, and drove to California where he lived for the first half of his two-year stint with Westinghouse.
After the Pittsburgh native returned home, he went to work for the medical device manufacturer Respironics, Inc., which sponsored him to earn his MBA at Carnegie Mellon University. He completed his degree in 1996 and stayed at Respironics for three more years. During that time, he earned six U.S. patents and eventually became director of an engineering and business development group.
In 1999, he joined a dot-com company now known as Ariba, an industry recognized leader in spend management. He is currently vice president of a global services organization and is responsible for more than 300 professionals, including engineers and consultants in 11 different countries.
"Ariba is dedicated to helping companies leverage on-demand technology to manage spending," Starr explains. "Our global services organization uses an integrated shared service operating model to deliver world-class professional services around the world."
When home, he relaxes on "Starr Valley Farm," where, along with his wife Margie and father Richard, he manages a herd of certified organic Hereford-Angus Beef Cattle on their 275 acres of family farm. The cattle graze on nothing but pastures through the growing season and eat homegrown certified organic hay all winter.
"The farm labor keeps my hands rough and my back sore, but it's a great counterbalance to the kind of work I do at Ariba," Starr says.
When he reflects on the many opportunities he has had since graduating from Penn State, Starr recalls his feelings from many years ago.
"Though I shifted away from hardcore engineering long ago, whenever one of my five children (ages 4-10) asks me what I do for a living, I still refer to myself as an engineer," he explains. "When my kids ask me what an engineer does, I think back on that time when I wondered the same thing. I tell them that an engineer is someone who uses numbers to solve problems, and I know just how fortunate I am to have acquired that skill, starting in engineering school."
—Mallory Jaroski