# Employee Spotlight: Stephen Porch 

/ Published March 17, 2021
RICHMOND, Va., 
*Employee spotlight regularly features outstanding non-supervisory personnel from throughout the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation and other DLA employees on Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. Organizational directors may submit names of employees they wish to feature in this column to DLA Aviation Public Affairs. For more information, call (804) 279-3139.*

**Name**: Stephen Porch

**Organization**: DLA Installation Management Richmond

**Years of Service**: 11 years (16 months with DLA)

**What is your job title, and what do you do, specifically?** I am an environmental engineer. My primary duties involve managing the storm and wastewater programs.

**What do you like most about your job?** What I enjoy most about my job is spending time outdoors. I also like knowing that I am helping to improve the environment around Defense Supply Center Richmond, even if it’s on a small scale.

**What kind(s) of training and education helps your work performance in your current role?** Some of the training and education that helps my work performance include courses offered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on erosion sediment control and stormwater management. I also have a background in geology, which helps with understanding the flow of water both above and below ground.

**What aspect(s) of your current job gives you the most personal satisfaction and why?**  While our installation is rather small, I find most satisfaction in reducing our negative contributions to the environment. In this position, each day is spent working towards making the world a better place for future generations. 

**If you could speak directly to the warfighters you support, what would you tell them?** If I could speak directly to the warfighters we support, I would tell them be conscious of your actions and know that many of your small, everyday decisions affect the world around you.

**What was your first job?** My first job was working as a crewmember at a McDonald’s in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  

**What advice would you have given yourself 10 years ago?** Some advice I would have given myself 10 years ago would be to take better care of myself.

**What is the most surprising/unexpected thing others don’t know about you?** While in college, I worked for a local museum doing paleontology work. This included taking trips to Montana to dig up dinosaur fossils and then preparing them for display.

**What’s your biggest pet peeve?** My biggest pet peeve is when people are rude and inconsiderate of others.

**What are some of your passions outside of work?** Some of my passions outside of work include spending time with my family and woodworking.

**What’s the most thrilling/adventurous thing you have ever done?** Quitting my job at 31 to go to college. I had attended a few courses while serving in the military, but this was my first time going full-time. Another big adventure of mine took place in May 2015 when I graduated with my master’s degree, married my beautiful wife, became a father to two amazing little girls, moved to Virginia and started working at Fort Lee. All of this happened within a seven-day period. Let’s just say, it was a wild ride!

**What is your proudest accomplishment?** Completing both my bachelor’s degree with a major in geology and a minor in geography as well as my master’s degree in geoscience.