BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
LaRoy “Lulu” Clark is currently the environmental supervisor for the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services in Columbus, Ohio. She participated in the Pathways to Career Excellence Program from 2015-2017.
Why did you first apply to the PaCE Program?
I started DLA with Long Term Storage in 2010, and then I applied for the PaCE program to further my career.
Note: Columbus operated Long Term Storage until 2021 when it was converted to a routine warehouse as a result of Network Optimization efforts.
What was your position before coming to the PaCE Program?
I was in a Wage Grade position. Prior to government service, I was a legal assistant and warehouse management.
What have been your favorite parts of the PaCE Program?
Definitely meeting new people. I also enjoyed the opportunity to wear different hats depending on where manpower was needed.
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
My class came from all over the United States, and we became a little family of our own, as most of us did not have connections with Michigan. I still talk to the majority of my classmates on a regular basis.
If there was one thing that could’ve been different for you in the PaCE program, what would it be?
I would move the Hart-Dole Inouye Federal Center to Columbus.
What would you say is the most important quality to succeed in the PaCE program?
Listen to the “dinosaurs.” The knowledge that can be garnered from those who have been with DLA since the “DAISY” days, and some prior to that, are a wealth of information. Do not pass up an opportunity to learn something, even if you do not think you will use it in the future, chances are you eventually will need to know.
Note: DLA Disposition Services Automated Information System, DAISY, was the predecessor to the Distribution Standard System, DSS, the current system used in DLA Disposition Services Field Sites to keep track of property. DSS is in the process of being replaced by the Warehouse Management System, WMS.
Editorial Note: The Pathways to Career Excellence Program for DLA Disposition Services is a two-year program that takes PaCERs through all of Disposition Services and its processes to learn as much as possible about the directorate. The first year takes place at DLA Disposition Services Headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, and the second year either takes place in Battle Creek for Contracting PaCERs or at an assigned field site for Property Disposal PaCERs. PaCERs begin as general schedule 7s, move to GS-9s at the end of their first year, and graduate the program as GS-11s. There are multiple pathways to becoming a PaCER, including being hired internally, as a recent graduate, or from military service.