Keep Pushing Forward: A Conversation With Veteran John Villani

3 minute read | 11 Nov 2022

By Boomi

Veterans Day is a day to honor military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Today and every day, we salute the veterans and service members who bring their best to Boomi every day.

One of these veterans is John Villani. A commercial presales engineer at Boomi, Villani served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He graduated from the Boomi Veteran Academy in 2018. In his spare time, he is a volunteer firefighter.

In the video below, Rob Evans, Boomi’s vice president of sales for North America and a veteran himself, chats with Villani about Boomi and how he has applied his military experience to civilian life.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Rob Evans: Can you talk a little bit about what it was like being an intern at Boomi and then going through the Veteran Academy?

John Villani: It blew my socks off. I’ve worked in many different places before but no place did I ever work where, as an intern, now as an employee, that everyone wants to see you succeed, no one’s going to allow you to fail.

Rob Evans: Being in the Marines and Semper Fi and then being a volunteer firefighter, camaraderie and collaboration must mean a lot to you. Can you talk a little bit about that?

John Villani: We all came together with the same idea, the same goal, the same mission, and we wanted to do something because we believe in something bigger than us. We believe in that service.

Rob Evans: What are the things that you’ve learned in Marines and as a firefighter that you’ve taken into the civilian world?

John Villani: Knowing how to pull out of people and read from people what their strengths are really quickly, and then organize teams and groups so this way everyone complements each other is what helps make things successful. I learned that in the Marines. I see that so much in the fire department, and even here today at Boomi, how we put together those right groups of people to just keep pushing forward.

Read Rob Evans’ blog on “How Boomi Helps Veterans Bridge the Gap from Service to IT” and visit the Boomi Veteran Academy site to learn more about opportunities for veterans to transition to careers in information technology.