• Name: Spencer Bach
• Title: Help Desk Analyst 
• Hometown: Cincinnati 
• Current home: Cincinnati 
• Proudest career or life accomplishment: Graduating college
• Favorite local hangouts: Arlins Bar & Restaurant, Oddfellows in OTR, The Mockbee 

When Spencer Bach was in his senior year as a student at the University of Cincinnati, he thought graduation from college in May of 2020 was going to be an “obvious defining moment when you knew you were starting life as an adult.” With a bachelor’s degree in information technology concentrating on cybersecurity, he had a marketable degree as well as nearly four years of experience in desktop support. Clearly, there would be opportunities for him.  

Then, just two months before he was expecting his launch into the post-graduation adult world, the pandemic hit. Instead of a clear path in front of him, Spencer was suddenly faced with incredible uncertainty. “I always felt like there would be this fresh start…a clear answer to your life,” he says. “But no, there is none. It’s never going to be a linear path. It’s terrifying, but beautiful.”  

Terrifying may be an understatement for the feeling of finally completing years of schooling only to graduate into the highest unemployment the country has seen since the Great Depression (14.7% in May 2020). With many companies shut down, on hiring freezes, or going out of business altogether, newly minted grads like Spencer had no idea what to do next and no precedent to follow. Even when Spencer did eventually find a job, at a factory assembling speakers, it didn’t last long. About a month after he was hired, they ran out of work and he was let go. “No one was having shows or performing, so musicians didn’t need new speakers anymore,” he recalls.  

“I was experiencing the lowest lows I’ve ever experienced,” he says. “I thought, wow, I’m never going to be able to find a job and enjoy my mid-20’s now.”  

Things began to take a turn for the better when Spencer was hired as a help desk analyst with Sibcy Cline’s Technology Services department in October of 2020. Now happily employed, he’s grateful for a job, but also happy for having landed safely at a company whose culture is a good fit for him.  “I really like how it’s a family business. There’s something about it that feels so personal to me. I really like the interactions I have with the agents and employees here because it feels like I’m a part of this family,” he says.  

The company culture is not the only thing that Spencer enjoys about his work. “I get some kind of satisfaction at the end of the day knowing that I’m helping people with their technology problems,” he says. “And each time I encounter an issue, I learn something new.” 

In the “wild ride” of his pandemic journey from barely surviving to happily thriving, Spencer’s desire to learn new things has been the constant that keeps him moving forward toward a better future. During the past year, he’s taken up several new artistic pursuits, including film photography, music production, drawing, and the culinary arts (he can make a mean Neapolitan pizza!). “I really love art and I have a deep respect for those who can do any kind of art and express themselves through their art,” he says.  

While filling his free time with creative exploration keeps him balanced, Spencer remains focused on his future in IT. “I want to get my IT comp certificates so I can get further in my career,” he says. And with a bright future ahead of him, he’s learned a lifetime of wisdom in one pandemic year: “The main thing that has changed is I feel more in tune with who I am. It’s given me a lot of time to reflect on things.”