Meet Gladstone: Josh Vasquez

What brought you to Gladstone?

I was sent here as a temp from the Bayside Solutions agency in 2017. My first project was to measure the square footage of every room in the building and find out who occupied that space. I was then sent on a mission to inventory equipment for the whole building, except the 6th floor. To help my team, I ended up teaching myself the badge system by looking over a shoulder or two, and it soon became my responsibility. I’ve taken on a lot since then and I’m grateful for the opportunity that Gladstone has given me.

What do you like about Gladstone?

The people. During my time here, I’ve personally witnessed everyone be approachable and always willing to help. I’ve never been happier to wake up and head to work. It all stems from the environment we have here, where we all share a common goal but at the same time, we have the opportunity to show our individuality.

Can you describe one of the people who influenced your career?

My parents are and forever will be my biggest influence. They didn’t really influence my career specifically, but they influenced me as a person. After my time as a temp, I guess I had impressed my team enough to be hired, but I never once told myself I was going to become a facilities guy or anything. I just knew that I wanted to help people, and I learned that from my parents.

They always worked so hard to provide for my sisters and I, and although I did end up with my dream car, we didn’t really have much growing up. But I had a house and, on most days, a meal at dinner time; and for that, I was grateful. When I would go to work with my mom or my dad, I never remember them taking breaks or even eating lunch, I just remember them grinding until it was time to go home.

What do you do when you are not working?

Well, I like to spend my time away from work with my fiancé Tiffany. We’ve been together for 8 years and I can’t wait to officially make her my wife.

I also have an admiration for classic cars. I own a 64 ½ Ford Mustang that I’ve had since I was 15. My parents have always been into cars, so I guess that’s how I ended up this way and it’s something I hope to pass on to my children one day.

Spending time with family is last, but not least. I sometimes work crazy hours and because of my 1.5-hour commute each way, it could mean being gone from home a long time. So I use my weekends to catch up with my niece and nephews and, of course, my parents.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I would like to learn a lot, but mainly I guess it would be playing the piano. I love music and the piano is something I’ve always wanted to learn, but never really had the opportunity.

What is your hidden/unique talent?

I’m not sure how to answer this question, as I’m pretty sure that if I do have a hidden talent, it’s also hiding from me!

Name one thing that not many people know about you.

Well not many people know that when I was 16, I ended up with a compound dislocated fracture in my right leg/ankle. I still have a titanium plate and six screws in my right ankle, and I still experience a lot of pain on some days. A few people have noticed me limping from time to time, and that’s the reason. I’m mostly busy enough so I don’t think about it, but sometimes toward the end of the day, it does bother me. It never really holds me back from anything, as I just tend to block it out mentally and treat everything as business as usual.

If you could meet any scientist from any point in time, who would it be and why?

I would like to meet Albert Einstein, which is an easy one. But not because he came up with the world's most famous equation or any of his other countless contributions to the way the world views physics, but because he once said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” For some reason, that really resonated with me to the point to where I’ve lived my life that way. So if I was ever able to converse with him, I would probably pick up on some other words of wisdom.