Will Roach graduated from W.W.U. in 1998 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature. He was hired a week before graduation by Active Voice Corporation which was later acquired by Cisco Systems. He currently works in a technical lead position for Cisco on their Unity system. As part of a team, he troubleshoots voice mail systems in large networks. Mr. Roach has also written, produced, and directed several plays. He has been published by Rain City Projects, and is currently writing a screenplay.

"The ability to articulate and communicate effectively is what they were most interested in," he said, referring to his employment with Active Voice Corp. He attributes his ability to excel at Active Voice, and later Cisco, to three key skills: the ability to deliver informal informative talks, the ability to write technical documents, and the ability to clearly communicate while dealing with critical accounts.

Mr. Roach said his English background and communication skills have been vital to his advancement. "A lot of people have technical skills, but being able to communicate effectively with both clients and staff really sets a person apart," he said.