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Written by Marissa Wilson. Photo by Kaila Rovine.

Leaving behind a bustling office during the late afternoon crunch, Analyst Pieter Fossel escapes to the rooftop at 1615 L Street for a chat about life before Avascent and why he’s happy where he’s at now. With patient enthusiasm and endearing modesty, he shares about his unique upbringing and lasting love of adventure.

Marissa Wilson (MW): Let’s start by talking about where you’ve come from. You’ve moved around a lot and experienced so many different places. Can you tell me about this and why you’ve settled on DC?

Pieter

Pieter Fossel

(Pieter Fossel) PF: Well I was born in Connecticut, went to high school in New Hampshire, and have a Wyoming driver’s license, but now, I consider myself from DC. Between college and Avascent, I have spent almost 5 years in the district. A lot of my friends are here, I know my way around, and it is an awesome place to live. There are lots of great neighborhoods with their own character like Eastern Market, Shaw, Georgetown, and 14th St. There are so many things to do on the weekend – golf at Haines Point, hiking in Great Falls National Park, seeing the pandas at the zoo, and some of the best restaurants I have been to anywhere (and that includes Manhattan!). It feels good to finally put down roots.

MW: Can you tell me about your very first job ever?

PF: When I was 17, I spent a summer working as a carpenter’s assistant in Maine restoring old houses. I imagined that I would spend the summer hammering on a roof of a lighthouse on a rocky coast and cooled by an ocean breeze. In reality, I was in rural central Maine, slogging it out with mosquitos and trying not to hammer my own fingers. I especially did not enjoy 8 hours of shoveling wet gravel in a rainstorm. Working outdoors is not all that it is cracked up to be. So I went to college, got a degree, and came to Avascent. Now I stay dry and get free snacks!

MW: You have a unique hobby that’s very relevant to Avascent – you can fly! How did you get interested in aviation?

PF: I have always been fascinated by airplanes. Growing up, my school was next to Westchester county airport. I loved watching planes take off and land during recess and could already identify the type of planes and the airlines. So when I was 11, my father and I started taking flying lessons together on a Cessna 172. It’s crazy that you are legally allowed to fly a plane (with an instructor) before you are old enough to drive! Other pilots were amused

when they would hear my pre-pubescent voice over the radio asking for landing clearance from the control tower. When I was 16, I was old enough for my first solo flight. I remember how light the plane felt without the instructor sitting in the seat next to me. That first trip around the traffic pattern to land was both the most terrifying and exhilarating few moments of my life.

MW: You’ve also traveled quite a bit. Can you tell me about your last international trip?

PF: I love traveling. Last August, my college roommate and I decided to go to South America to get in one last adventure before we started working. We spent 10 days in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay sipping Pisco Sours in Santiago, Malbec’s in Mendoza, and Fernet Coke in Buenos Aires. While I am not one for Fernet, Buenos Aires was my favorite. It’s the Europe of Latin America with churros and chorizo in abundance at a very favorable exchange rate.

After starting at Avascent, I soon learned that, with 15 days of vacation (plus holidays), it is still possible to experience the world. In fact, our kitchen is often full of treats from far flung places courtesy of wandering Avascenturians. So this summer, my college roommate and I are indulging our travel bug once again and heading to Brazil.

MW: Since starting as an Analyst, what’s been the biggest surprise about your life as an Avascenturian – something that you didn’t expect?

PF: Something I underestimated is how much cooler and more interesting my work at Avascent is than that of my other friends in consulting. My college roommate is working at a big name strategy firm doing competitive research on the spa industry. I’ll take missile defense and next-gen fighter jets any day!