Reakha Gurubatham-Janus

Hi fellow classmates!

It’s hard to believe that 25 years has gone by since we graduated. I don’t know about you, but life after school has been wonderful. Being in the “real world” definitely suits me and has rewarded me many times over.

Currently, I live in Maryland with Michael, my husband of nine years, and our two wonderful kids. Michael has an interesting background. He was in the seminary for 8 years studying to be a Catholic priest. Yes… I committed the ultimate Adventist sin (sorry, Mr. Jones) – I married a Catholic and to add insult to injury our kids are being raised Catholic. Contrary to popular opinion, I was not the reason he left the priesthood! Thara, our daughter, is 7 years old and wants to be a scientist and race car driver when she grows up. Luke, our son, will be 6 soon and loves playing racing games on his Xbox and GameCube.

After graduating from Andrews Academy, I attended Columbia Union College where I completed dual majors in Business Administration and Communications with a Graphic Design concentration. Shortly after graduating, I started my career as a graphic designer and proposal development professional for GTE. During my stint at GTE, I pursued my master’s degree in Finance at Johns Hopkins (I am forever grateful for Mr. McKee’s math classes). After a big downsizing at GTE that shut down our entire division, I ended up at IBM where I worked as a proposal consultant for a few years.

In 1995, I started my own consulting company. It was one of the best and most rewarding decisions I have ever made. I truly look forward to work each day. In fact, when people ask me what I do, I tell them that I have fun for a living. Janus Consulting is recognized in our industry as a high-end, niche provider of high-quality proposal services (i.e., proposal management, technical writing, graphic design, etc.). Although small − we're about 20 people now − we have produced some big results by supporting our clients in over $50B of proposed new business. Our biggest client is my former employer, IBM.

Recently, I appeared on a Washington, D.C. talk radio show that showcased our company. I also speak in front of large audiences about best practices in winning Federal opportunities. Some of the organizations I’ve presented for include the National Institute of Technology & Standards, the American Small Business Coalition, and my alma mater Columbia Union College. Being able to speak in front of an audience is a major accomplishment for me! I remember being too shy to have a part on stage in our school play “Our Town” so Mr. Baker let me be the prompter; and that too was kind of scary. Now I’m on the radio and getting up in front of large audiences advising business executives on how to win multi-billion dollar Government contracts. Go figure!


A couple years ago I decided to turn my passion for education into something exciting and fun for kids so I formed the Science of Racing. The Science of Racing – a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization – is an innovative education program which focuses on addressing the waning interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the United States while at the same time building upon young people’s natural enthusiasm for automobile racing. In just a short time, our program has reached over 2,000 students. We participate in professional drag racing, do school visits with the car & driver, and lots of other fun things. We even appeared on the Speed Channel when we made the semi-finals at last year’s San Antonio race! Be sure to check out our website at www.scienceofracing.com.

I owe a lot to my education at Andrews Academy and will forever be grateful. More than anything else, I treasure the precious memories that we shared as the Class of ’83. I look forward to seeing all of you in a few weeks!