Before her recent retirement, Flaviana Mariano was the technical director at West American Rubber (WARCO) in Orange, Calif. Part of what drew her to work in the industry was the ability to learn more about the unique properties of rubber. Mariano first realized the importance of rubber in everyday life when she worked as a rubber chemist trainee. Having worked in the industry for 35 years, both in the U.S. and the Philippines, she believes the challenges she encountered in her work made her life more interesting and exciting.