Katie Purvey-Badger started working for Butterfield & Vallis the day after she finished school and on Friday she celebrated her 50th year with the company.Ms Purvey-Badger graduated from Dellwood Middle School on June 30, 1961 and joined Butterfield & Vallis (then JS Vallis & Co Ltd) on July 1 at the age of 16. Having climbed up through the ranks, today she works as manager - accounts and information systems in the IT department at the company’s Orange Valley Division.With no opportunity to further her education abroad at the time, she thought about enrolling in some additional commercial courses, focusing on shorthand, typing and bookkeeping when JS Vallis & Co came calling.Initially hired for reception work and to help with inventory control, Ms Purvey-Badger started off working on inventory tracking manually using a Kardex system.After proving herself, she was moved into the accounts department and performed numerous roles, primarily assisting with customer service, invoicing and cash receipts. At that time personal calculators were not in existence and good maths skills were necessary to do the job properly.In the early 1980s, the company began to computerise its operations and Ms Purvey-Badger recognised that her role would soon change as operations became more automated and so positioned herself to take up new opportunities, going back to school at Bermuda College and successfully completed a range of night courses in accounting and computer studies at the same time as holding down a full-time job and raising a family.Recognising her skills and determination to succeed, the company’s management gave her the opportunity to get fully immersed with the company’s computer operations.Over the years, her skills and responsibilities have continued to expand up to the position she has achieved today.“Advice I would give today’s young people when thinking about entering the business world is to ensure that you obtain a sound education, which will be the base to build on,” she said.“Because we live in an era where technology is ever-changing, it is important that you earn a degree in the field you are interested in. However in addition to a formal education, it is important for young people to develop their interpersonal skills.“Skills such as the ability to work with others and to listen and understand the needs of the customer cannot be over emphasised. There are many opportunities if one is willing to work hard, so always take advantage of every opportunity that is offered to you.”Bosses Spencer and Jim Butterfield surprised Ms Purvey-Badger with a card and she was presented with a voucher and flowers on Friday in recognition of her hard work and loyal service.Jim Butterfield said: “Katie started working for the company in the days when kids finished school on a Friday and started work on a Monday.“She has worked her way up through the ranks and is now head of our computer department and has self-taught herself pretty much everything she knows.“She is a very capable individual and has just moved with all the new systems that have come in over the past 50 years.”