- Childhood career ambition:
- To dance professionally. I love using my body, moving, creating stories with choreography. After high school, I moved to Los Angeles and danced semi-professionally. In the end, I decided it wasn’t for me. There was such intense pressure to succeed that it wasn’t fun anymore. Now, when I have time to grab a dance class, I’ll go. I do yoga, Pilates. I feel completely relaxed.
Role at Medallia:
Varied. Initially, mostly tech support. Now office administration, such as organizing company events and working with vendors, and small projects, such as QAing our application, client services, and expense reports and AR/AP in accounting. I hardly do tech support any more.
Most enjoyable part of job:
Organizing events. We hold two to three happy hours a year, plus a holiday dinner, and events celebrating employee transitions: moves, marriages, attainment of citizenship—things like that.
Enjoys it because of:
Coordination. I like managing all the little pieces and making them go well together. I also like participating in the events—they’re an important part of the company because they bring everyone together.
Growth in job:
Definitely. The job changed. I got broader responsibilities. It will be easier to get another job based on what I’ve gained here. I now have a good sense of how companies run, of technology, even of Excel. I’ve definitely learned a lot.
Next goals at work:
Communicating more with people. Demoing products for smaller clients sounds interesting, maybe sales or marketing. My supervisor is always willing to hear my interests. Her attitude is: ‘Let me know what you’re interested in doing, and we’ll find a way to make it happen.’ That’s something special and unique here.
Extracurricular activities:
In school part-time.
Work environment at Medallia:
Great. The mood is pleasant, relaxed, friendly. Everyone works hard. There’s no feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh; I’m doing everything and someone else is doing nothing.’ We’re open to making things work better. There’s no micromanaging. Though it’s completely new to me, I also like working with technology. The software stays interesting because it’s always changing, always developing. Plus I enjoy working at a start-up. It feels like a family, not a big corporation.
