Hi, y’all!
Here we are, starting this journey. I know I introduced myself a little on the about page, but I wanted to expand on some of my favorite things about work and my true passions.
But first - let’s play a game.
Two Truths and a Lie
Which one is the lie?
- I played soccer in college and actually hold a conference record and a couple of school records.
- I am deaf in my left ear and for a select period of time I wore a hearing aid to school.
- I have the same middle name as my mom because she wanted me to have names that related to both of my parents (Middle/Mom, Last/Dad).
Take a guess before scrolling down!
The Teaching Bug
Since high school, I have loved teaching and mentoring others. Whether it’s tutoring geometry, chemistry, or physics, this was always a role that brought me joy. This passion carried into college, where I was a TA for some Introduction to Mechanical Engineering classes.
As I started working at USAA, I’m very thankful the organization had opportunities for me to continue this type of teaching. I currently teach a two-day Datastage class to the New Hire Data Track three times a year - hands down my favorite kind of work days.
Never Stop Learning
My desire for continuous learning has paired quite nicely with my technical career. Through my positions, I’ve had the opportunity to learn many new technologies and platforms: Datastage, Control-M, Gitlab, SQL, UCD, Unix, Snowflake, Nifi, dbt, and many others.
I’ve also been able to develop processes with these technologies and then teach what I’ve learned to my teams (and of course, write the documentation surrounding it).
I hope to find more opportunities for continued learning and teaching because I believe that we are all more successful together.
Spoiler: The Answers
#1 - TRUTH: In a past life, I was a rockstar goalkeeper at UTD for the women’s NCAA soccer team. Conference record holder, baby!
#2 - TRUTH: I didn’t wear the hearing aids for long, but I did indeed wear them.
#3 - LIE! I am named after both of my parents, but my first name is my mom’s middle name. My middle name is the spin-off girl version of my father’s name.
Thanks for reading!