As part of our support team here at TakeLessons, Daniela interacts with students and teachers on a daily basis and helps them with anything and everything from scheduling lessons to billing questions!
What do you like about working at TakeLessons?
The team and the everyday challenges. Each day is a new beginning for me and a new opportunity to improve and work hard on something. Here at TakeLessons, everyone seems to share the same ideology, which helps us all become better professionals. I love the challenges, the people who I get to share the challenges with, and the thrill of the challenge!
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was little, I wanted to be Mrs. Indiana Jones! I have always been very fascinated by cultures and societies. Though I haven’t had the opportunity to run away from a giant rock, I did have the opportunity to take college courses and still like to read articles related to Anthropology or Sociology. Who knows, maybe I will be Mrs. Indiana Jones some day!
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am very proud of graduating Magna Cum Laude as I didn’t have a “traditional” college experience. I started off as a full time student at a community college in Chula Vista, CA while working part time to help pay my overall expenses. After two and a half years, I got my A.A. and transferred to a small liberal arts school in Boston where I took my upper division courses, worked and interned part time for a year and a half. So after all of this craziness, I am proud of my honors degree not for the prestige of the honor per se, but because it represents my drive and motivation during my college experience.
What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
The fact that I live 5 minutes away from the ocean/bay! Whether I go there to read, run, play the guitar or just tan, I find a lot of peacefulness in the ocean. Also, there are great food venues here.
What activities are you involved in outside the office?
I volunteer for Amigos de las Americas, a national non-profit organization, as the Marketing Coordinator for the San Diego Chapter. We train high school students to go work on projects for 6-8 weeks in Latin American countries during the summer. Also, I love to cook and try out new recipes. I honestly have 15+ DVDs of the Food Network (yep, Rachael Ray included).
Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
My musical experience started off with a little Playskool piano my mom bought me when I was young. Then she added the little guitar, the maracas, the microphone, and soon enough I sort of new a little bit of everything! As I grew up, I decided to just focus on vocals and guitar. I have been part of multiple choirs, musical shows, and composed several songs.
What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
Professionally, I want to polish my business skills. I want to translate all of the theory I learned in college into practice. Personally, I want to record an album of my songs. I first need to collaborate with friends to arrange each of the songs, which is what I will be doing all summer long!
What are you most passionate about?
I am very passionate about giving back to society. Whether it is to serve food for the homeless on Thanksgiving, read for children at the public library, or paint over graffiti, I am all about volunteering and making a positive impact on people.
What is the best place you’ve traveled to (or the place you’d love to go to)?
I felt in love with Puebla, Mexico. Everything was so colorful, the people were super friendly, and the food was delicious! In the future, I would love to go to Thailand. I like the thrill of not speaking the native language, not knowing the ingredients in the food, not having the basics, and just having a great adventure!
Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!
This week’s Rock Star Teacher of the Week is the multi-talented Joshua M., who teaches several subjects including singing, acting and music performance in the Washington, DC area. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Joshua has a strong background and interest in musical theater and also studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In addition to his role as a TakeLessons certified instructor, Joshua has worked as a Musical Director/Rehearsal Pianist for many shows within the NY/NJ/DC tri-state area and serves as the Co-Artistic Director of No Rules Theatre Company based out of Washington, DC and Winston-Salem, NC. He remains active in theater and has performed in, written and directed a number of musicals; some of his notable performance credits include roles in Godspell, Othello, Show Boat, Sweeney Todd, and Les Miserables.
Our latest 
I loved growing up in the Midwest, but I am really enjoying living in San Diego. Going from cornfields to the beach is a big change. San Diego is so beautiful and walking along the beach is one of my favorite things to do. I also love going to all the fun festivals around the city. This weekend I will be hitting up the “Oysterfest” and the 
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