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Denise has been part of the TakeLessons family for 2 years; she started here as a member of our sales team in June 2008, and now works as a Project Manager on some of our super cool business development projects.

Where are you from originally, and what do you like about living in San Diego?
I grew up in Flushing, Michigan, and moved out to San Diego 2 years ago. June 3 is my arrival anniversary – woohoo! So what do I like about living in San Diego? Well, what’s not to like? Beaches, palm trees, 70-75 degree weather and sincere, friendly, welcoming people…there’s always something to do, like a picnic in Balboa Park, a concert at the Cricket Amphitheatre, coffee at Starbucks, or just a bicycle tour around the city. I love living in San Diego!

What are your activities outside of work?
Outside of work, I’m an avid reader, and an absolute game lover. Yay for the Wii Fit, too!  I like to explore new places and try new things, as well as cook and bake.

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
I took weekly piano lessons from 5 years old until I was about 16 or 17. In middle school and high school, I participated in choir, a cappella, and an after school all-girls vocal group, as well as one or two vocal competitions. I took guitar lessons for about a year (with our awesome guitar teacher Nick W. here in San Diego), just long enough to be able to sing and play Wonderwall at our Show What You Know Concert. But piano is truly my first love! I’m in the market for one as we speak….

What is your favorite thing about working at TakeLessons?
My all time favorite thing about working here is definitely our staff. We’re a crew of really smart, genuinely friendly people from different backgrounds with a passion for building and creating stuff we’re proud of. I couldn’t be more lucky than to call these folks my second family!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
On a personal level, I’m proud of a great many things, but a huge accomplishment is just hopping in my car to head out to the west coast pretty much on a whim. It’s not just the risk that I’m proud of, it’s also that I’ve been able to make myself a home here.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
Professionally, I just want to have as big of an impact as possible!  How vague, I know, but I’m so passionate about what we do here that wherever I can help is where I want to be and what I want to do! Personally, I set two goals: to travel to a state I’ve never been to (hello, Louisiana or Montana), and to finally get up on a surf board after talking about it for the last 2 years.

What is the best place you’ve traveled to (or the place you’d love to go to)?
I’ve traveled all over the country, and a bit in Europe, and each place has something unique about it that makes it the best. So let’s see…the best shopping? New York City, hands down. The best pizza? Chicago! The best scenery? Wyoming or Maine – a tie. The best tourist traps? Orlando, FL – haha. The best version of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on stage? Seattle. The best waffle-covered-in-chocolate? Belgium. The best cheese, wine, and pastries? France. The best sunsets? My home-sweet-home, Michigan. But the best of all? San Diego, of course!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

Meet Nadia, our HR/Executive Assistant here at TakeLessons. Nadia handles new hire and interview paperwork, restocking office supplies, managing shipments, and just about everything in between!  She also works with our teachers to help them update their profiles with availability, pictures and videos.

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?
I love the freedom I have to be creative and innovative here. What I value most is the integrity of all of the people who work in the office. It’s incredibly inspiring to come into a company where each and every person is so passionate about their job, whether it’s IT work, customer service, or sales. It makes my job easier because I get to feed off everyone’s positive energy.

Where are you from originally?  What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
I was born and raised in Orange County and moved to San Diego to go to school at UCSD as a pre-med student. What I love about San Diego is all the opportunity it has offered me, from internships at top research institutes in the nation to a job here at TakeLessons. I could not have asked for a better place to call my home than San Diego.

What other activities do you participate in outside of work?
I am a full time, pre-med student at UCSD, double majoring in human biology and psychology. The fusion of these two is called behavioral psychology, and it has become my true passion. I love staying active, and go hiking and play volleyball. I also LOVE to cook and bake, and if you ever get to try my homemade cheesecake brownies, you will see that I’m pretty good at it too!

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
The extent of my relationship with music is the relationship I have with lyrics. I live by music, anything from The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and Jefferson Airplane. What I find so amazing about artists is their ability to express what they feel through their music, and how closely I can relate to them. Music inspires me and moves me, so THANK YOU to all you artists out there!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

In our continuing series of TakeLessons team profiles, today we’re introducing you to Jason – one of the developers on our very talented tech team.  Originally from Folsom, CA, Jason has been part of the TakeLessons family for almost 3 years; during that time, he has worked on many development projects that have helped build our company website into what it is today.

How long have you worked at TakeLessons and what is a typical work day like for you?
I started at TakeLessons in August of 2007.  My typical day, well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late.  I use the side door, that way Lumbergh can’t see me…. oh wait, that’s Peter from Office Space’s day.  I start off my day with a cup of coffee and a tech team meeting.  We go through our tasks for the day so we all know what’s going on.  Then I’m usually working on developing out or designing new features or tests for the website.  Lately I’ve been working on some different projects that helps ensure TakeLessons is the best we can be.

What do you like about working here?
The people!  We’re all a great group of people with our own unique style, backgrounds and outlook on life.  But we all share a common passion of wanting to build something we’re proud of, that helps people who want to learn to play music!  How great is that?

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
My mom always joked that I’d be a singing airline pilot.  I did want to be a pilot, as well as an architect at one point.  My mom added the singing part in there because she wanted me to be a famous opera singer.

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
I started taking singing and piano lessons in 5th grade, and continued until I graduated high school.  I was also in the Folsom High Jazz Choir, various college choirs, and an a capella choir in Santa Barbara called Canticle.  In college I fell in love with playing the cello.  Nowadays though, I just sing and play guitar to my plants.

What are your favorite things about living in San Diego?
The beach. The sun.  The ocean air.

What are your activities outside of work?
There’s life outside of work?  My dad just bought me a remote controlled airplane for my birthday.  So I guess that’s going to be one…until I crash it.  I’m also a sound engineer.  So when I have gigs, I enjoy being out at shows running sound and enjoying live music.  Otherwise, I just enjoy being outdoors.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
I want to be a leader in the tech department.  And I want to consistently go to the gym more than 3 times a week.

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!