Archives

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!

Meet Brittany, one of our Support Counselors here at TakeLessons.  Brittany joined our team in November 2009, and her job is to interact with students and instructors on a daily basis to ensure everyone has an awesome experience when taking music lessons!

What is a typical day like for you?
I help answer questions surrounding scheduling and billing, as well as general account requests. I spend a majority of my day on the phone with our students and instructors all across the nation, so I have the opportunity to get updated daily with the weather conditions across the US.

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?
I thoroughly enjoy coming in to work each day. I love the culture of our company. I am challenged to be the best person I can be every day. The environment at TakeLessons is one where I feel empowered to share ideas, improve our systems and grow.  I feel extremely privileged to be surrounded by such a passionate second family!

Where are you from originally?
I grew up in Avon Lake, Ohio. I was born in La Jolla, California but was only in California for a few short months before heading back to the Midwest. Avon Lake is 20 miles west of Cleveland — we have Lake Erie in our backyard. Summer months in Avon Lake are beautiful — it is the winter months that are cold, gray and can drive people crazy.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of moving from Ohio to California. May 21st marks one year that I have lived in San Diego. The time has flown by! I miss my family, but I have been fortunate enough to have them visit throughout the year.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I changed my mind weekly. At one point I wanted to be a marine biologist. I loved manatees — when I was younger I adopted a manatee through the Adopt a Manatee Club. I considered my adopted manatee to be my pet — that was the coolest pet I ever had.  In high school I wanted to work for a record company as someone who scouted for unsigned bands at local venues.

What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
I read that San Diego is the 8th largest city, yet it feels small town, which I love. I enjoy the festivals and events — there is always something going on that gives people the opportunity to see local art, bands and taste food from southern California. I love being near the ocean and within walking distance to the harbor, Balboa Park, and downtown — everything is so accessible. It always amazes our family and friends that we can walk to the harbor or drive an hour east to see snow and mountains. It is a beautiful place to live.

What are your activities outside of work?
Since moving out west, my fiancé and I have enjoyed the weather by swimming in the ocean. When we first moved to San Diego we went to the beach every weekend for several months. When the weather got cooler we started exploring the trails and parks east of San Diego. We still have a lot to explore — living in a vacation destination means there are unlimited places to see and visit!

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
Unfortunately, I do not play an instrument. I was given an acoustic guitar for my 18th birthday and the guitar did not make the car ride from Ohio to California. I will be sure to ship it out and take guitar lessons this year — it is a personal goal.

Any other goals that you hope to achieve this year?
Another personal goal is to start planning my wedding — I anticipate it will be a bit difficult because I am planning from across the US, but I am looking forward to the planning process!  A professional goal is to keep learning!  I am surrounded by such bright people that encourage me to think outside the box and ask questions — I will continue to do this on a daily basis. I have grown so much in the few short months I have been here — I cannot wait to see what the next year has in store!

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

Matt is our Sales Manager, and has been a part of the TakeLessons team for nearly two years.  A musician himself, Matt grew up playing the trombone, as well as singing and playing the piano.  In fact, he was one of the dueling pianists at San Diego’s famous Shout House piano bar before coming to work at TakeLessons!

What’s a typical day like for you?

I get in at 7:00 am since we have a lot of early calls from the East Coast.  I’ve always been on the phone a lot talking with prospective students as our main salesperson, but now as Sales Manager my job has shifted to less calls and more motivating, encouraging, and training new and current Sales Reps.  I’m loving it!

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?

Ever since grade school, music has been a huge part of my life!  I was in band and choir in middle school; band, choir, and theater in high school; ended up going to college partially on a singing scholarship; studied business and music in college; worked at the San Diego Symphony out of college; been in too many singing groups to count; done community theater; sang and played piano in a dueling piano bar for a year; and now I work at TakeLessons.  Everything I’ve done since 5th grade has in some way involved music, and I often wonder where I would be if I hadn’t gotten started in music to begin with.  With that being said, it means a lot to me and it brings me a lot of joy that I am personally able to get people involved in music, whatever their age and whatever the type of music lessons they are interested in.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

In grade school and middle school I definitely wanted to be a baseball player; in high school, probably an actor; and during college I wanted to win the lottery and live on the beach!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m very proud that I was able to get through college debt-free thanks to scholarships.

What activities do you participate in outside of work?

I try to stay active.  I like running outside and just exploring more or less rather than the treadmill, so I do that quite a bit.  Living a few blocks from Balboa Park makes that easy!  Just like everyone else in San Diego, I enjoy going to the beach.  I’ve been lucky to be able to do some traveling in the past and can’t wait to do more!  But all of the things listed above take a back seat when football season comes around; then, I am out of commission for a few months.

Where are you from originally and what is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?

I’m originally from Phoenix, AZ.  I love Phoenix and it will always have a place in my heart, but after living in San Diego, how could I possibly go back to the heat and the desert?!  I love the fact that I can be outdoors just about any time of year.  One of the best things (which can also be one of the worst things) about San Diego is that there is always something to do or something going on.  I just bought a Jeep and I am SO excited to take off the top and leave it off all summer!

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