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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!

This Friday, we’re introducing you to Chuck, our VP of Technology.  Chuck has many responsibilities here at TakeLessons, including developing and testing new features for our website, as well as managing statistics reporting, operations, and IT.  He works hard to ensure that we have a usable and reliable website – an important factor in keeping our students and teachers happy!

How long have you worked at TakeLessons, and what do you like best about working here?
I’ve worked at TakeLessons since April 2006. What I like best about working here is the culture we’ve built to support personal and business growth. I’ve particularly enjoyed building the company, both on the technical side as well as participating in the strategic planning.

What keeps you busy outside of work?
Outside of work I’m spending a lot of time training to run my first marathon in June. Once that is finished, I’m looking forward to spending more time enjoying some of my other favorite activities: hiking, biking, cooking, and traveling. I love food, so I’m always excited to try a new restaurant or recipe. My wife and I also like to travel; we try to hit a new area of the country each year to explore the local attractions.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I’ve never been to Asia, so I think it would be a great experience to visit a place with a strikingly different culture and language. I’m particularly intrigued by the scenery in more rural areas of China.

What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
For me, the best thing about living in San Diego is that it has become a hub for beer culture. There are a lot of great events, restaurants and people that support both local breweries and homebrewing. I also really like the high level of support and participation in outdoor activities here.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
My big personal goal for the year is the aforementioned marathon. A professional goal of mine is to keep learning by reading at least one book per month.

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

The success of any company is inherently related to its people; talented individuals are needed in order for a company to grow, and finding the right people is key.  That’s where Abby, one of the hard-working team members from the TakeLessons Recruiting department, comes in.  Abby’s job is to interview potential music teachers to make sure they are the right fit for TakeLessons.  She’s also our unofficial office photographer and social planner!

Tell us your favorite thing about working at TakeLessons.

TakeLessons has become much more than job for me. It truly has become my family. In the short months that I’ve been here, I’ve made friendships that I know are going to last a lifetime and I feel exceptionally proud to come to work every day! I know that the work I’m doing and the work that my teammates are doing around me is helping to change peoples’ lives for the better. Music is so inspirational! To know that I am impacting the way that someone sees the world is just mind blowing and it makes me feel incredible!

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?

I am a vocalist. I have studied privately for a number of years, participated in many local choirs, and musicals, and even traveled to China and Hong Kong to sing! Most recently I began taking guitar lessons to further my passion for music!

What are your activities outside of work?

I enjoy running, hiking, and sun bathing! I love spending time with my friends and family and just laughing! I have a HUGE place in my heart for all animals, particularly dogs, and more specifically pugs! I have a pug named Lucy and it’s a favorite pastime of mine to see her running and exercising and playing with all her canine friends!

What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?

My favorite thing about living in San Diego is the opportunity it has provided for me to spread my wings and expand my horizons. Professionally and personally!

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?

One professional goal of mine is to go above and beyond the expectations set for me each and every day. And a personal goal of mine is to get in the ocean and up on a surf board despite my fear of the water!

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