Community Spotlights

What’s your favourite workplace app?

I would say SLACK is my favourite and most used app. Menten AI is currently a fully remote organization and online collaboration is essential. We use this communication platform to instantly communicate with teammates. We can message each other via channels, threads, mentions, and direct messages. We can also have quick huddles/calls when needed. Slack makes online collaboration immediate and saves me the need to follow up with endless emails.

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

Over the last month, I have been nominated by several of my current and former managers and colleagues and made it to the top 5 finalists for the 2022 Canadian Administrative Professional of the Year award organized as part of the AdminsRock Conference by Rhonda Scharf.

This made me happy to realize that I had left a positive impact on my former manager and colleagues in some way, that they not only remembered me after all these years but were also willing to take time out to nominate me and support me.

This encourages me to give more towards this profession and help more people. It is such a great feeling of joy and accomplishment to know that you made a positive impact on someone’s life.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I am basically a people-centric person who likes to help others. It gives me satisfaction when I can have a positive impact on my executives, team, or organization. It is a bonus that no two days are the same and that gives me an opportunity to learn new skills or new approaches to doing things almost every day.

So, I would say what I enjoy the most is being in a role where I can help others be successful by harnessing the full potential of both the executives I support and me.

What is your focus for 2022?

I just started my current role in November, in a start-up within the Biotech space. So, my focus for 2022 is to enhance my knowledge about the organization and industry, understand how my executives work and what their priorities are; for me to be able to effectively support them and the organization.

My annual planning always includes my learning objectives and my give-back strategy. I am an avid learner and a believer that learning is a lifelong process. I am always on the lookout for new technology or subject streams that I can learn to enable me to attain greater success in the role I perform. This year I plan to focus on improving my knowledge in Business Operations.

I believe that to be a successful professional one should not only excel in the job but also contribute to uplifting fellow professionals and the profession as a whole. I do this by being the Vice President of Toronto Charter Branch of the Canadian Association of Administrative Professionals (AAP) where I bring in relevant speakers for our speaker series, build contacts to further promote awareness while increasing membership benefits and mentor new admins. I also share my knowledge during networking sessions like ASAP’s weekly coffee discussions and by writing articles/blogs in LinkedIn and newsletters.

What’s your favorite workplace app?

OneNote is my favorite app. It is the most versatile tool in supporting multiple executives with the ability to access from any device, export to other apps and I can share with my team when files are requested.

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

At work, I have earned multiple executives’ trust that has allowed me to support outside of my role and grow within the company. At home, I enjoy spending time with my 3-year-old granddaughter, Harper.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I believe I lead with a servant’s heart. What I enjoy most is supporting individuals at every level to achieve their goals.

What is your focus for 2022?

My focus for this year is to establish and share best practices for Executive Assistants within our company and be our project sponsor for Marek’s administrative professional career development program.  My personal development will be to strengthen connections with my industry peers.

What’s your favorite workplace app?

My favorite workplace app is LinkedIn, which is the largest professional networking platform.  LinkedIn allows me the ability to showcase my personal brand, work history, recommendations and endorsements.  I have also joined several LinkedIn groups that are specific to my career and I have made numerous connections along the way.  If you would like to connect and interact with business partners, clients and coworkers, LinkedIn is the place. 

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

The CIO that I had supported over 3 years went to new company and he expressed how he valued our strategic partnership and wanted me to come work for him.  I was offered a great promotion and opportunity with an exceptional company.  This just shows that when you and your executive work well together and have each other’s best interest, everything works out for the good!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My career in executive support has continued to grow over the last 28 years.  I am very focused on developmental goals and I have achieved several certifications.  The one thing that I enjoy most about my role is the ability to juggle multiple priorities and every day is something new.

What is your focus for 2022?

My focus for 2022 is to continue to advance my skillset, foster new contacts and relationships, work on public speaking and achieve better work-life balance. 

What’s your favorite workplace app?

Good old-fashioned Microsoft PowerPoint.  There are a lot more uses to it than just presentations!

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

One of my coworkers and I put together playlists of our favorite "background noise" music and shared them with each other for fun.  It's a nice change-up from listening to my same songs over and over.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy the surprise of never knowing exactly what each day will bring.  One moment I may be working on meeting minutes and the next I'm elbows-deep in coordinating travel.  When our work is so varied, we get a chance to work on so many different things and really demonstrate our creativity and flexibility.

What is your focus for 2022?

Beginning the process of getting my PACE Certification through ASAP and resuming French lessons

What’s your favorite workplace app?

Calm app for quick meditation when I am stressed; Canva for creating invitations, flyers and announcements; Word Genius for learning new words and their pronunciation.

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

I live in the Midwest and cold weather is a constant. The other day I heard birds chirping early morning, a sign that Spring is coming!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

That each day is different. No matter how hard you plan, things can still go awry. I have learned how resilient and creative I can be when it comes to last minute problem solving.

What is your focus for 2022?

To be happy! I learned during the pandemic that no one can control my happiness and joy, but me. When I heard “ Wait for It” from Hamilton the first time, the below lines struck me and I try to remember them when I am feeling down.

I am the one thing in life

I can control

I am inimitable

I am an original

I'm not falling behind or running late

I'm not standing still

I am lying in wait

What’s your favorite workplace app?

Microsoft To Do is my favorite app for its simplicity. I can drag and drop emails to a specified To Do list, add a reminder, attach an email, etc. in seconds. It tracks completed tasks and keeps me organized and on top things.

What’s one thing that’s brought you joy recently?

I recently moved back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area after being away for over a decade. Having closer proximity to my family and being able to connect with long-time friends in the area have both brought me tremendous joy. Also the magnolias trees on campus are delightful.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My extroverted self enjoys that I have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with all kinds of people including deans and faculty members in various schools, evaluators who are both internal and external to UT Dallas, and staff in the Office of the Provost. Since we are in the first year of this grant, I get to see this role start to take shape in new ways each day.

What is your focus for 2022?

Finding fulfillment in every area of my life has been my focus since last year and remains a focal point at this stage of my journey. I look forward to continuing to explore new heights and depths on the path God has set before me.