Meet Melissa White, Head of Tech Support at AdColony. When Melissa isn’t fielding support requests, she’s scuba diving, enjoying tropical life, or traveling around the world. Get to know Melissa White in this AdColonized feature.
What exactly does a Head of Tech Support do at AdColony? What’s an average day like for you?
It’s a bit like air traffic control for AdColony questions. My team gets questions and support requests from both internal and external customers. I have to figure out a plan for each request, whether that’s just answering it right away, escalating it to our engineers or figuring out who might answer questions that my team doesn’t support directly, it’s always different. The best part of my job is that I get to work with nearly everyone in the company at one point even if it’s just helping them set up portal accounts when they start.
Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining AdColony & how they have prepared you for your role here.
I worked for Northern Arizona University managing a 24/7 help desk for students and then teaching faculty how to implement digital media in their online and in-person classes. Before that, I worked at Grand Canyon National Park as a Park Ranger. The one thing that brings all of these positions together is that they all rely heavily on great customer service and communication. This is exactly what I needed to build a great support department here at AdColony. I could learn our technology but knowing how to work with a broad range of people with different backgrounds is imperative in answering all the different questions that come in.
What makes AdColony the right fit for you?
I really enjoy the people that I work with. Feeling like I can reach out to pretty much anyone in the company to brainstorm a solution to a problem is really important to me.
AdColony values employee development. How do you keep growing & learning in what you do?
I work closely with the engineering team to keep track of upcoming changes in our SDK and planned changes or updates to our service. Additionally, I read articles and case studies about the customer service industry and trends that this industry is seeing.
How do you act as a resource for the rest of your team?
The most important part of being a resource for my team is listening to what the team’s needs, questions or frustrations are so that I can work with other teams to get more information or ease pain points. Additionally, I like to get feedback on what they are seeing around the company and with clients. This allows me to adjust training as needed and have extra ears to know what other teams need.
Is there someone you turn to personally or professionally?
I lean on my family a lot for support. My husband, Everett, is my lifeline. We lean on each other for a lot in life. I also look to my parents for a lot of support.
What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?
In the last 3 years, it’s been all about scuba diving. In that time I have completed over 150 dives across 4 islands in Micronesia (Guam, Yap, Pohnpei, and Palau) and completed my instructor certification. When I’m not diving, I’ve been spending time on the beach soaking up the tropical life and exploring the world. Over the last 3 years, I’ve been to Yap, Pohnpei, Palau, Bali, South Korea, and Japan (twice!). As I transition back to the Pacific Northwest, I’ll get back to hiking and biking and hopefully some rock climbing!
Which app is keeping you engaged lately? Why?
I really try to avoid spending too much time on my phone because there are so many other things I want to do in life. My most used app is the camera followed by Instagram where I share my photos at @chasingneongiraffes and @melocity1.
Tell us one or two fun facts about you.
I have lived in Guam for the last 3 years. I am a certified SCUBA instructor. I have really mixed feelings about moving back to the U.S. Mainland (Washington state). I’ll miss island life a lot, but I really have missed fresh produce and farmer’s markets for the last 3 years.
What is your favorite moment you’ve had with the AdColony team so far?
My favorite times were our full company off-sites in Las Vegas. Our team was small but we were scrappy and really good friends. I loved it when we all got together to celebrate our wins!
What are you listening to lately? (music, podcasts, etc.)
I’ve been doing a rewind of the ‘90s music that I loved in college with the new Imagine Dragons album and a heavy dose of “chillstep” artists mixed in. The Umbrella Academy soundtrack is a great sampler of my favorite 90’s music. I was totally rocking out as I watched the series!
What are you looking forward to most in the next 5 years?
I honestly try not to look so far into the future but live right now. I’m looking forward to camping and road trips in the next 4 years of living in Washington and then finding out where we’ll be living next!
About AdColonized
Each AdColonized feature shines a light on a different member of the AdColony team. From favorite apps and hobbies to dislikes and odd secrets, we cover it all! Who do you want to see on the next AdColonized? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
