Associate Spotlight – Jaeden Eliason
What inspired you to pursue your current career path? At first, I chose IT because I had a natural talent for computers/applications and thought it would be the best fit. Throughout my degree, I grew to love the feeling of understanding how software comes together like a puzzle (shout-out to the cow room puzzlers) and, of course, the feeling of joy when helping others find the fix to something that just won’t work right. I continue to be inspired by the people. IT is very much a people field; we are just customer-facing in a different sense.
How do you prioritize your tasks when multiple projects have competing deadlines? I have found these situations become much less intimidating by doing these things:
- Ask questions and be a pest! Whether I am asking someone, or someone is asking me, there is no such thing as a stupid question or sanity check.
- Get an idea of the urgency and ensure the critical tasks, tickets, and projects get focused on first.
- Break down the big, overwhelming parts into smaller, more approachable bits.
This all happens after that first wave of panic, naturally.
If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why? Leonardo Da Vinci or Nikola Tesla are the first two I think of. To be able to pick the minds of their immense genius. But I would ultimately choose to have one more dinner with my dad. I would love to show him what I have done in the time he has been gone and ask for a couple of recipes I cannot quite perfect.
What three words would you use to describe yourself, and why?
Empathetic—People want to be heard and understood. I try my best to consider other people’s perspectives, as it helps me learn and understand them on a deeper level.
Flexible—not the physical kind (I wish!). Working through my degree at the height of the pandemic quickly showed me the importance of adapting to rapidly changing situations. Technology moves faster and faster nowadays, and I hope to keep up with it.
Adventurous—Whether I’m going on a trip with friends or joining a committee here at NBC, I enjoy trying and being a part of new things. You never know what kind of excitement and growth awaits outside your comfort zone.
What’s something you enjoy doing in your free time, and how does it help you recharge? Tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons help me recharge in so many ways! They offer creative outlets like designing maps and writing plots, systems to learn and master, and puzzles to overcome. In the end, it is the memories of my friends and I laughing around a table while we tell a collective story that I remember most. I genuinely believe everyone should try it once or twice!
