EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Rigel Turdiu
DEVELOPMENT REQUEST ANALYST
Meet Rigel – the man, the myth, the legend. From when he began his FastTrack journey in the summer of 2018, Rigel has played active roles as an Administrative Services Specialist, Career Transitions Coach, Office Administrator, Copywriter for the Marketing team, and more!
What is your current position with FastTrack? How long have you been in it?
Development Request Analyst. Just about two months, now.
What is your typical workweek like?
Every day starts with checking on any new support tickets that have come in. From there, I decide what needs to be done with it: Solve and close it myself, work with my coworkers to make sure it is solved properly, send it off to the developers to be included in a future sprint, or anything in between. I also keep an eye on all existing tickets to see where they may be in the process and ensure everything is being addressed in a timely manner. The start or end of a sprint also requires that I update certain information to make sure everyone is in the loop on where tickets stand.
Do you work with any specific customers at FastTrack?
Pretty much all of them! Mostly our external customers, but a few internal customers as well. Because nearly every ticket/request comes across my desk in one way or another, I’m lucky enough to interact with every group we support.
What has your career path been like within FastTrack?
I started in July of 2018 as an Administrative Services Specialist temp in the Client Administrative Services (CAS) department, transitioning to the same role full-time the following October. In February of 2019, I began splitting my time between the CAS department and the Operations department as a part-time Career Transition Coach. I continued in both of these roles until the following August, when I shifted full-time into the Administration department as the company’s Office Administrator. Finally, in October of this year, I moved into the Technology department in the newly-created Development Request Analyst role.
I also provide some support for the company’s marketing, which actually includes helping put these spotlights together. I compiled most of the questions that get asked, and I spend some time proofreading everyone’s answers and writing their introductions. Despite all that, it was actually pretty difficult to make concise answers for some of these; you’d think I’d have had the time to figure that out by now. 🙂
How has FastTrack helped your personal and professional development?
Having moved through so many departments has really given me an amazing overview of how an entire company can function, and the different sets of responsibilities have let me hone a multitude of skillsets I may have never even considered before. On top of that, I’ve been able to work with a lot of different people, allowing me to gain knowledge from all their different experiences and viewpoints.
What is something you love about working at FastTrack?
I want to start by saying that there’s too much to write in a concise answer, but one of my favorite things about FastTrack is the corporate culture. Employees here are respected by their peers, their supervisors, and by company management at large. Hard work is recognized, initiative is appreciated, and ideas are heard. It’s a company in which I truly believe, and I’m thrilled every day to be a part of it.
Do you have any accomplishments at FastTrack that you are particularly proud of?
Making and improving our workflows. I’ve never been someone who likes the phrase, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.” If I see a way to streamline something—either by leveraging new technology or even just rebuilding part/all of the process—I will never hesitate to say so. And I’m proud to be able to point at a few new workflows in this company that have my fingerprints on them.
What is your favorite book, TV show, movie, or podcast?
I don’t think I’ll be able to pick just one favorite of everything so I’m going to list top three of each.
Books: Columbine by Dave Cullen, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
Movies: The Birdcage, Alien, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Shows: Scrubs, The West Wing, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Video Games: Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Podcasts: The Adventure Zone: Balance, 10 Things That Scare Me, and Wonderful!.
Do you have any pets?
None currently, though I’d love to get myself a ball python one day.
What are your favorite hobbies and interests?
I play a few instruments—mainly piano, guitar, and drums—that I like to pick up when I can find a quiet moment. Riding my motorcycle (2020 CB650R for those who may be interested) is something I try to do year-round, especially taking day trips on winding roads with friends. I love playing video games, card games, board games, dice games, or really any game I can get a group together to play. And I’m a really big fan of podcasts, especially binging the back catalogues of long-standing shows.
What type of activities are you mostly likely to be up to on the weekends?
I have a Pathfinder group that meets most weekends, and a few times a year I’ll be on weekend-long Scouting trips. Other than that, I usually just try to spend time with my friends as much as possible.
What is your favorite vacation destination? What’s one you haven’t visited yet but would like to in the future?
I hope it isn’t cheating to say all of Italy is my favorite. I have family all over the country, so I’ve been incredibly lucky to get to see a huge range of the country without worrying about the usual travel expenses like hotels. As far as somewhere I do want to go is concerned, I would like to visit every state in the US at least once. I’ve only hit about a dozen to date, so I’ve got a long way to go.
What person would you most like to switch places with for a day?
I’d switch with Jeff Bezos and make more than a few charitable donations.
What’s the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
Take my friends and family on a vacation.
What is your favorite 21st century innovation?
Virtual reality. Hands-down. The games are always a blast (Superhot VR, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes VR, and Beat Saber are a few favorites), but I’ve also seen really creative uses for some of the lower-powered headsets. Hi-def explorations of real-world destinations, virtual museums/showcases, and even new social spaces to name a few.
What is something you loved doing as a kid? Do you still do it now?
I’ve been involved with Scouting for as long as I can remember. I participated in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts (now Scouts BSA), Venturing, and Order of the Arrow as a youth. It brought me some pretty amazing experiences, like a 100-mile backpacking trip through Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico (2008), meeting people from all over the country at the National Jamboree (2010), and even getting a full-time job in fundraising for my local council (2015-2017). Nowadays I’m still active as a member of the advancement committee for a pair of Troops, and an associate advisor for a Crew, and an adult leader in the Order of the Arrow.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can do a pretty convincing impression of a cricket.
Who is one of your personal heroes?
James Hatem. He’s an amazing musician and a great personal friend. Look him up on Spotify/Apple Music; I promise you won’t regret it.
Have you ever encountered anyone famous?
I’ve met a few, actually. They range from truly famous people like Kevin Hart to more niche celebrities like Menswear Dog or Ross Blocher & Carrie Poppy. But my favorite is Billy Mays. I got to spend a decent amount of time with him when we were both shooting different commercials in the same studio. It turns out all the yelling and strange emphasis wasn’t just a bit he did for TV; that’s just how he was as a person. Really fun guy.
What is your motto for life?
You can do whatever you want in life as long as you’re not hurting anybody and you’re self-aware.
What’s a surprising fact about yourself?
Eating chocolate makes me sneeze. I’m not allergic to it. It just makes me sneeze.
If there was a movie about your life made, who would you want the narrator to be?
Alan Alda. A few runner-ups are James Spader, Patrick Warburton, Dolly Parton, J. K. Simmons, Sara Bareilles, and David Attenborough (but only if he made my life seem like a wildlife documentary).
Connect with Rigel on LinkedIn
Photo Credit: Rigel’s headshot photo by NJC Photography
