Meet Randy Rawlins, a computer whiz and Technical Support Analyst at our Raleigh office. Find out about his racecar aspirations, how he’d survive a zombie apocalypse, and more!
The Basics
Name and title: Randy Rawlins, Technical Support Analyst
Has been at IXL for: 9 months
Hometown and current city: Grew up in Lawrenceville, N.J. Currently lives in Raleigh, N.C.
Life at IXL
What did you do before coming to IXL?
Right before I came to IXL, I was the support analyst for a real estate software company. Before that, I was the technology coordinator, and then a computer science teacher, for a school in south Florida—Hollywood Hills Elementary.
What do you do at IXL? What does your role entail?
Day to day, the primary thing is helping customers with any technical issue they encounter on IXL or Quia Web. I take calls and emails from a wide range of subscribers, in the U.S. and internationally, to resolve issues. With intellect, charm, and patience, we walk them through and fix the issue while giving them a great customer experience.
What qualities does it take to do your job?
The key part of the job is the analyst part. When you’re resolving problems on the fly and you’re faced with different technical issues, it’s up to you to piece those things together to come up with a solution. It’s something that requires patience and an ability to quickly resolve issues. It’s kind of like putting together a puzzle or doing detective work.
What’s one of your favorite things about working at IXL?
Oh man, IXL is so open. It’s an energetic company that’s open to new ideas and is definitely moving ahead. It’s great working on an awesome team and being surrounded with a group of smart people with many different skill sets. Everybody is self-motivated and loves where they are and really wants to add to the product, to the workplace, and to the overall IXL experience. I think the name IXLers encompasses everything. [laughs] We are “I excel-ers.”
Life beyond IXL
Tell us about someone you admire.
Bill Gates is a person that I follow. After his Microsoft years, he’s become quite the leader. He’s done a lot of philanthropy work around the world helping those in need.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I actually wanted to be a racecar driver. I really like driving shifter karts [go-karts with gears]. I’ve slowed down a bit now, but “karting” is one of my to-do things when I have free time. I was even briefly in an amateur race league with Xtreme Karting and K1 Speed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Just for Fun
Mac or PC?
I like Mac for graphic design and PC for everything else.
How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
Probably run, but with style. [laughs] I’d add some Parkour moves in for that superhero effect!
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Margherita style: ricotta, fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil, and garlic.
Interested in joining the team? We have openings for Technical Support Analysts in both our San Mateo, Calif. and Raleigh, N.C. offices! Apply here.
