If you have an IXL family membership and have contacted our support team, you’ve probably spoken with Caitlin Fitzpatrick! Read on to hear how she helps customers, and how she spends her free time.
The Basics
Name and title: Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Membership Specialist
Has been at IXL for: 2.5 years
Hometown and current city: Grew up in Redding, Calif. Currently lives in San Francisco [see photo, below].
Life at IXL
What do you do at IXL?
I’m a membership specialist, so I’m the first point of contact for families who have questions about IXL features or pricing, or want to make changes to their account. I talk to customers over phone, email and chat. I speak to a lot of different people – homeschooling parents, parents of students in traditional schools, grandparents, and even adults who use IXL to study for exams.
What skills does it take to do your job well?
The number one thing is empathy. We try to have meaningful conversations with every customer that calls in and show friendliness and kindness toward them. Another thing is that our team will work until the issue is solved – it doesn’t matter how many calls or emails it takes, we will not rest! For example, one of my colleagues showed up at work at 5 am for a call to accommodate a customer’s schedule.
What do you like about working at IXL?
One thing I really like about my position is that I get to hear a lot of feedback about IXL, which is helpful to communicate to other departments, like product development and engineering, that are very interested in hearing that information. I also love that our team is really collaborative and silly and fun.
Life beyond IXL
What do you like to do in your free time?
I am currently training for my first 10k, so running is absorbing a lot of my free time. I also just love to walk around San Francisco – I do what I call urban hikes, where I walk and eat! I pick a neighborhood and explore. I’ve also been really into baking bread recently. I made a huge loaf of challah bread for Christmas! [see photo, left]
What’s your favorite…
- TV Show? I’m somewhat extreme in my tastes. I’m currently watching “The Wire,” but I’m also really in to “The Real Housewives” (of any city). So it’s a mix of high-brow and Bravo-brow!
- Book? I was a literature major so that’s like asking me to pick a favorite child, but recently I read “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt and it blew my mind! I read it in three days.
- Candy? I am very religious about Whoppers. When I go to the movies I have to get Whoppers and I can’t start eating them until after the previews!
Tell us about someone you admire.
Meryl Streep. She is wonderful in every film I’ve seen her in, and when you watch her in interviews she has such poise and confidence, and has a great sense of humor. She’s my ideal self, and my spirit animal.
Just for Fun
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
I would be an elephant. I went to Thailand recently, and we spent a whole day at an elephant rescue farm and I was in heaven [see photo, right]. I just think they’re the coolest animals and I will often fall into a pit of watching YouTube videos about elephants, especially elephants rescuing their babies!
Tell us your favorite joke!
These are the jokes I tell my 10-year-old stepsister: What do you call a cow with three legs? Tri-tip. What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef. What do you call a cow with one leg? Stake!
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year?
My goal is to be able to do a handstand by my next birthday. Right now I’m doing them against the wall, but I fall a lot!
