Mod of the Month – November 2015
It’s never too late to be thankful this season! It’s time to share the name of our newest Mod of the Month honoree. Although we had some really stellar candidates this month for whom we’re endlessly grateful, it’s quite lovely to see a long-term Mod take the title.
Congratulations to Amanda M., our Mod of the Month for November 2015!
Mandy has been with us since October of 2008, a little over 7 years now. She was one of the “OG” members, coming to us via our Gossip Girl mod presence in Second Life.
Amanda is curious, quirky, and compassionate. We would also argue that she’s quite creative – she loves writing, reading, baking, crafting, and learning new things about the bigger world. But even more so, she loves photography.
It really doesn’t matter where I am, or what I’m doing, I feel off if I don’t have my camera with me. Sure, there are cameras on our phones and other devices, but that doesn’t hold the same feeling in it for me as my beloved camera does.
Mandy is on two projects with us, one being community work on the youth mental health network, ReachOut Inspire.
I can’t pin down one proudest moment, but can sum it up with saying that I have a proudest project. Inspire would be that project. Knowing that our words can both offer hope and touch people’s lives is really something spectacular.
In her tenure, she has mostly been involved community moderation projects, which is quite fitting for her. Helping people, be it when discovering a new world to play in or working within a forum-based platform, is a talent of hers. Beyond organization, Amanda’s dedication and attention to detail are just few of the reasons why she’s so treasured on her teams.
Amanda has quite the following with Project Managers, many queuing for the moment when she’s free from a project so they can swoop her up next.
Amanda is an exceptional moderator, who goes above and beyond in everything she does, and definitely deserves to be recognized for her work.
– Kerri Seguin, Project Manager
Top Reasons Why Mandy is the Mod of the Month – as dictated by Susie South.
- Every project manager that has worked with her knows she is the best of the best.
- She’s the only Mod about whom I’d feel completely confident stating the above.
- She is literally the top of my “approach” list, any time I’m staffing a project. I approach her first, because if she’s available, I know that I’ll have at least one fantastic mod. She has been my top go-to person, by far, on every project she’s been on.
- I’ve had her on a particular project for nearly four years. As part of what we do, she writes the most beautiful, heart-felt messages of support to young people who are in crisis, who are struggling to find a reason to go on. No one connects with them like Mandy does. She finds little details from their posts to comment about that make them feel special, shares personal anecdotes to encourage them, suggests music and activities and other things to distract them from the true anguish that they’re experiencing in life. And she does it all while never sounding “cookie cutter” or rote in any way. Because of this special ability of hers, I guarantee you that lives have been saved (I mean that literally), and that there are young people who are doing better emotionally, and who are on a better path, because of Amanda.
- She shows up early for shifts, and stays late to make one more post, to help someone. She covers shifts for other people. She literally has ZERO black marks on her record (at least from me)—never missed a shift. If she has a shift at 6 pm, and her internet is out at 3 pm, she lets me know, just in case.
- She thinks about what the clients would want, beyond her training. She’s perceptive and smart.
- She helps other moderators, no questions asked.
- She’s been with ModSquad for seven years.
- She’s the second-nicest person in the world. (I’m only saying second, because of the very slight possibility that there’s someone, somewhere, who is slightly nicer. But there’s no way she’s any lower than second.)
– Susie South, Chief Moderator
I 100000% agree with Susie! Most of my interaction with Mandy throughout the years has been as a fellow moderator, not as a PM, but everything Susie said is true! She will always go above and beyond to make sure things are taken care of, and she won’t hesitate to help you out or cover a shift for you if you need it. She has this bubbly and jovial personality that is just infectious in the best way. When she’s on a project, she really makes sure she knows it inside-out, upside-down, front-to-back and back-to-front. She’s the epitome of what we should look for in a moderator. If I could clone her and have a copy for all of my projects, I would!
– Danielle Ditto, Project Manager
Love love love Mandy!! I will always back her. I’ve had her on several projects over the years and she is definitely a star! Sadly Susie has hogged her the past 4 years so I haven’t been able to lure her to my side, but now that I know she is going to have openings, I am definitely going to pounce on her!! Everything Susie and Danielle said was spot on. She has never disappointed. She has passion for her work and dedication to her teams. She’s just all around amazing!
– Tera Tilden, Project Manager
Amanda has been with ModSquad since our early days. She was an original Gossip Girl Mod starting back in 2008. For a Mod to be with ModSquad for so long and to continually receive high praise says something.
– Gina Miller, Director of People Ops
Izzy Neis
Director of Strategy & Engagement
Jason Ferguson
Director of Client Services