Women in Technology: Amber Oglesbee

A Nexcess Support System Administrator on bonding together with her dad over tech, helping clients as best she will be able to, and learning to ask questions.

Amber Oglesbee grew up within the town of Fremont, Ohio. “We lived across from the library, and that was the ‘park’ to me after I was young,” she says. “I used to be all the time shut up in my room reading.” As a baby, Oglesbee had a deep love for science, and envisioned life as a Marine Biologist. Then she got a PlayStation. “Video games were my life and something my Dad loved and encouraged,” she says. “My Dad is a nerd, an excellent nerd. Since I can remember, he’s all the time loved computers. We’d construct towers together and play games, and I knew if my Marine Biologist dream didn’t pan out, my passion for tech would take me places.”

After graduating from highschool in 2011, Oglesbee began studying for her Information Technology and Security degree at Baker College. “I worked as a work-study within the IT department a lot of the yr and got to spend the summers in Recent Mexico working for the Boy Scouts of America at a high adventure camp called Philmont.” Although growing up she was not the kind to get her hands dirty, preferring as an alternative to remain indoors together with her books, Oglesbee ended up falling in love with the outside. “I made a number of mistakes my first yr jumping into something I used to be under no circumstances prepared for—a heavy sleeping bag, a rented backpack, bringing just one water bottle—but I took the leap, and it was well value it. Philmont had a profound impact on my life, and I thoroughly enjoyed the summers I got to spend there.”

It has been nearly a decade since Oglesbee began working in tech, starting her profession in a work-study role at Baker College within the technology department, administering about eight classrooms. “I had a number of fun there,” she says. “It was an amazing learning environment, and having keys to the constructing was pretty cool.”

Then in 2013, she was hired at Nexcess as a Support Tech after which promoted to the Enterprise Support Group (ESG) a couple of years later. “I feel getting here began back in highschool. A gaggle of my friends ended up going to Baker College together, and a couple of of them worked for Nexcess on the time, and we might carpool from Flint to Nexcess. They might work their shift, after which we might head to Ohio. I met multiple people, including Rigo Reis, and Enterprise Account Manager, who ended up interviewing me.” Now, Oglesbee is a Support System Administrator within the ESG department.

The environment is one which Oglesbee loves. “Technology offers so some ways to give you creative solutions. Everyone gives their best. I feel like I all the time have the chance to try to resolve a problem, and I actually have a team I can depend on for help when I want it. There’s something amazing concerning the collaborative effort it takes to implement latest ideas.”

Amongst her proudest accomplishments is the incontrovertible fact that she ran a 10-mile race at eight weeks pregnant. “I never could even finish the mile in class. My drive to persist through till the top, even when things get hard, is a beneficial skill that has helped me learn quite a bit in tech,” she says.

Together with the importance of persistence, Oglesbee has learned to all the time listen, interpret, and confirm when working with clients. “Technical terms and acronyms will be confusing for clients. So I all the time attempt to reiterate their needs back and ensure in order that clients can understand our process, giving them peace of mind that the work we do is correct.” Assisting clients in this fashion comes naturally to Oglesbee. “I similar to to assist people. I’d have been a nurse if there was less yucky stuff,” she says.

Oglesbee encourages young women considering a profession in tech to think about their abilities and be willing to take risks. “After I first began, I used to be nervous I’d fail to persuade my co-workers that I had the knowledge to assist the team,” she says. “But my team never once made me consider they doubted my competence. After all, I made mistakes and asked a number of questions, and the funny thing is that I still have loads of questions. Trying latest things and asking a number of questions are a component of the job. You simply should consider in yourself first.”

When she’s not working together with her team and supporting customers, Oglesbee is mother to 18-month-old Harvey. “We love listening to music together and being outside,” she says. “Harvey is warming as much as the running stroller, but we now have to bring plenty of snacks. Your complete deck, patio, and picnic table are all generously decorated along with his chalk art as well. He’s hoping for more rain soon to redecorate.”