GO Smart is pleased to introduce Kelsey Foster, the team’s new support coordinator!
Working alongside Program Manager Jessica Gronich, Kelsey will support GO Smart operations through day-to-day customer support and technical troubleshooting.
As the support coordinator, Kelsey will assist customers in contract renewals, compose one-on-one training sessions with clients, and respond to client emails and questions.
In this blog, Kelsey answers a few questions about her background, work, and the interests that led her to fulfill the support coordinator position for GO Smart.
❍ Tell us more about your journey before joining the team. What inspired you to pursue a degree in creative writing?
I was born in Denver and have pretty much stayed in the area my whole life. After college, I worked at a bookstore with a cafe for a really long time, which was fun. I love coffee and know how to make almost every kind of coffee drink that’s out there!
As for writing, growing up, I always found solace in reading books. I was amazed by writing and its ability to connect with people. I wanted to emulate the authors I admired and use my own creativity to tell the stories that lived in my mind. Writing has always felt like an inherent skill to me and storytelling felt like such a natural step.
Kelsey graduating college in December of 2018.
❍ What do you like to do in your free time?
Kelsey cosplaying with her mom (on the left) and sister (on the right).
I’m a total nerd! I am in a multi-year Dungeons and Dragons campaign that is basically like a second life. I have been playing video games since I was very young and I’m not planning to stop anytime soon! I also love to make my own cosplay and costumes and have been attending anime conventions with my family since I was in elementary school.
Besides that, I really enjoy running, listening to music, watching films (especially older and international ones) and reading. I want to be more involved with making art again, especially when it comes to crafting and making music.
❍ What are you most excited about now that you are a part of the GO Smart team?
I am so excited to be working with Jessica! She has such a vast amount of knowledge about GO Smart and has been an amazing mentor and teacher. I hope I can be a GO Smart expert soon and get to know all of our clients well and help them however I can.
I’m also looking forward to revamping all of our tutorials and knowledge materials. Accessible learning is something that is very important to me, so I want to make sure that as technology innovates and standards improve, our learning materials have something to offer for everyone.
Kelsey working from home.
❍ Could you tell us about your relationship to the arts and the grant making field?
Kelsey’s self-published short story collection that she painted and drew the art for.
Art has been integral to my life and as I have gotten older I appreciate the ways art brings communities together. I have been attending more art events than ever and trying to find new ways to support artists and arts funding. As for grants, grant writing and nonprofit work has been a field of interest for me for a few years. I am lucky to have wonderful friends who work in this field and have taught me a lot about what it is like to be a grant administrator and grant writer and the challenges they face. As I go on to support our clients, I hope I can use these perspectives to help make GO Smart an optimal and supportive experience for all users.
Thanks, Kelsey, for taking the time to share more about yourself. We are grateful to have you on board and look forward to your many valuable contributions to the GO Smart team in the coming years!