This week’s first meet-the-Squids interview features Christell “Grammar Woman” Gause: part grammarian superhero, part assiduous support supervisor, part nocturnal trivia fiend. This should be interesting . . .
From Left to Right: Christell Gause, along with fellow Squids Klaudyna Stawicka-Rokuszewska, Deanna Sparkman, and Chris “CJ” Johns.
As leader of Support and Member Services, how do you spend most of your time in the office?
There’s really no telling what I’ll be working on each day. One of the things I like about my job is that my day-to-day changes from day-to-day. One of my main responsibilities is to educate and encourage the support team to provide the best customer service that they can. I then do individual quality reviews to help agents continue to develop their strengths and to pinpoint areas where they may need some more coaching.
With that said, my job has so many more facets. I’m consistently involved in finding and developing ways to improve the TurboSquid experience for artists and customers. I also maintain the Knowledge Base, adding articles and editing existing ones when things change. I also review new articles that other employees add to make sure that they are as clear as possible and, as my superhero name implies, grammatically sound.
Yeah, about that—how did the “Grammar Woman” title come about?
I have always been one of those people who is meticulous when it comes to grammar. In college, one of my friends noticed that our professor returned my essays with few grammar corrections, so she asked me to proofread her next essay. Soon after, another friend asked me to proofread . . . and then another. Word spread throughout the dormitory, and I suddenly found myself proofreading for half of the residents. They started calling me “Grammar Woman,” and it stuck with me for a long time.
How do you spend your free time?
I love traveling and trivia (since I’ve always been a sponge for useless knowledge). I have been attending a local pub trivia night with some of my TurboSquid co-workers, and I have to say, we have been having a great time even if we don’t know every answer.
More than anything, I try to continue to make art whether it’s digital, painting, multimedia, or pottery. I am currently “relearning” watercolor painting, and I have to say, it’s a lot more challenging than I remember. I am also an avid photographer—some of my happiest and most poignant memories have been behind the viewfinder. While I prefer fine art photography, I occasionally do the odd commercial freelance job.
Sounds like you’ve done just about everything but 3D. . .
It’s funny how your life can sometimes come full circle. I decided to do a 2D/3D digital art independent study back in 1992 when I was in college. 3D was still fairly primitive, and I was very interested in its possibilities. While I really liked learning how to use the modeling tools and painting my textures, I found that I didn’t have the patience to deal with the 72-hour, single frame render times [see image to right]. I decided to switch to 2D and worked as a graphic designer for 13-14 years. I always regretted not sticking with 3D, and it was an incredible piece of good fortune to find myself working for a 3D company. I’ve been with TurboSquid for almost 6 years, and I’ve loved every minute of it.
What’s been your favorite aspect of working here?
There are so many things I enjoy about working at TurboSquid—the people I work with, the fun, laid-back but professional atmosphere, working with our member base, participating in open discussions about making TurboSquid even better. . . . I could honestly go on for days. However, I’d have to say that my favorite thing is my team. The TurboSquid support team is an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people that makes me proud on a daily basis. They are a very tight-knit team who works closely with each other to ensure that they give the best service possible. It is tremendously rewarding to lead and guide them, and, honestly, they teach me new things every day, too. Who can ask for anything better than that?
What’s your favorite model on the site right now?
At the risk of sounding like a crazy cat lady, my favorite model on the site is Massimo Righi’s cat (rigged and animated):
The animation is amazing, particularly the one that depicts the cat at play. Massimo has perfectly captured a cat in the midst of the “crazies” all the way down to the pre-pounce butt wiggle (anyone who has owned a cat will know the “crazies” very well).
With respects to your passion for trivia, got any final trivia factoids about yourself?
I have a few talents that have limited appeal or that are unintentional. I can sing like Edith Bunker. I can mimic most accents (and I stress most). I possess the great skill of unintentionally (and often unknowingly) inserting double entendres into my conversations. I also have a great “talent” for incurring injury. It’s not that I’m particularly clumsy. Injury just seems to be drawn to me like I am the magnetic pole of physical misfortune.
Do you enjoy meeting our colorful crew? You could be one of them. We’re hiring! Be sure to check out our current job openings.