One IT employs 300-350 student staff that deliver 140,000 hours of work annually! Because of this, supervisors of students have the unique opportunity to ensure their students are performing their job duties while also fostering an environment of professional growth, constant learning, and mentorship. Patricia Juárez and Kimberley Pascual of Berkeley IT Productivity and Collaboration have created an exemplary supervisor/student relationship highlighting the importance of open communication and mutual understanding, leading to excellent results.
As Senior Business Systems Analyst, Patricia works with document management systems that integrate with systems such as CalCentral and UC Berkeley Campus Solutions, DocuSign, and many other systems and projects that improve campus experience with IT systems. Kimberley is a student business systems analyst. She assists Patricia with large projects and creates documentation, how-to’s, knowledge-based articles, and other types of documentation for those systems. Kimberly also works to improve the service’s information for the service catalog. When asked about a success story during their time at One IT, Patricia shared that Kimberley developed an extremely impressive workshop that Patricia even shared with leadership. The workshop taught users about DocuSign integration and other functionalities through an engaging presentation— rethinking the tedious and heavily technical training used prior. Now, Patricia and Kimberley continue to find creative new ways to present these tools to the campus community.
This exciting feat would not have been possible without the supportive relationship and goal-setting the pair established at the start of Kimberley’s role. During their first days of working together, they shared short “Leadership Journey” presentations with one another, showcasing their backgrounds, past experiences, and future goals. They enjoyed the conversation so much that they expanded the practice with the rest of their team, further fostering growth and understanding.
“This humanization through sharing our experiences… makes our work feel less robotic and mundane… [Our relationship] is very mutual and reciprocal.”
- Kimberley Pascual, Student Business Analyst
Patricia and Kimberley continue to find other opportunities to foster learning and community beyond their roles. Kimberley had the chance to attend the UC Tech conference this past year, where she heard Patricia present on a panel focusing on the experience of being a woman of color in the tech field. Kimberley highlights her appreciation for this experience and the value of these important conversations about the tech industry. She shared, “So many of the hard and soft skills I have learned have come from the conversations and reflections Patricia and I have had together.”
Supervisors and students can learn a lot from Patricia and Kimberley. The duo shares the biggest piece of advice they have for supervisors and students who are working to establish strong relationships:
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Patricia: “As a supervisor, you have the privilege of having a Berkeley student working for you— do your best to get to know your brilliant student. Assign work that stimulates both your intellects, and keep learning from each other.”
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Kimberley: “As students, be grounded in your goals, openly share your intentions, and be aware of the impact you can make…Giving kudos to each other helps me and Patricia keep growing too!”
Student Business Systems Analyst Kimberley Pascual (left) and
Senior Business Systems Analyst Patricia Juárez (right).