Employee Spotlight: Julianne Wonser
This month we highlight the contributions of our hospitality coordinator, Julianne Wonser. Part of our indispensable support team, she works to create a welcoming and warm environment for both employees and visitors, handling a variety of daily tasks and assisting during special events.
Hospitality in a Corporate Environment
To Julianne, the role of hospitality coordinator means the creation and maintenance of a welcoming and orderly office environment. “My main objective each and every day is to be sure that the office is welcoming and hospitable for clients and employees.” As you can imagine that includes a variety of daily tasks and no one day is the same. “One day I might be setting up for a lunch meeting for visiting clients, the next helping to assemble goodie bags for new hires. This is in addition to some of my daily responsibilities that sometimes include tracking down who a material sample is for, delivering mail, standing in for our receptionist at the switchboard, cleaning and stocking the kitchen areas and popping popcorn as an afternoon treat for the firm; I do a little bit of everything!”, Julianne explains.
During her job search, a recruiter mentioned ESa to Julianne while she was interviewing with another company. The recruiter believed she would fit well at ESa, and so she followed their lead and looked into ESa as an option. “I could tell that ESa was a solid company right off the bat. I got the impression that they cared deeply for their employees and about the long term success of the company,” Julianne said.
Favorite Part(s) of the Job
Julianne started working at ESa three weeks before COVID-19 forced us to close our office and shift to remote working. For several months during this time, only a small number of people were coming to the office on a daily basis. Because of the shift in the working environment, Julianne was unable to experience the collaborative community at ESa, that she heard so much about. She had heard about the incredible community at ESa, but had been unable to experience it firsthand.
“Fast-forward a couple years and it has been wonderful to see, in real time, the feeling of community return to the office – it is not an exaggeration to say that the people who work here love each other like family,” Julianne said. Hearing the way people interact with each other warms her heart, and being a part of this community is her favorite part of her job.
Julianne explains that a unique aspect of her job is getting to interact with and know people from all departments. “I have had the privilege of getting to know a whole bunch of people, from all departments. I am often around the office taking care of random small tasks, and with this comes the chance to interact with people and talk with them.” She sees part of her work to be community enrichment, making sure to greet people with a smile and to be sure, they are seen and heard. “I really enjoy hearing how people’s days are going and what is taking place in their life. I hope to be a listening ear for coworkers who may be having a long and stressful day,” she shared.
Off the Clock
When not helping ESa run smoothly, Julianne loves singing and songwriting. “I play the piano and sing. I would consider my music to fall somewhere in the alternative/singer-songwriter/Christian-folk realm.” A few of her close friends are also songwriters, and every other week they have a song share where they each share a song that they are working on and get feedback. These meetups are always encouraging, humbling and refreshing, they are her favorite part of the week. Julianne is working on a four-song album called Close to Home that will hopefully be recorded this winter; stay tuned for how that project develops!
Listen to Enter Your World on Spotify and follow her on Instagram to stay in the loop about her music
In addition to her passion for music and songwriting, Julianne is interested in finance and the stock market. She recently started learning about trading stock options and was fascinated by the concepts. Julianne went on to explain, “I spent a few months studying various strategies and trading with fake money before leaping in with real money just a month ago,” she said. Julianne is thankful for the guidance and support from her mentors for the opportunity to learn about the market and finances.
Julianne is inspired in all things by, “the intersection of art, community and faith – this is something that has always both intrigued and enlivened me. Making art with other people has been incredibly powerful in pointing me towards God,” she said. “Time and again I have witnessed God healing hearts in spaces where people are creating things together,” she added. For her, art takes many forms including visual art, writing songs or sharing stories.
Rapid Fire Round
Q) Coffee or Tea?
A) I don’t drink much of either! My go-to beverage would have to be a slightly chilled glass of water or a refreshing cherry-lime LaCroix.
Q) Cats or Dogs?
A) Dogs all the way! I have a particular fondness for Newfoundlands, Bernese Mountain Dogs and Golden Retrievers. In the next couple years I’d like to get a Newfie puppy and name him Snuggy.
Q) What was your first job?
A) My sister and I both taught private piano lessons to elementary school children while we were in high school. At the time our mother was our school administrator, and we would host recitals each summer to let the kids show what they had learned. The recitals always included a pool party and were a great time!
Q) Describe ESa in Three Words
A) I would have to say, reliable, generous and devoted.
Q) Favorite Birthday Celebration?
A) So far my favorite birthday celebration was my 27th, which was only a few weeks ago! I have the most amazing friends. I had decided that I wanted to play a game of capture the flag and I paired this up with Harry Potter, as I have been reading the books for the first time. My friends and I worked to develop the custom rules. We dubbed it capture the snitch after the game played in the Harry Potter books. We made little snitches out of golf balls, glitter and golden paint. It was a blast!
Q) Favorite City/Trip
A) I have been able to travel to some pretty cool places as an adult including Norway, Australia and New Zealand. However, I would say that my favorite trip, or trips, centers on a particular childhood memory. When I was little, around the age of seven to twelve, my family would visit an incredible post-and-beam cabin situated within a hundred-acres in the rolling hills of Kentucky. The cabin was named Sabbath Song and was a haven for my family. I enjoyed catching crawdads in the creek, playing made-up games with my siblings in the hot tub and reading quietly first thing in the morning before others were awake. Many of my favorite childhood memories are set in that cabin.
