Life Outside of STACK is our feature series that introduces you to some of the faces behind the brand. Today we are featuring Kate Dupuy, Training Specialist.
Tell us your position, how long you’ve been at STACK, and briefly describe a typical day at work for you.
Hi! I am a STACK Trainer and I have been with the company for 2 ½ years now. Simply put, a day in the life of a trainer is teaching users how to utilize STACK in their everyday work life.
What is your team like at STACK?
The training team is incredible. I describe us best as a well-oiled machine. There is help in every direction you turn, we are reliable, knowledgeable, and we care about one another so much! We absolutely love to see our team grow individually and together. Our manager Suzie Combs has taken the time to invest in our strengths and it really brings us all together.
What do you love about your job that would surprise most people?
The relationships with customers I create while training. It is special to see our users flourish and advance in STACK based on training. But there is more to the story, it is so awesome to cultivate and develop relationships with our customers. By the end of the training series, I deliver I feel like I have gained a friend, and they feel like they have a resource for guidance and support through STACK.
What is the best piece of career advice you ever received?
To be a “Yes” Girl. Basically, it means to say “Yes” to opportunities presented because it takes you out of your comfort zone and allows you to grow. I wouldn’t be where I am without trying to new things and saying “Yes.” 😊
What’s your favorite local spot and why (restaurant, bar, music venue, whatever you want to share about your hood!)?
Anything with a good Italian wine and a Cannoli.
What’s your process for turning a bad day into a good one?
Turn on some Talking Heads and dance it out!!
We know you’re great – hey, that’s why you work at STACK! Tell us about the great things (in detail) you do outside of work. Hobbies, interests, secret lives…
OH, I love this one. I am passionate about cooking. I grew up in a Cajun household in southern Louisiana (my dad sounds like Swamp People) and so cooking and gathering around for family dinners was on the agenda every night. I love bringing people together to eat, giggle, drink a little too much wine, and be present with one another. It also allows me to show my little one Grady the ropes so hopefully he will appreciate it as much as I do. Along with that, I am a mom. It's a title I hold near and dear to my heart. He was the best surprise and he keeps life busy and fun! I’ve been to almost every state in the US and have backpacked my way through Russia and some of Italy. I was also a deckhand on a yacht at one point in my life too. I also have tattoos all over me that are words Grady says wrong because I always want to remember them!
What song have you completely memorized? Will you sing it for us? What about playing it on an instrument? How about a little dance instead?
“Real Love Baby” by Father John Misty is a song I know by heart. Look I cannot sing but if I had a secret talent, I wish it was that! I tried to play the violin in 4th grade and I couldn’t read the music, so my poor mom’s dream of me winning America’s Got Talent was crushed. However, I can break it down on the dance floor.
Do you have any funny or embarrassing stories related to work (and safe for work?)?
I had a customer who had no idea he was sharing his screen, and he had no shirt on and was rubbing his belly. I had secondhand embarrassment.
What makes you truly happy?
I’m a simple gal. I love my family, a cold brew in my hand or a glass of wine depending on the time of day, a morning walk to bask in some Vitamin D. And when I'm not struggling with chronic heart burn, I love Raising Canes, Waffle House, carbonara, and a short walk to my fridge for a frozen Snickers ice cream bar. Majority of the time you can find me in my kitchen cooking for family and friends or trying to persuade my husband that we need to take another trip!
If your life was a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
“This Must Be the Place” - The Talking Heads
“Sun to Me” - Zach Bryan
“Groceries” - Mallrat
“Moon River” - Frank Ocean
“Big Subwoofer” - Mount Westmore and Snoop Dogg
What is the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?
Probably being a mom! I’m raising the next generation - if that’s not courageous I don’t know what is! I love watching him grow into this cool, kind, empathetic little dude, it’s the best title I’ve ever been granted!
If you could choose your own nickname, what would it be?
Probably Ratatouille, but as far as nicknames go, people call me Kitty lol.
What causes are you passionate about?
I am passionate about a program called ABRO (American Belarussian Relief Organization) - saving children from the toxicity of the Chernobyl disaster that occurred in Belarus. My family adopted a brother and sister from Belarus when I was eight years old. They left their family to live with us for eight years to get fresh food, water, medical appointments, etc. To remove their lives from the poison essentially. Every year they were here basically added two extra years of life for them. In 2013 I was in Anna’s wedding in Russia, backpacked through the country, and visited their home. My husband Colby and I would like to do the same thing in the upcoming years and hopefully adopt to make someone's life better.
