Our Edquity Team Spotlights highlight Edquity team members and the work they do to improve students’ lives. In this spotlight, meet Melanie Butron, Partner Success Manager, who has been at Edquity for 2 years.
Describe a day in your life at Edquity. How do you interact with our partners, students, and staff?
My daily activities as a Partner Success Manager varies depending on the day. I serve as the primary relationship manager for many of our partnerships. My first interaction with partners is leading them through the implementation journey and familiarizing them with the Edquity platform. I also help our partners determine the best way to set up their programs to ensure that we are meeting their goals and serving as an extension of their student support team.
What do you like most about your role?
What I like the most about my role is being able to see the impact we are making on students’ lives. It's amazing to see how many students we are able to support and get funding to in such a short amount of time. Working closely with our partners also means I'm able to share feedback to our Product team, as we are continually looking for ways to improve the student experience on our platform.
What did you join the Edquity team?
As soon as I discovered Edquity, I knew I wanted to join the team. I always wanted to work for a mission-driven company, and Edquity's mission to support college students truly resonated with me. I knew so many people in college who would have benefitted from having Edquity available on their campuses, so I'm glad to be part of a team that is making emergency aid more accessible.
How would you describe the culture at Edquity?
The culture at Edquity one of the main reasons why I love working here. The whole team truly lives and breathes our values. We are all working towards the same goal of ensuring that students have the resources they need to stay in school and graduate. There is a lot of collaboration among teams, and everyone has the ability to contribute their ideas on how to improve the the product.
Name three skills you bring to your role.
Empathy, Adaptability, Relationship Building
What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?
My favorite thing to do outside of work is try new restaurants and cafes. Living in New York means that I will never run out of new places to visit and that I can find any cuisine possible just a few subway stops away!
Can you share a bit about your previous professional experience?
My background is in social media and content creation. While in college, I worked at my university's media department and interned with various media companies. I eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing and decided to pursue a master's degree in international communication. At that time, I was also able to secure a graduate assistantship with my university's student communications department, which paid for my graduate studies. I also began interning at Edquity at the time, to build our social media presence and engage with college students. The work that was being done at Edquity really excited me, and I was fortunate enough to transition to a full-time position with the Partner Success team right after graduation. I have been working with Edquity and our growing number of partnerships ever since.
What's your favorite tech, or the last app you downloaded?
My favorite tech has to be my phone, since I literally have everything I need on it. The fact that I don't need to walk around with my wallet anymore, since I can just tap and go, has made everything easier.
What are some of your favorite ways to give back? Any charities that are personal to you?
One of my favorite ways to give back is by participating in the various food drives and fundraising events hosted by my local mutual aid network. A charity that I recently discovered and is personal to me is Send Chinatown Love. As a born and bred New Yorker, Chinatown has always been my favorite place to visit for the best food, and many of the small shops have been hit hard by the pandemic. These family-owned businesses need our support now more than ever, especially with the rise of Anti-Asian racism and hate crimes in the city.
Edquity is hiring! Come join our team of talented, caring people.
Are you an administrator? Get in touch with us at inquiries@edquity.co to learn more about how you can bring equitable emergency aid to your institution today.
Are you a student? Contact support@edquity.co or click the blue bubble in the bottom-right corner of edquity.co for assistance.