New Employee Spotlight: Jari Xiong

We would like everyone to join us in welcoming the newest member of our Libraries’ team Jari Xiong! He will be working alongside Natasha Veeser as our Communications and Marketing Specialist. He brings extensive social media experience, eye for graphic design, and a great sense of storytelling, which will help boost the rapidly expanding demands on the communications unit. To help welcome him to the Libraries we decided to do a little Q & A to get to know him.

How long have you been working in libraries and how did this journey begin?

I’m pretty new – my first day was November 4. It’s been great so far! What brought me here was a job notification that my cousin had sent me. I applied for the job position and now here I am! 

What do you enjoy most about your position?

I would say that the most enjoyable thing so far has been how kind and helpful my supervisor has been. I believe that proper guidance and leadership is needed in order for employees to really excel. Having supervisors who care and are passionate plays a big role for the future. 

10 Quick Facts

1: I most recently worked at healthTIDE, a core group from the Wisconsin Obesity Prevention Initiative.

2: Previous organizations include: healthTIDE.

3: I’m a big fan of comics, MARVEL, and anything hero related. 

4: My favorite book would be “Dragon Keeper” by Carole Wilkinson. Though, if I had to choose a book series, I would pick “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” series by Rick Riordan.

5: A perfect day in Madison for me would be a bright and sunny day that isn’t too hot nor cold either. I would be able to go to the gym or run outside without suffering from the weather. 

6: I look forward to exploring how I can further develop my skills and also learn new techniques to become more efficient at what I do.

7: I’ve lived in Madison my whole life since I was 3. A fact that I learned is that the weather is extremely bipolar and you have to always be prepared for it here in Madison. 

8: I was interested in learning how to work on cars as a hobby. After about two years of working on my own car, I’ve been able to learn a lot and it keeps me busy on most summer days.

9: Favorite color would have to be black.

10: I can’t wait for Spring/Summer to come back, I’ve had enough of waking up to a freezing morning.