Aaron Valdivia

Hello! I am Aaron and I have been working at the Southlands Council Bluffs Data Center since late 2018. I started out working for XPO as a material handler, then I was promoted to a Lead where I learned a lot about myself and how to delegate. Most importantly in my opinion, I learned how to manage people and their different personalities by highlighting everyone's individual strengths so that they knew they were valuable and felt appreciated for their work. It was important to me that my team was comfortable enough that they could come to me with any personal issues that might be affecting their work or any questions about the processes, software, or anything job related without them feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes, the personalities of some of the people on my team clashed and I had to figure out how to come up with solutions without making people feel like I'm taking sides. It was challenging at times, but I can confidently say that I tried my best and that I believe that the people on my team appreciated me as their Lead.

I enjoyed my job at XPO/GXO but I started getting curious about the other side, the Google Technician Side. I have worked with and befriended many techs since working at Southlands and I believe that I can be a valuable addition to Google. I have great Data Center knowledge making me familiar with a ton of processes but also am flexible because of how often these processes changed at the DC. I worked for Akkodis for 5 months where I installed pretty much all of the hardware that a DT1 can (HD, RAM, GPU, MOBO, BIOs, Optics, Fiber, etc.). After Akkodis I took a small hiatus, which I've never done, and traveled 11 weeks across East Asia starting from Japan and South Korea to Vietnam and Cambodia. This was a much needed break/adventure and I overcame a lot of anxiety while being away but one thing that became clear to me was that I wanted to work and study to get on at Google. Google is a company that I agree with how they treat their employees and provide their employees with a comfortable work environment, something that I value a ton.

I have an interest in Networking and how it works. It seems complicated the way computers and networks from around the world are able to connect and communicate and it makes me want to understand it the best I can. I am currently working on the Google IT Support Specialization Certificate and Comptia A+ criteria. IT is fascinating. The problem that occurs when fixing an IT related issue reminds me of math class and how there is no better feeling than when I wrapped my head around the problem and found the solution. I will continue to study and further my understanding of IT but I hope I am able to do this while working with my peers at Google. Thank you for reading