Each and every day, our client managers across the globe help make our clients' day-to-day just a little bit easier so that they can better support their students. With a client support team that comes from across the student success spectrum, clients continuously speak to the dedication of our client support team, and we at Symplicity want to give them the attention they deserve.
In our new series, Symplicity Spotlight, we’re pulling back the curtain on our client support team.
In our second installment, we chat with implementation all-star, Laryssa Jurikiw who joined Symplicity in 2014. As a lead implementation manager, Laryssa supports a variety of product implementations from Advocate, Advocate GME, and Residence.
Tell us a little about your career history in higher ed?
Prior to working at Symplicity, I spent about 10 years in higher education, mostly residence life and conduct. These two areas were really the main focus of my career in higher ed, but I had a few other collateral assignments that gave me experience in teaching, academic advising, student activities, and campus police.
What got you interested in higher education?
When I was younger, I spent a lot of my summers at camps and then became a camp counselor. The transition to being a Resident Assistant in college seemed like a natural one and from there, my interested in working in higher ed became my first career path. I enjoyed blending my academic work, which focused on the human element of businesses with my daily work in student affairs.
What brought you to join Symplicity and look into a career in edtech?
I was ready to make a career move out of higher ed and always enjoyed training staff during my time in higher ed. It seemed like a great fit and I’ve really enjoyed it since I started with Symplicity.
How does your previous work in higher ed translate to your work supporting Symplicity clients?
Not only spending time in higher education, but also being a former product user helps set a great foundation for an implementation. The clients recognize I understand what they do on a daily basis and at one point learned to use the product as well. This strength not only assists with system build, but creates a strong relationship between me and a client knowing that I have similar experiences as them.
What’s the biggest pain points for clients today?
I think clients are stressed and stretched thin. They are asked to do more with less, as the demands of physical, human, mental health, etc. resources seems to continue to increase, which the pandemic added an extra layer of complexity.
Tell us a story of a client’s struggle that you helped them solve with Advocate/Advocate GME/Residence.
Because clients are stretched so thin, having a system they can easily access across multiple staff and departments is one of the major benefits that helps with the daily struggle.
What’s your favorite feature within the products you support (Advocate, Advocate GME, and Residence) and why?
One of my favorite features is SympleSelect in Residence. It allows staff to set up a housing selection process with parameters for students for upcoming terms and allows students to login and select their own spaces. I think this is a great way to help lessen the burden of paper processes for staff and to allow the students to take responsibility for selecting their own spaces and roommates.
What’s a feature you think people don’t use enough?
Key module in Residence. If someone is coming from a paper process, the set up can be a little time consuming, but the benefits far outweigh the setup time. Clients can easily assign keys to students and find who the owner is of a lost set of keys by looking up the key number in the system, which also saves the student lost key fees!
What is one thing you would tell someone considering Advocate/Advocate GME or Residence?
As someone who was the only full-time staff member in my last position overseeing housing/residence life and conduct, Advocate and Residence made my life so much easier. Being able to use the two systems instead of an outdated paper system I was able to complete work/tasks so much faster, which then gave me more time to spend with my student staff and students.
Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing?
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my partner Mike, cooking, baking, and playing with our dog, Barley.
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To learn more about Symplicity and how our expert team can support you and your institution, e-mail us at info@symplicity.com.