Stride Spotlight: How Sesira and Bonny Met Stride
Stride helps people who work for themselves be more productive and successful. This week we chatted with Sesira, one of our Product Operations Analysts, about her love for her dog Bonny, the Seahawks, and her passion for solving complex healthcare issues for our members.
Can you introduce yourself and your position?
My name is Sesira, and I’m a Product Operations Analyst at Stride.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in India, lived there for 5 years, moved to Washington, and was raised there. I consider Seattle my home, where the ~good~ coffee is abundant, and there’s always a scenic hike waiting for you!
It's a beautiful weekend in San Francisco—where can we expect to find you?
I’m planning on trekking Everest Base Camp next year so you can find me on a heavily inclined treadmill in preparation! Otherwise, I can be found taking my pup, Bonny, for a walk to the park or exploring all the fabulous farmers markets that SF has to offer—I’m a sucker for fresh bread. If it’s football season, I’m glued to the TV watching the Seahawks play (and beat the 49ers)!
What got you interested in healthcare and tech?
I think healthcare has kind of always been my calling, but I knew that the clinical side wasn’t totally up my alley. I took a class in college about the United States healthcare system and was in shock at how complicated and behind the times a lot of it is. I realized that there needed to be an intersection of healthcare and technology so we could bring the healthcare system into the 21st century! When I found Stride, I was so excited to see that they were doing just that and so much more.
What's the most rewarding part about working at Stride?
Gosh, where do I start? Waking up every day and coming in to a place where I am challenged to solve problems that I have been passionate about for years is a truly special experience. It’s also rare to find yourself working in an environment where everyone is so wicked smart. I’m always pushed by my peers to think outside the box to solve problems for our members!
Why do you think the work Stride is doing is so important?
Last week, I was chatting with my rideshare driver about her dream to one day start her own hair salon that aims to provide specialized services for women of color (if you’re reading this Ivana—go. for. it!) We talked about how there are hoops to jump through and it’s tough to just take that leap of faith.
I think what Stride is doing is allowing all these dreamers to finally take that leap of faith. Important things like signing up for healthcare or keeping track of your taxes are difficult, time consuming, and take away from fighting that good fight to make your dream a reality. By creating simple, easy to use tools to do these tasks, Stride helps our members go back to growing their business.
What's on your Spotify playlist right now?
I like to think that I’m a music connoisseur (ha!), but really I can be found listening to The Weeknd on repeat. I’m obsessed with both The Lord of The Rings and Memoirs of a Geisha soundtracks and usually am listening to those when I’m heads down and focused!
