Liquid Web’s Web Operations & Marketing Manager talks about the challenges and joys of working in the tech industry, how her kids keep her motivated, and the friends from high school that inspired her to start the field. Talk about hands.
Elva Sandoval was born and raised in Southern California., North Hollywood. “My parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico when I was very young, so I grew up in a Hispanic and bilingual household,” she says.
Sandoval learned early on the importance of collaboration and hard work. A cheerleader in first grade, she quickly switched to basketball due to her height. (Sandoval is 5’9 inches.) “I learned how to be a ‘team’ player and work hard to get results. My teammates and I put blood, sweat and tears into each season to help us build the endurance needed in real-life scenarios..”
Sandoval got his first job while still in high school (and playing Varsity basketball), working at an e-commerce company called WickedCoolStuff.com. She worked her way up from warehouse to customer service and eventually to the marketing and creative department, where she helped photograph the website’s merchandise and was responsible for designing her email campaigns and graphics. “At the same time, I was learning html/css thanks to MySpace.” she says “I found myself designing her Div Overlays for her local band so that their myspace profile looked like her original website with their branding theme.”
As Sandoval got older, he moved away from web design because he didn’t think he could work full-time as a paid career. “She didn’t have a lot of confidence in herself or her skill set, so eventually she landed a retail job working at T-Mobile,” she says. After working in retail for six years, Sandoval returned to college to pursue a career in web design and interactive media. “After spending four years at the Hollywood Museum of Art, I graduated in 2015 with a BA in Web Design and Interactive Media, which is exactly that. , it was also perfect timing.I’ve been working in technology professionally for almost eight years,” she says.
Sandoval says her high school friend Fernando was the most influential of the many people who influenced her career. “He gave me my first bootleg copy of Photoshop. If he hadn’t, it would have been a different story for me and my future career.” Years later I didn’t mind going back to school and pursuing web design professionally.
Sandoval is currently the Web Operations & Marketing Manager for Liquid Web. “I’m specifically responsible for the website,” she says. “I work every day to improve the user experience and design of Liquidweb.com and its performance.
Sandoval loves the challenges that come with working in the tech industry. “It’s so fast-paced and constantly changing and evolving that it keeps you on edge. Learn something new every day. There is no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to the web. There are many different approaches to optimizing, designing and building websites. Ultimately, Sandoval loves collaborating and bouncing off other ideas. He doesn’t try to create a ‘perfect’ design the first time. The most successful and influential projects have always been at least two or three of her different designs iterations,” she says.
From an early age, she learned the importance of determination and hard work. “My parents did a great job that exemplified good work ethic. I wanted them to be proud.” is. “I always try to be a good example for them,” she says.
A single mother, she recently became a homeowner at age 35. “Working in the tech industry and being able to work remotely gave me the work-life balance I always dreamed of. I am able to take care of my two children and always be there and take care of them whenever they need me. Just great! “
Sandoval says when she first got into tech, the field was still male-dominated. “Honestly, it’s a very good mix and it’s amazing to see. The more women you have in tech, the more likely you are to offer a more diverse product offering. Men in tech are typically designed for men, but we’re going to see a lot more designed for women as well. It’s refreshing,” she says.
If Sandoval could give women new to technology one piece of advice, it would be to encourage them to explore. “Being very open and willing to start from scratch and be open to learning and exploring all the different roles available in technology. There are so many different paths you can take. There is nothing special.”
