Dear Reader,
I sat down with staff member Anaika Pathak to talk about her role as student manager at M5.
Alex Reineke
You're the student manager here at M5. That's pretty crazy… What is it like having to manage your peers? Like, how's that dynamic?
Anaika Pathak
It's kind of funny, honestly, because, like, a lot of times… you guys are such great people, and I would love to be friends with you, which is why sometimes I feel like my job is just… when I'm at work, I miss having that dynamic where I'm just hanging out with everyone and gossiping, because at work the dynamic’s a little different now. But it's actually kind of fun, because I feel like everyone I work with is such a good person that they've never let me feel like I'm different or like I'm not included, because I see you guys a lot less as well, since I work very different hours. So it's kind of funny, because a lot of times I was worried that I'd feel a lot more left out… but nobody lets me feel that way, and I'm really grateful for that. But yeah, managing everyone is fun. I hope I'm not too bad at doing it… I never want to be rude or anything, because we're all college students, and, you know, this is the first and last time we're going to be in college as 20‑ or 21‑year‑olds. So I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone. Yeah. So, yeah, it's pretty fun. I like my job a lot.
AR
That's so nice. What do you like most about your job? I mean, we talked about our social interactions, but you're always really fun to interact with, even though we're never on shift at the same time. Yeah. What else do you like about it?
AP
I think it's just fun, because as an ECE makerspace, this space has so many different directions that need work and so many different things that need organizing. And honestly, even just sitting and writing down all these categories takes a while, so having to actually think about what work to do in every single one of these is a lot. So sometimes I like my job in the sense that it's very satisfying to be able to use everybody's talents and put them in the right place, and help everyone get the right task for themselves — tasks the staff members will enjoy doing and that’ll get us ahead of the game as a makerspace. So I find that really satisfying about my job, being able to match talent with what the makerspace needs.
AR
So in a way, you're a matchmaker… kind of like that. Yeah, you're like a matchmaker for us in our jobs. That's really cool. Yeah, and you like it.
AP
I do like it, yeah. I have a document — which I've shared with Baird, of course — but it's just a document full of every single person and what their skills are, and every single time I have a task, I just look at everybody's web chart and see what would fit everybody. And that's… I really like doing that because it's really satisfying in real time.
AR
That's really cool. That's actually… that's a really good idea. That’s fun for you? I'm just wrapping my head around that. I mean, that's great. That's why you're in this position. Yeah, I don't think anybody really could do it better than you, to be honest.
AP
You guys [M5 staff] all have your different strengths, and I could never do what you guys do. So it works out. It works out really well in the end. Yeah. And I don't think of myself as a manager — I just think of myself as someone who has to do the whole matching thing. Because I don't think I'm on top of anybody in the hierarchy. So I just feel like sometimes some people misunderstand that, but it's absolutely not that way at all. So yeah, I like that my co‑workers also treat me just like a co‑worker, and that's great.
AR
I'm glad you treat us like co‑workers. I mean, because you could yell at us and you could be scary, but you choose not to… yeah, and I mean, I appreciate it. You probably also prefer it. I mean, but why? Why is that? Why is that something? Why would you prefer to be, you know, a nice manager? Because some managers would gladly be scary… and maybe they get more done, or they think they get more done that way. But why is it that you've developed your philosophy?
AP
Well, it just feels like if you give people a certain amount of freedom, and you give them a certain amount of free space in their head, they are going to bloom on their own. If you try to micromanage them, if you try to get them to do everything a certain way, it just kind of kills the creativity. And this whole space runs on creativity, so I can't really do that. Yeah, and I mean, the last thing we really need is a workspace that people don't feel like coming into, because a lot of times your job here — or our jobs here — require us to go the extra mile. I think this is not an easy job for anybody. It's a really tough job. It's demanding, but it is also very rewarding. It feels good. And so you kind of need to feel one with this space, and you need to feel passionate about working here. And I can't kill that passion for you, because then you won't feel like coming in. So yeah.
AR
How you treat the employees is going to reflect the vibe of the space.
AP
Well, I mean, I am also an employee, and I'm… I mean, yeah, I'm your co‑worker, but I completely understand, because I've had on‑campus jobs where I didn't feel the most welcome, or in general I've had experiences where I was very scared of the people I was working under or the people I was working with, and that just reflected on my performance poorly. And I don't want anybody else to have that. So it's important that the workspace here is very chill. It's literally never that deep, Alex… like, it's just — that's true — it's just a makerspace, and we'll be more than fine. Your mental well‑being is more important.
AR
Yeah, that's really lovely. That's so good. That's nice to hear. I appreciate that. Oh, that's so nice. But so it's through experience that you've… you know, you've learned — it's through your own experiences with managers that you've had before that you've learned maybe I should just treat people with respect and with space and with kindness. Yeah.
AP
I mean, yeah. I don't think respect and space and kindness should be negotiable, honestly. I think everyone should be doing it. Yeah, so if you're reading this newsletter and you're in a workspace where you're not respected, do something about it. Don't be quiet. But yeah.
AR
Thank you so much for the lovely conversation.
AP
Yeah, of course, thank you so much for having me.
