

Welcome to another edition of our Staff Spotlight series, dedicated to shining a light on the exceptional individuals who play a crucial role in Strata Health’s success. Today, all eyes are on Ethan Smith, our dynamic Support & Operations Specialist and QA Analyst.
đ Works from Sandy, Utah, USA
đ Born in Salt Lake City, Utah
â¶ Favorite food: Iâve got a real soft spot for doing Sukiyaki, a kind of Japanese hotpot-style meal. Itâs super tasty and really easy to make conversation over, as ingredients go in and out of the communal pot.
â¶ Hobbies: Iâm definitely a Grade-A nerd. I spend a lot of time gaming. (My favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy 14.) When Iâm not gaming though, I love to cook and love to write. Not saying Iâm great at either, but I’ve won a few company chili competitions. I also have a weekly DnD group that Iâve been playing with for the better part of a decade.
â¶ Currently binge-watching: I’m going to answer this with 2 different shows, one live-action and one animated. For the live-action show, I’ve been watching Succession, big fan of the scheming and backstabbing. For animation, I’ve been rewatching an anime called Tower of God. Gorgeous visuals and soundtrack, excellent characters and setup. Hope later seasons are as good.
â¶ Last song listened to: Further cementing my nerd status; I listen to a lot of video game soundtracks. âFlow’ from the FF14 track never fails to make me tear up. You build up a lot of emotional attachment over the course of a 300 hour game.
â¶ On the bucket list: Food tourism. I want to eat the best foods from every culture I possibly can. I absolutely adore food.
Q: What drew you to Strata Health?
A: I’d like to say Strata was drawn to me! I was acquired by the company when they bought the SilverSearch product from Mingle Health. Since I had a wealth of experience with the tablets, I went along with them in the acquisition.
Q: How long have you been with the company?
A: Because of said acquisition, my grasp on the timeline is a little fuzzy, but itâs probably around 2 or 3 years now. Iâve been attending to the product for almost 8.
Q: What does your job entail?
A: Iâve occasionally referred to myself as a Gofer because of just how many disparate duties I’ve taken on. Iâm slowly transitioning into a full-time QA role, but in the meantime I also handle the Sandy mail room, do troubleshooting for the tablets when a customer has an issue, answer the occasional support request, and manage shipping for our convention materials. I keep my hands full.
Q: What do you think sets you apart in your field?
A: Apart from the sheer number of hats I’m wearing? Probably just the fact that Iâm always willing to pick up and learn something new. It increases my value in the long term. (Which is how I wound up with all the hats.)
Q: What challenges have you faced in your career?
A: I actually think I’ve been blessed with a lot of opportunities in my career. Challenges tend to confront me more in my writing hobby. Coming up with ideas seems so easy until itâs time to actually put metaphorical pen to paper.
Q: Tell us about a professional success story that youâre proud of.
A: Being in the position Iâm in is my success story. I’ve only got a High School education, but by working hard and always being open to new opportunities, Iâve been able to open doors into technical fields thanks to Strata believing in me.
Q: What is the best advice youâve ever received?
A: The best advice I’ve ever received was to always say yes to new opportunities. I was hired as a data collection agent with SilverSearch but, as per normal for startup companies, we would frequently get asked if we wanted to help with this or that or the other thing. Before you knew it, I was working with the tablets and on my way to where I am today.
Q: How would your best friend describe you in three words?
A: I asked him and, after cursing a bit for putting him on the spot, he settled on: âExceptionally competent, Sarcastic.â
Q: Tell us a surprising or fun fact about you.
A: I’ll give you 2.
- Iâm English-Spanish bilingual from spending 2 years in Chile on a religious mission.
- I can play the bagpipes. Not very well. When I was young my mother would try to make me learn piano and I adamantly resisted. She insisted I learn some kind of instrument so I, being a precocious little booger, answered bagpipes. I was certain that there wouldnât be a bagpipe teacher anywhere near my home and I’d be off free on a technicality. Turns out there was one a mere few blocks away. So, I took bagpipe lessons.
We hope you enjoyed getting better acquainted with Ethan today! If you’re eager to get to know more members of our team, simply click here to continue reading our Staff Spotlight series.