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5 minutes with Anna Tarasenko

12 May 2021

University

Anna Tarasenko is an Operations Officer (HR & Finance) in the School of Life Course Sciences. She provides personal assistance to Dr Gavin Bewick and Professor Kevin Whelan, as well as day-to-day operational, research management, HR and finance support to staff and students in the Departments of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences. We took 5 minutes to learn more about her career and life outside of work.

Briefly, tell us about your background. Why did you end up studying HR?

I was born and raised in Russia, however, I always wanted to explore the world and meet new people so I moved to the USA, California, when I was 22 years old and it was the most profound experience. I consider myself a people person and had been interested in psychology from an early age, so my career in HR was an obvious choice. I believe in lifelong learning and I study as I go. I completed a Berkeley Extension course in HR at the University of California and a life coaching course at the University of Cambridge. I do believe in a holistic approach to people relationships and every course I take enriches my experience.

Do you have any current projects that you would like to tell us about?

Absolutely, I like working with feedback and I am sure this is the way we can improve every aspect of our work and life. As Operations Officer (HR & Finance) I identified the need to have on-hand information regarding the Business World system available to support academics and researchers. However, I wanted it to be very user-friendly and visual because most people are visual learners. I have collaborated with my colleague and friend, Hannah Rosa, and we have created a Business World Digital Library which contains over 20 short “in-time training” videos that can help anyone at any time navigate in Business World. It is available here.

What do you hope to achieve this year?

I am currently working on two goals. The first is to contribute to well-being (I run a Balance workshop for University Mental Health Day and meditation sessions for my Professional Services team) and the second is to improve my leadership skills (I have completed two CIPD courses on FutureLearn and have taken a few projects to lead on).