Get to Know Noodle's Marketing Communications Developer, Angela Lu

To genuinely connect with others, share stories, and learn from one another is an invaluable human experience.

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Angela Lu, Noodle’s Marketing Communications Developer, is originally from Philadelphia, PA. She received her B.S. in Graphic Design from Drexel University. Her background in design and years freelancing in different industries landed her working in higher education. She shares that in every moment of her career she commits to “never stop learning”! Angela works on Noodle’s marketing communications team supporting her colleagues in developing new skills such as coding and ensuring email communications are aligned within brand guidelines. Angela also helps lead Noodle’s Asian Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group and loves working collaboratively with others on different projects. 

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What elements or traits does a great leader exhibit?

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A great leader has empathy, the ability to actively listen and lead with compassion and understanding.

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When you think of great leadership, who comes to mind? Why?

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My mom and dad. Coming from a family of refugees, I’ve only seen a handful of their sacrifices firsthand. To balance their full-time jobs while raising me, my parents had to stop going to community college. Despite that, they continued learning through self-study and instilled in me the importance of education. They allowed me to learn and arrive at my own answers all while lending a listening ear in times I struggled. Their work ethic and how they show up everyday to support me  is how I strive to lead.

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How has your personal leadership style evolved? 

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In the past, I often worked independently from a team. Because of this, I adapted this mindset of doing almost everything myself and this evolved into me overextending myself and my boundaries. I used to think I could prevent any potential challenges or conflicts for someone else with this mindset. It was neither healthy for me, nor was it conducive for a team environment where we play off each other’s strengths. Now, I love bringing people together so that we can collectively take ownership of a project and build something great!

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What is it about your background or career experiences that successfully positioned you for your role at Noodle? Describe that role.

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My experience in higher education over time became a culmination of doing in-house design, to actively managing websites and launching refreshes and executing marketing communication plans for undergraduate and graduate programs. I have often carried out projects from strategizing to execution. Here at Noodle, I build, test, launch, and analyze email template performance. My responsibility is to ensure our emails are displayed as intended.  Developing branded emails for our partners involves coding templates that are accessible, responsive, and mobile-first. This must account for the large number of clients and their devices they would potentially read these emails from. 

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Additionally, I help build and manage some internal communications and offer training on how to use marketing automation platforms. I’ve helped build our new and improved newsletter—the Orecchiette- and supported other internal comms like ERG newsletters. I also manage our template library and make sure it’s up to date with email best practices. With all of these projects I support, things are also always changing! 

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How do you support the success of your team?

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Much of my work centers around accessibility compliance for the end user, but I’m also constantly thinking about how my team is utilizing my code and what I can do to fully support them to improve their efficiency with their tasks. Another important way I support my team is through educating my teammates about coding, which adds another skill to their arsenal.

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Describe how your career has been enhanced by exposure to diverse people, places or experiences.

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I think it would be impossible for me to not recognize the impact of having  diverse experiences has had on  my life and career. My connections in my personal life especially. I’ve been very fortunate to have been given safe spaces to thrive and hone in on my identity as a queer Asian American woman. To genuinely connect with others, share stories, and learn from one another is an invaluable human experience.

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What are some of the most effective tools in your leadership arsenal?

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I do a lot of listening and fostering one-on-one connections. I like empowering people to do their best work while being their best selves— even if it feels intimidating!

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Please tell us something about yourself that people would be surprised to learn.

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Most people know about my love for video games and anime, but the presence of strong women in these mediums really brings me joy—especially the Magical Girl sub genre!  I have an extensive anime figure collection to show for it. Some of my personal favorites include Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors!

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