Lesley Klein: Onetime social worker, avid knitter and crocheter, card-carrying member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and PC Helps Software Support Tech
In her free time, PC Helps software consultant Lesley Klein, 33, likes to knit and crochet, but not with the usual materials. Instead of yarn, she incorporates everyday bits and pieces like Saran Wrap and cassette tape into her vibrant, unconventional hats and scarves.
Consultant Lesley Klein, wearing one of her hand-knitted hats.
She has a knack for thinking outside of the box.
“I don’t even know what the box is,” she laughs. “I don’t know where that box is.”
It’s more than that, though. Klein has a talent for finding creative solutions for whatever is thrown her way. That’s a plus, especially for her day job at PC Helps.
As a software support consultant, Klein helps callers with a range of software issues, from making sense of broken Access queries to taming unruly Outlook mailboxes.
Although she “absolutely hates” numbers, her favorite application is Excel. “I am routinely amazed at some of the formulas people here put together,” she says of her fellow consultants.
One of the best parts of her job is that it’s not all technical, nor is it 100 percent customer service. It’s a mix of the two, which suits her just fine. If she feels that she has taught someone a skill or trick on the computer, then she is happy.
“I am routinely amazed at some of the formulas people here put together,” she says of her fellow consultants.
The job requires patience, for sure, plus a heap of flexibility – two things she learned from life experience.
She grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio; moved to Israel in her early 20s to live in an all-women’s Jewish Orthodox seminary; worked in social services for the aging in New York City’s Greenwich Village for half a dozen years; and now lives in Northeast Philadelphia. Along the way, she majored in Judaic studies at University of Cincinnati, studied Hebrew, developed a passion for obscure fiber art techniques like sprang weaving and naalbinding, attended a sci-fi convention or two, and joined the Society for Creative Anachronism (an organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe). And that’s only a sampling.
During her tenure as a social caseworker for NYC’s Visiting Neighbors agency, Klein visited and helped care for hundreds of elderly New Yorkers, many of whom were retired Broadway stars and esoteric Village artists. She loved the job and the people, but says that it became a bit of a downer after six years; she was ready to try something else. Klein was already the office tech go-to person, so a move to software help desk support was only natural. Plus, she had plenty of experience helping people out.
You cannot pass by Klein’s cubicle without taking a second (or third) look. It’s an explosion of violets, magentas, lavenders, plums, indigos and lilacs – every available spot is adorned with vibrant, hand-crocheted and hand-knitted scarves, and sparkly artificial flowers. Stevie Nicks would approve.
Klein’s knitting and crocheting may seem unlikely diversions for a software support consultant, but they’re not really. Both activities require patience, macro thinking and technical skills.
As Klein points out: “You have to know the stitches to understand how it goes together.” (Jen Darr)
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