Dillon Mitchell

About Dillon Mitchell

Instead of spending more LinkedIn real estate rehashing my professional experience (found below for those who are curious), I’d like to talk about the most important hour of my work week, the time I spend tutoring with Reading Partners. Reading Partners is a nonprofit organization that facilitates literacy tutoring to students who are six months or more behind grade level in reading. I volunteer once or twice a week (depending on need) to deliver individualized one-on-one tutoring in accordance with RP’s structured curriculum. Each lesson includes clear objectives consisting of practicing sounds, reading comprehension, vocabulary flashcards, and ends with a short book the student reads to test skills introduced during the lesson. If the student needs a little more practice with a concept, I’ll let them know we’ll come back to it next session and record my observations in the lesson evaluation. After a few lessons, I’m able to use these notes (and a healthy dose of trial and error) to identify what type of learner my student is and which practice methods are most effective. This simple routine of prepping, delivering, and evaluating the lesson only takes about 70 minutes to complete but building a relationship with the student is a piece of the puzzle that cannot be overlooked. Not all kids get to have an adult’s undivided attention for an hour so, in my experience, these kiddos love to chat about absolutely everything in their lives. I’ve built great relationships with my reading partners just by listening and showing genuine interest in what they care about, which makes it easier to keep them focused on a lesson or challenge them to make an extra effort.Consistency is key to building these relationships so I prioritize my sessions by blocking them off on my calendar and doing a little mental check to ensure I enter the school with a positive mindset, regardless how my day is going. In a lot of ways, the act of getting to the classroom is a mood booster for me. Each time I walk through the halls there’s no shortage of fist bumps or hugs from kids I’ve never met.I’ve learned many valuable lessons from my time with Reading Partners such as leveraging small efforts with consistency, cultivating relationships through listening, and the impact your positive attitude can have on others. I\'m a better professional because of it and I’m looking forward to the many lessons I have yet to learn and engaging with people who will be a part of my journey.

Experience

1. Business Systems Analyst

   Optum Bank

   Sep 2022 — Present · Tulsa, OK, US

   I work on a software development team building out systems for Optum Bank (a UnitedHealth Group company). The applications I\'ve worked on include: money-movement processes, loan/credit data storage, and HSA account management applications. The user stories I work on usually center around the flow of data (APIs and batch jobs) but I also work with business users to refine the UI experience for their applications.As a Business Systems Analyst, my AGILE responsibilities include: requirements gathering and refinement, writing user stories, sprint planning and task estimation, project management, UAT testing, writing support documentation, new feature demonstrations, and production deployments. In November 2023, I became SAFe POPM certified. In addition, other regular duties include: creating new file transmissions, production support, vendor partnership, supporting FDIC certification efforts, and integrating new corporate assets.

Education

• Oklahoma State University

  Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Management Information Systems & Finance

  2013 — 2017

Skills

• Project Management
• Change Management
• Management
• Presentations
• Teamwork
• Business Case Design
• Microsoft Office
• Finance
• Research
• Strategic Planning
• Microsoft Excel