User blog:Bfreeziepop/Welcome Breanna, Fandom's new Senior Community Manager, Gaming on the Community Experience team

Greetings! My name is Breanna aka freeziepop and I am the new Sr. Community Manager, Gaming at Fandom - yay!

I was asked to write this blog as a way to introduce myself to the community, but I wanted to take this chance to first say thank you to Fandom for bringing me on! The team I am a part of is a rock star crew and I’m proud to work beside them. Now on to my origin story…

How I got into the gaming industry
My identity was rooted in games from the beginning. As a child, I would sit beside my dad at his desk and watch him enjoy his passion: gaming. I was his mini-player 2 through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s puzzles, THAT death in Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 4’s zombie survival, and many other gaming adventures. Real talk I blame Resi 4 for my fear of the dark. Follow those ESRB ratings kids.

One fateful day I was passed the controller gauntlet and realized I wanted to know EVERYTHING about the worlds I was playing in. I was itching to get more insight into characters, locations, plot lines - ALL the lore. Online communities like Fandom were where I got my fix and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Fast forward a decade and my passion for connecting over games continued, then eventually bled into my career goals. I actually had my sights set on working for Curse to begin with. Hi Gamepedia folks! It was the only gaming-related career opportunity within 100 miles, but I needed to gain some exp before attempting that main story quest. My first job as a teenager was at Gamestop (where all true gamers must make a pilgrimage to), then eventually after polishing my professional skills I broke into the industry as a social media and community manager of an online FPS series. While ironically I suck at shooters, the community I managed welcomed me with open arms ;D I flourished in that role and afterward decided to put my experience into the place I’ve relied on most as a geek: Fandom.

My role at Fandom
I’m pumped to be here and help our gaming communities flourish. For starters the Fandom Twitch channel relaunch is a great opportunity to highlight the games we love to play. Keep an eye on our social channels for announcements on that! Attending Community Connect 2022 gave me and the team a closer look into the features you really want to see from us, and the return of Community Checkpoint talks on the Fandom/Gamepedia Discord could be a great way to keep that collaboration going. I’m especially excited to be involved in planning more in-person Fandom events. Gaming cafes anyone?

My scheme list is brimming with more ideas, but I want to hear your ideas too. If you have any questions, suggestions, or just want to connect, feel free to post on my message wall or DM me on Discord. And of course, I’m always up to discuss different fandoms! Forewarning: Don’t get me started on Final Fantasy, Souls, or The Lord of the Rings unless you have at LEAST an hour to spare.

Peace out, kupo!