Student Success Story: Tracy

What was life like before you joined Excel University?

My name is Tracy Czudak, and I work in human resources and HR data analysis at Rocky Mountain College. When I first used Excel, I learned enough to get by and to be dangerous when I was doing something! 

Then I saw a free webinar with Excel University, and decided it was better to get some fundamental skills before diving in. 

Starting with Excel is kind of like getting a new iPhone. You only use a fraction of the features and there is so much more to know.

What has changed since you joined Excel University?

I learned so many shortcuts, and it became clear I was doing a lot of tasks the hard way. I used to create my own solutions all over the place and when something broke I had no idea how to fix it. 

With Excel University and the way it is taught, now I understand what I am doing and can better diagnose issues when they come up.

What makes Excel University better than searching Google or YouTube?

You can always go on YouTube and find answers, but it will not help you understand the process. If you go to Excel University, they tell you why you are doing a particular thing and exactly what it does. 

When you go on YouTube you just emulate, but with Excel University, they tell you why you are doing that and it connects all the dots together.

What is one of your favorite time-saving techniques?

I like using the keyboard shortcuts because I have two monitors and I lose the mouse, spending more time trying to find where my cursor is than getting the job done. Using keyboard shortcuts has helped me get faster. 

Subtotals are also great, because I used to add things up and it never would! I could not understand why, because all my subtotals were in there. 

I learned that you need to use the subtotal at the end and then everything adds up really nice. That has really saved me time.

Would you recommend Excel University?

I would recommend Excel University to everybody. Especially anyone who works with spreadsheets. It can also help students so much in their homework. 

As you can tell, I am of the gray generation, and I have used Excel more at home for personal things since taking these classes.