Hi, This is Samantha Calling From Capella University...
I work at Capella University. It's an online university. It's pretty rad and spiffy to be working at Capella again. I like it alright. But there is one slight problem...
Way back when I started working at Capella the first time around, they asked me if I preferred Sam or Samantha. Of course I considered Sam because I had never really worked in a professional atmosphere before and all my friends called me Sam and I was weirded out when anyone besides my mom and my brother called me Samantha. Despite this, I don't remember my answer to this question. What I do remember is that when I was working at Capella the first time around, my email address included my full name, Samantha. Little did I know at that time the wonders and convenience in having my full name on my email.
When I came back the second time, I for some reason was given an email with just my first name being Sam. It has been this way since January. And as a result learners (Yes, learners. Capella doesn't have students. It has learners.) think I'm a man.
For example:
"Mr. Veldhouse, I have attempted to fax the document."
"Good Morning Mr. Veldhouse, I just found out on yesterday that I had a balance to pay."
And probably my favorite thus far...
"Mr. Sam is contacting me again. When did my signed transcript request go out from Capella to Keller?"
Not only do they think I'm a man, I also know that they are not reading the emails I'm sending them throroughly at all since I sign every single one with Samantha. Eventually some of them get the gist of it and apologize:
"hello samantha my apologies for stating mr in my last message."
"Now that I actually read your name on the bottom of the emails, I see Sam is for Samantha. Sorry I addressed you as a male."
And probably my favorite...
"Now, I realize that I made an assumption about your name / gender - my Mother would be ashamed of me...."
I know I am far from the only person with this problem. Matt Beth on my team has the same problem, only opposite. The poor guy has a woman's name for a last name. Not only that, but when his name is listed on his emails of course it comes up last, first or Beth, Matthew. Sorry Matt, but I'd think you're a girl too.
I guess the thing that catches me off guard about this is the fact that I've never really had this problem before. People have always thought I was a girl outside of that one time in college when my boyfriend at the time was talking via instant messenger to his friend about me, referencing how he went to a movie with Sam, dinner with Sam, a dance with Sam only to have his friend ask "Are you gay?". Other than that, I've been pretty obviously a girl with the occasional male Sam slip up. But man, when you're emailing mass amounts of people, you realize quickly that the main gender assumption of the name Sam is male. Hell, even I do it I guess. Sad.
When I was in the 2nd grade, I was at one time convinced that I very well could be male for the following reasons:
1. I was one of the tallest girls in my grade.
2. I had a lower voice than most girls in my grade.
3. The word "man" was (and is) in my name.
Combine my second grade logic with today's magic of the internet, and I guess things haven't really changed. I guess I'll continue to send out the following template when learners realize that I'm a keeper of a vagina:
"That's fine! It happens all the time. I wish they would change my email to "Samantha" so people aren't caught off guard like that, but I guess "Sam" was what was entered in when I started here. No worries!"
Yay names!