Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday that Maricel Savage joined our team. Now we are celebrating five wonderful years that she has spent working at Eleven Peppers. Maricel is known for her vibrant spirit and empathy, making her a remarkable team member.

To learn more about Maricel, keep scrolling to read our special interview and infographic!

1. Best part of working at Eleven Peppers Studios?
It’s hard to pick one thing! I would have to say knowing they have your back. The contracting world can be hard to navigate, but knowing they are in your corner advocating for you relieves that stress so you can focus on your job.

Can I add one more? 😀 They know how to pick the best people to be a part of the pepper patch! All the peppers I’ve ever met or worked with have the best personalities. The passion and pride for their work is unmatched.

2. If you were a pepper, what type would you be and why?
A cherry pepper – Sweet and spicy and shaped like a heart <3

3. What is your favorite 11p event?
Toby’s Dinner Theatre shows and Oriole games – always a great time with the Peppers and our families.

4. What is your favorite present ever received from 11p?
Tickets to see Justin Timberlake! We had amazing seats, were 4 rows from him when he walked by, and it was a phenomenal show. I still cannot believe I got to go. He had been on my concert bucket list for a long time.

5. What is your favorite 11p memory?
Being able to celebrate 11p’s 11^th anniversary on the cruise to the Bahamas with all the Peppers and my family. The smiles on my husband’s and kids faces are a core memory for me.

6. Name a Pepper you can always lean on for support or advice:
Grace Hilyer – she’s a wonderful team lead and gives helpful feedback for my career path and goals. Her listening ear and perspective as a fellow working mom is comforting. Not to mention, I can always rely on her for the latest crunchy health trends.

7. Name a Pepper whose work ethic inspires you:
Christina Cumberland – She is so focused and her desire to always deliver top notch work is relentless. I’m lucky to have her as a friend.

8. My spice meter :

1. What is your favorite book of all time?
Tuesdays with Morrie.

2. What is the craft you created that you are most proud of?
The mixed media mural wall in our home – it’s a combination of five acrylic paint pour canvases that also contains pearls, pebbles and beads embedded in the acrylic and sealed in epoxy; a wooden sign that I distressed, stained and stenciled; and a framed family portrait.

3. What is your favorite part about doing yoga?
Getting a good stretch in while being in a meditative state to calm my mind. Yoga is what led me to start my meditation practice.

4. Where is your favorite place to travel?
Mexico and the Outer Banks, anywhere with a beach.

5. What do you love most about being a mom?
Sometimes I catch myself watching my kids play and studying their emotions on their faces. I get this overwhelming feeling of wonder and awe that they’re mine. Their hugs and kisses, smiles and laughter are everything to me. I’m so incredibly blessed to be their mom.

6. Who is your favorite instructor on the Peloton? What is your favorite type of classes to take on the Peloton?
Rebecca Kennedy! Grace got me hooked on Rebecca’s Intermediate 5 Day Split strength training program. I’ve been repeating this program weekly since April.

7. What is your current TV show/series obsession?
I haven’t gotten into a specific series lately. I just started You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment and it’s really interesting so far!

8. What Filipino dishes have you tried to make recently?
A sweet, sticky rice dessert called biko. I was surprised at how much my husband and kids loved it.

9. What’s your go-to happy hour drink?
Tequila and tonic with a lime or a High Noon.

10. Do you have any cool collections?
Christmas ornaments from every place we go on vacation. My husband and kids always help me collect shells from each beach we visit.