Membership Spotlight: Padron Kerenmosa

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Author: Taelinn Dolivras

TVT 08 2015 Membership SpotlightPadron.jpg

This month's Member Spotlight features a new hire in the Department of Membership - someone you Junior Members are getting to know right now, or will be getting to know at some time in the near future.

That's right, it's the new Master of Accepted and Soldiers, Padron Kerenmosa! Padron Gaidin was kind enough to allow me to interview him for this month's Tar Valon Times, and I'm sure you will enjoy learning a bit more about him as much as I did.


We began with Padron Gaidin telling me a little bit about himself. In Real Life, he is 20 years old and lives in Israel. He is a corporal in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), where he works as a personal assistant to a Colonel, and this is his second year of service. In his own words, he admits to being "a bit of all around geek" who loves books, TV, comics, anime, movies, and games, just to name a few. On TarValon.net, Padron is a Gaidin of Val'Cueran and bonded to Alora Sionn of the Blue Ajah. As you may have noticed, he is fairly active, and can be found in many places around the boards.

I next asked him how he discovered the Wheel of Time series. As far as he can remember, he was fairly young when he first saw the series in the library. "I think I was 10 or 11 when I read it in Hebrew for the first time," he told me. "I remember thinking that if a series got so many books it should be good. In Hebrew each book is divided to 2 volumes so it appeared way more than it really is." I have to admit, that made me giggle a little. In talking about the conclusion of the series, Padron Gaidin revealed that he has some mixed feelings. "It's good to have a conclusion [to the series] but it's sad that the world wont be developed any further in terms of story," he said. I also inquired about his favorite character, and the question was not an easy one for him to answer. "I am not very good at picking favorites," he admitted. "Mat is a good choice I think. I like the way he looks at life."

After we discussed the Wheel of Time, the conversation turned to TarValon.Net. I was curious to find out how Padron Gaidin had discovered the site and his story is slightly atypical. "I found the site looking for sung versions of WoT songs like the Color of Trust," he revealed. "I stuck around because I simply love this place and enjoy being a part of the community." The story of how he created his Tower name also made me smile. "My name came from me being bad at names," he told me a bit sheepishly. "I randomly opened the WoT book I was reading at the list of terms and people that is at the books end. Padron is me misreading Pedron. Kerenmosa is the last name of one of the old Amyrlins. I just liked the sound." As mentioned earlier, Padron is a Gaidin of Val'Cueran, and I wondered how he had found his home among the wolves. "I think ever since I joined I was attracted to VC," he told me. "The ideals VC stands for called me. When I guested there as a Soldier I enjoyed the spirit of brotherhood and just felt this is where I should be."

Next, we talked a bit more about the site as a whole. When discussing some of his favorite things about TarValon.Net, Padron Gaidin shared some lovely thoughts about our community. "I like the way people here come from all across the globe and are so different. There are many things you can learn about other places from the people here. It's the spirit of the place that I like," he said. And it's what keeps everyone coming back, as we have learned through the years. As for Padron Gaidin's favorite memory, he chose one of our online freeweeks. "I think it would probably be from one of the festivals like Shaoman," he told me. "Many good times during these days." Let's hope the next one brings just as many good memories!

Finally, I asked him how he felt about being chosen as our new Master of Accepted and Soldiers, and what plans he has for his charges. "I am still learning the ropes as the new MoAS [and] I am glad I was chosen," he said. "My application was only sent after a lot of serious consideration and after I got advice from others. I haven't got any special plans at the moment, however, I have a general idea about my first goal: I want to turn the Accepted and Soldiers into a united group. My feeling at the moment is that they aren't a very distinctive group: sometimes it seems people just want to Aspire and once they do - they become a part of the group they Aspired to. My second goal is to simply be there if needed. I see myself as a "super mentor" in addition to the regular ones that everyone can turn to." I'm intrigued, and am looking forward to seeing how Padron Gaidin turns his ideas into reality (and I'm sure all of the Accepted and Soldiers are too!)


And there you have it! Thanks to Padron Gaidin for agreeing to the interview, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.