I am often asked about my resume. What kind of path takes someone from a personal care company, to a radio station, to a legacy brand, to a startup coding bootcamp, to a 100+ year-old opera house?
To give you some background, I’ve always been curious about the world around me. I got a bachelor’s degree in biology because I wanted to see a little bit about how the world worked. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to create! So, I applied to be a radio DJ and started a music collective and worked as a concert photographer. Again, I found that it wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to build something bigger than myself. So I went to business school to figure out how to do that.
Along the way, I learned how to organize processes and create a successful roadmap for the future. I ended up applying those skills at both Harley-Davidson and devCodeCamp. I saw firsthand the differences between a small startup and a company that was founded when Teddy Roosevelt was president. I saw how effective communication at a small, agile company sets it up for success. In managing the transition from one ordering process to another at Harley, it became clear that a roadmap could only be as effective as the buy-in from every team involved.
At Marquette Radio and Devils Lake Lavender, I began to really dig into the importance of the social aspect of a brand’s success. Through engagement with our audiences, we found great growth, making Marquette Radio a household name at the university and growing DLL’s Facebook page to over 4,000 followers in the first six months of operation. It was clear that understanding our core customer was the single most important thing we could do to grow brand awareness.
After doing some freelance design work for the Al. Ringling Theater, built in 1915 as a gift to my hometown from its namesake, I was asked to step in as the Interim Director of both the Marketing and Community Relations departments. It was a daunting task. I would be taking over for two positions and starting on the first day of a three week run of musicals. I was intimidated but ready to take on the challenge. There is no doubt in my mind that my decision was one of the best I have ever made. Every day, I needed to employ skills I had been accumulating for my entire career. Every day was different. The uncertainty energized me and the triumphs bolstered my confidence.
Which brings me to the final answer to the question, “Why Me?”
Tenacity, attitude, perseverance, and a knack for listening allow me to navigate the world around me with a sense of endless possibility - for myself, for my company, for our clients. What do you want out of our interaction? I can give it to you. That’s what sets me apart and that’s “why me”.