WEBVTT 00:00:05.920 --> 00:00:08.500 I had those dreams of being that cool girl in 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:10.339 the cool office and all this stuff. And here 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:13.660 I am in this like small company. But little did 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:16.120 I know that I was going to have some of the best 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:20.500 mentors in my entire life. One of my bosses had 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:23.539 actually been in the New York City advertising 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:27.239 agency circuit her whole career. So she took 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.940 me and introduced me to so many people in those 00:00:29.940 --> 00:00:32.200 places. She took me to tour those offices. I 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:34.890 made so many connections, networking. And then 00:00:34.890 --> 00:00:37.329 also the benefit of working at a small company 00:00:37.329 --> 00:00:40.310 that I think is kind of underrated is that you 00:00:40.310 --> 00:00:44.329 have to, you get to do so much. So a lot of my 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:46.490 colleagues, we'd come to class and talk about 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.210 what we were doing in our internships. And a 00:00:49.210 --> 00:00:51.590 lot of them were doing like Intuin projects, 00:00:51.750 --> 00:00:54.229 which were just kind of like glorified. homework 00:00:54.229 --> 00:00:57.850 assignments in a way and I was actually like 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:00.130 creating a blog for the company running their 00:01:00.130 --> 00:01:03.130 social media like they needed they really did 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:05.810 they didn't have you know someone to do all of 00:01:05.810 --> 00:01:08.609 their marketing and then of course also being 00:01:08.609 --> 00:01:11.549 in luxury real estate I got to go to these amazing 00:01:11.549 --> 00:01:14.670 New York City apartments that I will never be 00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:18.129 able to afford. In today's episode of Life's 00:01:18.129 --> 00:01:20.670 Next Lesson Plan I sit down with Brittany Ement. 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:23.290 a former student whose journey took her from 00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:26.790 aspiring magazine journalist to a thriving career 00:01:26.790 --> 00:01:29.849 in employer branding. Brittany's story is one 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:33.569 of ambition, adaptability, and learning to trust 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:37.230 the process. She shares the lessons she's learned 00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:40.730 about career pivots, the value of small companies, 00:01:41.390 --> 00:01:44.569 negotiating your worth, and why sometimes the 00:01:44.569 --> 00:01:47.650 hardest decisions lead to the biggest growth. 00:01:48.010 --> 00:01:50.510 If you've ever had to let go of an old dream 00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:53.989 to embrace a new opportunity, this episode is 00:01:53.989 --> 00:01:58.189 for you. I'm so excited for you to hear her story. 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:06.939 Thank you for joining me for another episode 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.780 of Life's Next Lesson Plan. I'm Rachel and I 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.800 started this podcast during my 29th and last 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.300 year as a high school teacher. The goal of my 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:17.800 work with Life's Next Lesson Plan as well as 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.759 my Live and Learn Patreon is to create a connection 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:23.560 where we are all teachers. We all have lessons 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.539 and stories to share that can help others. I'm 00:02:26.539 --> 00:02:28.919 so fortunate to be able to extend the four walls 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:32.479 of my previous classroom to an unlimited audience. 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:35.680 where we can all learn from each other. And my 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:38.120 guests are some of the most inspirational people 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:41.240 with the best stories and lessons I know, which 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:44.439 is why I want to share them with you. Their words 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:47.099 are something everyone should hear. It is my 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:48.860 hope that you are able to take away something 00:02:48.860 --> 00:02:51.879 from each episode to apply to your own life, 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:55.000 whether that be a career search, path to a more 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.659 fulfilling life, or new ideas on current topics. 00:03:00.519 --> 00:03:03.819 Today I'm bringing to you a much anticipated 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:07.800 episode. I've been having this person's name 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.840 on my list since I started podcasting because 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:16.300 as I was telling her I repeat her job to so many 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:18.400 people I can't even count now how many people 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.879 I have told her career journey to it's it's really 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:25.400 Hopefully you'll find it as fascinating as I 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:28.020 do. And Brittany and I were just talking about 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:31.400 the fact that she, I get to see the journeys 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:34.439 of all of these former students from their beginning 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:37.560 in high school to now years and years later. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:41.360 And I'm so privileged today to bring to you Brittany 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.139 Eamon, who is a former journalism student of 00:03:45.139 --> 00:03:48.580 mine. We have many, many great stories from the 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:52.280 pubs lab and beyond, but I'll let Brittany give. 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:55.819 a little bit of introduction of herself, and 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:58.199 then we'll start to talk about our connection 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:01.780 and our time together in the pub's lab. Yeah, 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.659 absolutely. Well, thank you for the amazing intro. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.439 I'm super happy to be here. I've been listening 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.819 to the podcast and Excited to share my career 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.419 journey and share some hopefully good lessons 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:20.560 and tidbits from along the way Yeah, so as I 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:22.439 want to call you mrs. Ralph. Yeah, you can say 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:29.420 Rachel. It's okay I, yes, I, my name is Brittany 00:04:29.420 --> 00:04:33.300 Eamon. I am a senior manager of employer brand 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:37.699 and recruitment marketing at Sephora. So literally 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:40.899 a dream job. I also had no idea what employer 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.720 brand and recruitment marketing it was before 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:46.540 I started this. It kind of fell into my lap. 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:50.009 So I will, I will be. discussing kind of that 00:04:50.009 --> 00:04:54.110 whole journey. But essentially, my job is to 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:57.449 position Sephora as an employer of choice for 00:04:57.449 --> 00:05:00.829 prospective candidates. And I work on a lot of 00:05:00.829 --> 00:05:04.569 recruitment marketing campaigns. So we I own 00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:06.949 our Sephora life Instagram, our Sephora LinkedIn 00:05:06.949 --> 00:05:10.449 channel, our career website, lots of fun things. 00:05:11.069 --> 00:05:15.389 So yeah, like my my job kind of expands to all 00:05:15.389 --> 00:05:19.230 of marketing within the HR organization. But 00:05:19.230 --> 00:05:21.230 yeah, it's really, really fun. And of course, 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.310 I love Sephora. So that definitely helps working 00:05:24.310 --> 00:05:26.550 for a company that you love. Yeah, you definitely 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:29.569 have the dream job of many girls I know in my 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:32.410 life. And I've brought home that black and white 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:35.850 striped bag into my house many times. So if you're 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:38.779 wondering, yes, we do get up. We do get a lot 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:41.800 of free products. The discount is also amazing. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.160 So my daughter tells me, yeah. So she's like, 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:47.500 you know, mom, they get all of this product. 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:50.079 And I'm like, yes, I'm aware this is a goal for 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:54.379 you. Then you could do this. Absolutely. So our 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:57.560 roots began, as I said, in the pubs lab when 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:00.779 it was just a tiny little back room. I remember 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:04.500 because now I have this large classroom and it 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:06.399 was kind of nice, though, because you couldn't 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.480 escape each other. You had to sort of be forced 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:12.060 to bond. We had a close staff and we had so much 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:15.339 fun. So I know that you have thought a little 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:19.959 bit about your most memorable pubs moment that 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:21.980 you spent in high school. Do you want to share 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:25.459 that? I love the story. Yeah, no, I remember. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:29.459 Yeah, I mean, like I remember signing up for 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:34.399 journalism pubs class back back in high school 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.170 and just being so interested and then like falling 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:39.750 in love with it so fast because I quit orchestra 00:06:39.750 --> 00:06:42.269 actually to open up my schedule to do stuff that 00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:44.709 I was more passionate about and I remember everyone 00:06:44.709 --> 00:06:46.589 was like you need to have your fine arts credits 00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:48.069 and whatever and I was like I just want to do 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:51.490 this and so I did and I loved it and we were 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:54.569 so passionate that um it was like Katie Manderski 00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:57.589 and Sydney Benson and I and we were like so so 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.769 passionate about um the newspaper and everything 00:07:00.769 --> 00:07:04.730 and um you had introduced going to this conference 00:07:04.730 --> 00:07:09.769 in San Francisco and we it was actually the same 00:07:09.769 --> 00:07:13.870 weekend or week as prom And I didn't have a boyfriend 00:07:13.870 --> 00:07:16.250 in high school and I didn't have anyone that 00:07:16.250 --> 00:07:18.449 I really wanted to go with. And I was just like, 00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:21.129 well, it's junior prom. I can go senior prom. 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:24.269 And I actually was a huge fan of the show, The 00:07:24.269 --> 00:07:28.269 Hills. And this moment in that show kept ringing 00:07:28.269 --> 00:07:32.189 in my head where she refuses to go to Paris so 00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:35.649 that she can spend. through her Teen Vogue internship, 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:37.230 she was supposed to go to Paris and she was like, 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:39.230 I'm not doing that. I'm going to spend the summer 00:07:39.230 --> 00:07:41.850 with my boyfriend in Malibu. And then they end 00:07:41.850 --> 00:07:43.730 up breaking up. And I was like, I have to choose 00:07:43.730 --> 00:07:47.949 San Francisco over prom. I just knew it. I was 00:07:47.949 --> 00:07:50.089 like, I have to do this for my career. Like, 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:52.790 I want to get out of Wisconsin. I want to I have 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:55.990 big dreams. And that was such a big moment for 00:07:55.990 --> 00:07:58.870 me, like going to a big city for the first time 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:01.740 and like really feeling like my career. could 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:03.639 take off and like that anything was possible. 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:06.959 So yeah, that's all thanks to you and really 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.939 driving that. That was such a big moment for 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:12.040 me in high school. That was, I think, the first 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.959 time, the first trip we took as a pub staff ever. 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:19.600 There were four of you guys and seeing, I think, 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:22.600 all the other journalism schools and what they 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:24.939 were doing. And they had like flags and they 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:27.620 had matching sweatshirts, right? And you were 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:31.589 like, whoa, this is like the Super Bowl. or girls 00:08:31.589 --> 00:08:35.850 with a dream. Exactly, but it really just paved 00:08:35.850 --> 00:08:39.490 the way for future travel and then kind of seeing 00:08:39.490 --> 00:08:42.409 what was out there and what was possible. In 00:08:42.409 --> 00:08:46.519 fact, today I had out because the kids in journalism 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:48.720 right now do not know that we had a newspaper, 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:50.940 they don't know that we had a news magazine, 00:08:51.419 --> 00:08:53.080 they don't know that we used to do the booster 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:56.659 magazines, and I had them all out today, and 00:08:56.659 --> 00:08:59.919 I mentioned the three of you, Katie and Sydney, 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:03.419 because you had done, I held up the double, the 00:09:03.419 --> 00:09:05.720 spread that you did, the drug spread we called 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.549 it, where you guys... planned all of that, and 00:09:09.549 --> 00:09:13.850 it was so juicy and controversial. And I haven't 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:18.129 had journalists recently who want to really dig 00:09:18.129 --> 00:09:21.509 for those sort of juicy, controversial stories. 00:09:21.809 --> 00:09:24.750 And when they look at the work that you guys 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:28.830 did, they're like, whoa. And I was like, yeah. 00:09:28.929 --> 00:09:32.110 I remember people were talking about it in the 00:09:32.110 --> 00:09:34.909 hallways. And I was just like, yeah, I was career 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:38.210 over. reputation at that point. I was like, I 00:09:38.210 --> 00:09:40.370 don't care. Like this story is going to get me 00:09:40.370 --> 00:09:42.210 awards. And I think it did. I think we did win 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:44.909 an award for that story. So I was like, you know 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:48.330 what? Like, yeah. And I was so into it. So it 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:52.179 was, it was rewarding. Yeah, it's fun to go back 00:09:52.179 --> 00:09:55.639 and to have all of that to look at as well. So 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:59.320 you started out, I recognized you almost immediately 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:02.440 as someone who had a passion and a talent for 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:05.019 pubs. And I think I gave you the nudge to apply 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:08.080 for editor. And you know, once you did that, 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.539 and once you traveled, it was like no turning 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:13.940 back for you. It was like you immersed yourself 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:17.139 and you had goals and you just wanted to continually 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:20.929 improve. So can Can you share a little bit with 00:10:20.929 --> 00:10:23.870 us then how that kind of influenced, you know, 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:26.570 what you did in high school and then college 00:10:26.570 --> 00:10:28.730 and then, of course, we'll get into the post 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:30.789 -college stuff, but where it kind of started? 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:35.809 Yeah, no, I think definitely, like, as you can 00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:39.009 tell, the passion was, like, just so deep within 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:41.070 me. And I think a lot of it had to do with, like, 00:10:41.149 --> 00:10:43.669 the media I was consuming at the time. So, like, 00:10:44.049 --> 00:10:46.769 I grew up on, like, sex in the city and how to 00:10:46.769 --> 00:10:48.990 lose a guy in 10 days and like all these things 00:10:48.990 --> 00:10:51.509 were the are like 13 going on 30 where the main 00:10:51.509 --> 00:10:56.250 character woman was this like bad badass I don't 00:10:56.250 --> 00:11:01.049 know if yes you can okay okay like badass magazine 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:04.129 editor woman and like I just saw myself so much 00:11:04.129 --> 00:11:07.409 in those women and I think it was like And I 00:11:07.409 --> 00:11:09.409 loved writing so much and I love design. Like 00:11:09.409 --> 00:11:12.429 I just loved all of those things. So that was 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:16.049 kind of like where that passion like drove me 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:19.289 to like continue doing that. And like I really 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:23.049 saw high school was just like a blip in my journey. 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:26.409 It wasn't like everything to me. So that was 00:11:26.409 --> 00:11:28.940 like really where. When I started looking for 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:30.919 colleges I was really looking for ones with really 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:33.740 good journalism programs and especially magazine 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.019 journalism programs because that was really like 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:38.100 the big thing it was like with all those shows 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:41.100 and everything like I loved Cosmo, I loved Teen 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:44.720 Vogue. Vanity Fair, Glamour, like all of those 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.240 magazines were like what I grew up on and like 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:50.720 what I still consumed at that time. It was still 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:52.620 kind of that weird in between where like social 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:55.259 media was becoming huge, but then also print 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:58.600 still had a place. So it was. interesting, but 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:00.379 it was like still driving me in that direction 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:02.000 because I was like, Oh, I want to be here for 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.620 this industry shift and everything. So when I 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:07.940 was looking for colleges, University of Missouri 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:10.480 has a really, really great journalism program. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:16.190 I did tour Mizzou as well as Wisconsin's journalism 00:12:16.190 --> 00:12:19.289 program specifically, because I was so sure of 00:12:19.289 --> 00:12:22.590 my major that like the general school tour didn't 00:12:22.590 --> 00:12:24.210 really matter to me. I was just like, what is 00:12:24.210 --> 00:12:25.850 this program going to look like? Is it going 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:27.990 to get me to where I need to be and all that 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:30.610 stuff? And looking back, maybe this is just like 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:33.830 a Midwestern thing. But I think Kelly also said 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:35.509 this on hers, but it's like I never even thought 00:12:35.509 --> 00:12:38.350 to go to like New York City where all the magazines 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:41.399 were. I was just like, I want a big like. big 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.279 school experience and everything and I have no 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:45.820 regrets from that like I loved my experience 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:48.419 at Mizzou. So yeah that's where I ended up deciding 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:52.019 to go and they actually had like a sub major 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:55.039 that was for magazine journalism specifically 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:59.399 so that was like exactly what I wanted to do. 00:13:00.269 --> 00:13:03.230 And I think that was what really led me once 00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:06.409 I got there to joining the magazine club and 00:13:06.409 --> 00:13:08.789 learning more about magazines, becoming president 00:13:08.789 --> 00:13:12.210 of the magazine club, similar journey also to 00:13:12.210 --> 00:13:16.269 Kelly's. And we were able to do this. I remember 00:13:16.269 --> 00:13:18.149 it was my freshman year and freshmen didn't usually 00:13:18.149 --> 00:13:20.450 get to go on the New York trip, but I got to 00:13:20.450 --> 00:13:24.269 go on the New York trip and we got to visit Mizzou 00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:28.049 alumni from all of these giant magazines and 00:13:28.049 --> 00:13:30.389 like BuzzFeed too, which was like huge at the 00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:35.289 time as well. And I remember getting there and 00:13:35.289 --> 00:13:39.909 just being like so in awe by these offices. And 00:13:39.909 --> 00:13:42.889 I think it just like furthered that like drive 00:13:42.889 --> 00:13:47.330 and that passion that I had that I know not not 00:13:47.330 --> 00:13:50.460 everyone like has that drive and that passion 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:52.600 but like I think that's really what motivated 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:54.440 me and then like seeing the offices and seeing 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:56.720 New York I was like okay yes like this is exactly 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.440 what I want to do this is everything um but I 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.220 also had this like kind of conflicting feeling 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.080 of like okay every time we went because I went 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.539 freshman year sophomore year junior year every 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:10.799 year we went another magazine was getting cut 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.320 the print edition was getting cut And it was 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:16.100 kind of up in the air. I started like talking 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:19.659 to these journalists about like, um, like what 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.820 their day to day looked like and exactly what 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:24.000 they were doing. And it was like in that era 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.440 of like clickbait articles that were really, 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:28.539 really popular. And they were like, we write 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.220 20 stories a day and they're all like seven things 00:14:31.220 --> 00:14:34.320 you need to know. I was just like, ah, and I 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.519 just got like really overwhelmed by it. The more 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.299 I thought about where I wanted to be, it was 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:41.759 like, do I really want to be a journalist or 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.620 do I want to be in these big fancy offices in 00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:49.320 a big city? And so I made this like kind of like 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.679 really tough decision, like midway through my 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:55.840 college career where I was like, do I want to 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.700 stick with the magazine journalism track? They 00:14:57.700 --> 00:15:01.259 have like 35 tracks at Mizzou. So like this doesn't 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:04.659 seem like a huge like earth shattering moment, 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.500 but for me at like 20 years old, I was like, 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:11.740 oh my gosh, like everything I've worked for up 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:15.639 until this moment is for nothing. I just felt 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:18.139 like it was like, oh, if I don't stay with magazine, 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:20.980 like I'm betraying my dream. I'm betraying like 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:24.179 what 16 year old me was so passionate about. 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:29.549 So that was like a really like. That was a really 00:15:29.549 --> 00:15:31.710 trying moment for me where I was just really 00:15:31.710 --> 00:15:34.309 like kind of going back and forth. And then I, 00:15:34.309 --> 00:15:35.730 you know, I talked to my parents about it. I 00:15:35.730 --> 00:15:37.909 talked to like some mentors at the school about 00:15:37.909 --> 00:15:41.230 it and everything and decided to change. I was 00:15:41.230 --> 00:15:43.909 still in the journalism school, but I changed 00:15:43.909 --> 00:15:48.509 from magazine to strategic communication. And 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:50.549 the more I learned about like strategic communication, 00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:53.230 like advertising essentially was what the major 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:57.019 was. the more I just learned about like the creativity 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:59.240 and marketing and copywriting and things like 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:00.940 that. And I was like, okay, this is literally 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:03.279 what I liked from the beginning. It's not any 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.039 different. It's just not the traditional journalism. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.659 So I think like just one of my main takeaways, 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:12.259 and I tell this to young people all the time 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:17.000 is like, if you have a dream, changing your path 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.159 a little bit or change your path completely is 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:22.279 not like betraying your dream. It's not like 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.000 nothing you've done up until that point is meaningless, 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:27.200 you know, and I think at that point, that's all 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.740 I could think about was like, oh, like, I went 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:31.980 to San Francisco on a journalism convention. 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:34.419 How dare I not do journalism for the rest of 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:38.259 my life, you know. And I think, yeah, it's easy 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:40.580 to see things as like the biggest deal ever at 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:44.600 that age, too. And with more perspective, I'm 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.659 just like every little moment led me to where 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:49.500 I am now. And I don't regret a second of that. 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:53.220 So, yeah, I think that's a big piece of advice 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:55.919 I have when it comes to like the college era 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.679 and changing your major and figuring out what 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:02.179 you want to do like don't be discouraged by like 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.700 your brain kind of telling you maybe this isn't 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.920 right for me or maybe I want to like change directions 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.160 a little bit like that's that's an okay feeling 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:11.799 to have and that's also a very normal feeling 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:14.619 to have as you learn more information. Exactly 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:18.420 yeah I've been hearing this um I don't know how 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:21.700 long it's been around, but the strategic communications 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:25.359 major. And I don't know, there's like the straight 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:28.319 journalism major. And then like you said, a really 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.640 specific journalism school is gonna have all 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:34.019 of these small niches, but it's more like of 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:37.359 an umbrella than under the umbrella. Am I understanding 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:40.400 right? There's like different skills. It was 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:43.339 like. journalism was the umbrella and then strategic 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:45.740 communication was another umbrella and then under 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:50.259 that umbrella you could do like PR or art direction 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:53.460 and graphic design or you could do copywriting 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:57.039 or account management so there were so many like 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:59.559 niches within it and I think this is also kind 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.019 of specific to Mizzou like that journalism school 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:05.329 is so built out and that was actually something 00:18:05.329 --> 00:18:06.789 I struggled with too because I was like I don't 00:18:06.789 --> 00:18:08.829 want to pigeonhole myself like I don't want to 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:12.150 feel so pigeonholed like I even in pubs like 00:18:12.150 --> 00:18:13.869 I was like I like doing the design stuff and 00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:16.410 I also like doing the writing stuff and I felt 00:18:16.410 --> 00:18:19.829 like some of my professors were trying to like 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:21.910 pigeonhole me just because that's how the advertising 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:25.549 industry is so you're either a copywriter or 00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:29.859 a graphic designer um and I never actually Had 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:31.839 a career in the advertising industry have always 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.960 worked on the brand side of things And I will 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:39.859 say I have never Like I never not appreciated 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.420 my graphic design background, even though I'm 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:45.000 not a graphic designer full time. Like that is 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.400 something that like they, I feel like they tried 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:49.619 to be like, you're focusing too much on this. 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:50.980 You need to focus on that. You know, like, and 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:53.420 I was like, I can't be pigeonholed. I like being 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:56.299 a Jagger ball trades. And I will say if you are 00:18:56.299 --> 00:18:58.319 someone who's like, I just can't figure out, 00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:01.920 you know, what area to like really focus and 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.640 hone in on that can be your area is the fact 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.859 that you are really strategic and you can see 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:10.559 things from like a bird's eye view and you have 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.359 experience in all areas. I'm a very visual person 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.920 so like even today at work I had an idea and 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:19.980 I'm not going to create the final creative but 00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:22.259 I can mock up the creative and say this is what 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:25.740 I'm trying to communicate so you know like I 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:27.819 can pass that off to a designer and be like here's 00:19:27.819 --> 00:19:31.400 like my general idea and they can take it and 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:33.619 make it beautiful and use their skills and things 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:36.599 like that. So yeah, there's a lot of different 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:39.119 majors available now and it's hard to navigate 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.180 and I would say even if you choose a major and 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.740 you're not like 100 % confident in it, you can 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:47.900 always use the skills that you've learned in 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:50.759 college and like take them with you into different 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:53.059 careers. Yeah, I think that's such an important 00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:55.890 point and this is something that I still tell 00:19:55.890 --> 00:19:58.529 my journalists because for their exam, they build 00:19:58.529 --> 00:20:00.910 a portfolio of all their work and my message 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:04.170 is always be as well rounded in that portfolio 00:20:04.170 --> 00:20:06.329 as possible, right? Because first of all, I want 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:08.750 you to try everything because unless you try 00:20:08.750 --> 00:20:11.289 it, you don't really know. Like most kids used 00:20:11.289 --> 00:20:13.329 to sign up for journalism because they like to 00:20:13.329 --> 00:20:15.609 write and then they end up falling in love with 00:20:15.609 --> 00:20:18.250 design, like you said, or photography, right? 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:21.410 Or now I have vloggers and then this week they 00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:23.170 said a couple of them want to start a podcast 00:20:23.170 --> 00:20:26.799 this trimester. did that last year so I want 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:30.900 them to try everything and like you said you 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:34.480 never know down the road where you might rely 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:39.289 on some of those skills. Right? And yes, if some 00:20:39.289 --> 00:20:42.269 kids want to specialize in something, they can. 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:45.390 I make them do two assignments a week now. One 00:20:45.390 --> 00:20:47.549 of their assignments can be their specialty, 00:20:47.630 --> 00:20:49.630 but then their second assignment, I kind of want 00:20:49.630 --> 00:20:52.650 them to play around with as much as possible 00:20:52.650 --> 00:20:55.769 to have that background. And whether they go 00:20:55.769 --> 00:20:59.849 into journalism or not, I would argue, especially 00:20:59.849 --> 00:21:02.210 the soft skills that they learn in a journalism 00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:06.490 class, time management, collaboration, communication, 00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:11.109 right, like deadlines. That's all so important, 00:21:11.190 --> 00:21:14.490 but all of the skills, interviewing and writing 00:21:14.490 --> 00:21:17.190 and being able to visually communicate something, 00:21:17.730 --> 00:21:21.279 they're going to help you in some facet. 100 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:25.380 % yeah I remember at Mizzou you have to do even 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:27.339 if you're going into like broadcasts journalism 00:21:27.339 --> 00:21:31.160 like we had every type of journalism but everyone 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.980 had to take news writing and that class was so 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:37.339 hard and they made you like write like you were 00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:40.140 an actual newspaper environment it was so hard 00:21:40.140 --> 00:21:41.500 and everyone's like this isn't even what I wanted 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:43.519 to do I just wanted to do marketing and I wanted 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:45.819 to design pretty things but everyone had to do 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:49.279 it. And I will say, I learned, I learned so much 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:52.380 in that course that like I still use to this 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:54.960 day. And so I agree. It's like that well -rounded 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.299 nature. And then also like when you're in high 00:21:57.299 --> 00:21:59.079 school and college, like that's your learn time. 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:01.559 So like, learn as much as you can while you're 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:03.440 there. And like, you're going to continue learning 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.619 once you're in the real world too. And you're 00:22:05.619 --> 00:22:08.440 going to bring those experiences with you, like 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:10.559 everywhere you go through your whole career. 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:15.960 Absolutely. So you were finding kind of your 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:20.160 journey and being reflective you knew that maybe 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.519 you know you wanted to change your path a little 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:25.980 bit and You were learning how to dabble into 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:29.420 new areas that interested you I know you did 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:32.180 an internship or more than one internship Do 00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:34.619 you want to talk a little bit about how you see 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:36.980 the importance of that how that played a role 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:40.619 for you as well? Yeah, so I think internships 00:22:40.619 --> 00:22:44.980 were an incredible supplement to my college experience 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:47.819 because you actually get to actually like apply 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:49.460 the things that you're learning in the classroom 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:53.740 setting and the Mizzou way of learning was really 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:56.920 like hands -on already but just being in a company 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.160 and then understanding like how to work with 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.099 clients and understanding like the larger business 00:23:02.099 --> 00:23:04.480 model and like how your department works with 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.089 other departments. um was super important to 00:23:07.089 --> 00:23:11.230 me so um going into it was my junior year going 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:14.390 into senior year and I was in a graphic design 00:23:14.390 --> 00:23:16.950 class I thought that was kind of where I wanted 00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:19.170 my niche to be within strategic communications 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:22.289 but I wasn't really sure um but I really wanted 00:23:22.289 --> 00:23:26.299 to study abroad um but I settled for a study 00:23:26.299 --> 00:23:29.740 away program which was um in New York City but 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:31.720 you had to get your own internship so it was 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:34.599 like an internship program with Mizzou classes 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:36.700 and you had like a small I think it was like 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:39.920 25 of us cohort so it was a really cool program 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:42.759 it was all through the journalism school and 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:46.360 everyone interned and things from like agencies 00:23:46.360 --> 00:23:50.000 to, we had a few people at CNN, like really, 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:52.319 really cool internships, but you all had to find 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.059 them yourselves. So I remember asking my professor, 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:58.480 like, how can I find a graphic design internship 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:01.279 in New York City? And he was like, oh, you're 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:04.339 not ready for that. And I was like, what? So 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:06.380 it was like this shocking moment of him being 00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:08.200 like, yeah, you're not gonna, you're not good 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:10.339 enough for that. And I was just like, I was. 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:14.220 shocked honestly, but also I feel like that feedback 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:18.339 also drove me to look in other areas where I 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:20.839 might have been wasting my time in graphic design 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:23.740 because I wasn't a graphic designer at the end 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:25.759 of the day that what like I had graphic design 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:27.880 skills, but it wasn't what was right for me. 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:31.240 So there's hard feedback to get but then the 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:32.700 more I thought about it the more I was really 00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:35.650 thinking about what what do I like in this strategic 00:24:35.650 --> 00:24:38.589 communication area and what internships am I 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:41.230 seeing and social media was really taking off 00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:43.630 at that point like from a business perspective 00:24:43.630 --> 00:24:46.289 so I was like you know social media it feels 00:24:46.289 --> 00:24:48.849 like I can be strategic I can be creative and 00:24:48.849 --> 00:24:51.769 do maybe some graphic design but then also be 00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:54.450 like analytical and I can do copywriting so it 00:24:54.450 --> 00:24:58.509 really felt like this like combination of all 00:24:58.509 --> 00:25:01.289 the different things within the strategic communication 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:05.420 major that I really wanted to explore. So I started 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:09.119 looking into social media internships. I ended 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.819 up getting an internship at a small real estate 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:17.559 luxury real estate company. And I felt kind of 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:21.660 imposter syndrome a little bit or maybe imposter 00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:27.440 syndrome is not the right word. I felt a little 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:31.019 bit like a black sheep in the in the program 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:33.059 because everyone else had these internships at 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:36.740 these huge agencies and these huge news companies 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:39.339 and I think someone had an internship at the 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:42.740 New York Times and I just felt kind of like what 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.380 am I doing here at this luxury real estate company 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:47.799 and you know I had that like I was a little embarrassed 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:52.640 to be honest and I wanted to be you know like 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.859 I had those dreams of being that cool girl in 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:56.920 the cool office and all this stuff and here I 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:00.039 am in this like small company but little did 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.640 I know that I was going to have some of the best 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:06.900 mentors in my entire life. One of my bosses had 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:09.940 actually been in the New York City advertising 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:13.619 agency circuit her whole career. So she took 00:26:13.619 --> 00:26:16.339 me and introduced me to so many people in those 00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:18.559 places. She took me to tour those offices. I 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:21.279 made so many connections, networking, and then 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:23.720 also the benefit of working at a small company 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:26.519 that I think It's kind of underrated is that 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:30.059 you have to, you get to do so much. So a lot 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:32.720 of my colleagues, we'd come to class and talk 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.400 about what we were doing in our internships. 00:26:34.940 --> 00:26:37.980 And a lot of them were doing like intern projects, 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.619 which were just kind of like glorified homework 00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:44.119 assignments in a way. And I was actually like 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:46.500 creating a blog for the company running their 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:49.299 social media. Like they needed me. They really 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:51.859 did. They didn't have, you know, someone to do 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:54.650 all of their marketing. And then of course, also 00:26:54.650 --> 00:26:56.849 being in luxury real estate, I got to go to these 00:26:56.849 --> 00:27:00.650 amazing New York City apartments that I will 00:27:00.650 --> 00:27:04.029 never be able to afford. So that was like a huge 00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:08.309 perk of it as well. And it was just like a really 00:27:08.309 --> 00:27:11.750 fun introduction to like, yeah, like working 00:27:11.750 --> 00:27:17.029 in a huge city and having that like fun, you 00:27:17.029 --> 00:27:21.480 know. badass powerful woman type of job and having 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:23.759 those like female leaders was really really important 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:25.359 for me at that point in my career because they 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:28.640 were just the company was opened by a woman and 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:30.819 she started it all on her own and she was just 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:34.839 amazing so yeah I think that was like a huge 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:38.839 piece that helped me like gain the confidence. 00:27:39.150 --> 00:27:42.109 for my post -grad that I had so much to add to 00:27:42.109 --> 00:27:45.109 my portfolio. Like I had so much that I had done 00:27:45.109 --> 00:27:47.069 that was still live and so many other people 00:27:47.069 --> 00:27:49.250 were like, here's this PowerPoint deck that I 00:27:49.250 --> 00:27:51.549 did as part of an internship project. And not 00:27:51.549 --> 00:27:53.130 to say that those things aren't valuable because 00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:56.789 they totally are, but I just felt really by the 00:27:56.789 --> 00:27:59.829 end of the summer, I felt so confident in the 00:27:59.829 --> 00:28:01.750 experience I gained from that small business 00:28:01.750 --> 00:28:04.069 that I definitely wouldn't have gotten had I 00:28:04.069 --> 00:28:08.140 been at a larger agency or firm. Yeah, that's 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:10.779 so great that you remained open minded. You know, 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:13.059 of course, you were frustrated or disappointed 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:16.259 in the beginning. How long was it before you 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:18.519 started to see that you were a valuable asset 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:20.839 to the company and you're going to be able to 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:25.559 add to your skill set? I think I think it was 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.039 like probably two weeks in, honestly, I was like 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.099 two weeks in and they were giving me assignments, 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:34.519 especially, you know, I hate comparison is the 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:37.789 thief of joy, I believe. I believe that fully 00:28:37.789 --> 00:28:39.910 but you know at that time we're going back to 00:28:39.910 --> 00:28:41.650 these classes and I'm like what is everyone else 00:28:41.650 --> 00:28:44.630 working on and was really quickly learning that 00:28:44.630 --> 00:28:48.910 I was working on really really important stuff 00:28:48.910 --> 00:28:51.630 for the company and not just like I don't think 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:55.250 anyone was doing coffee runs per se maybe some 00:28:55.250 --> 00:28:59.509 of those like lesser like work that nobody else 00:28:59.509 --> 00:29:03.730 wants to do. So I immediately kind of changed 00:29:03.730 --> 00:29:06.009 my attitude and really thought, okay, this is 00:29:06.009 --> 00:29:08.069 a huge opportunity for me to build my portfolio, 00:29:08.509 --> 00:29:12.250 to really exercise my skills and learn a ton. 00:29:12.789 --> 00:29:16.720 I'm glad that you brought up. the idea of comparison, 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:18.960 right? Because that happens a lot, especially 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:21.019 now with social media, but especially when you're 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:24.000 in school, you're comparing everybody's experience 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:26.599 and then it starts to become like stressful because 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:29.119 you're going to be competing for jobs, right? 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:32.480 And actually the episode that I just did before 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:36.079 yours is on comparison. That's funny that you 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:37.680 should bring that up. It hasn't aired yet. It 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:42.299 comes out tomorrow. But yes, that's so difficult 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:45.059 unless, like I said, thankfully it was only two 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.480 weeks before you started to see like, oh, this 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:50.240 might actually be a valuable experience. And 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.460 then looking back, you probably had one of the 00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:55.859 most valuable experiences, which it didn't appear 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:59.099 to be at first, which is great. That's a great 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:04.200 lesson also. Okay, so you had what ended up being 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:08.980 a very meaningful internship experience and then 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:12.539 you are on your way to senior year of college, 00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:16.119 which I know can be really stressful. So let's 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:19.599 get into what that looked like for you a little 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:23.619 bit. So I definitely want to hear about how you 00:30:23.619 --> 00:30:28.160 approached the senior year stress and then we 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:32.240 can talk about post college, because that's where 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:35.859 it really gets exciting. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. 00:30:35.859 --> 00:30:39.339 So I was coming off of like the best summer of 00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:42.220 my life, living in New York City, like having 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:44.880 my Carrie Bradshaw moment. That's what I call 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:49.640 it, my Carrie Bradshaw moment. Yes. And just 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:53.559 an amazing internship. And I was coming back 00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:59.809 and I had my capstone class. If you don't know 00:30:59.809 --> 00:31:01.690 what a capstone is, it's kind of like your final 00:31:01.690 --> 00:31:05.490 project for your college experience. Um, and 00:31:05.490 --> 00:31:08.470 for that at Mizzou, it was to be part of like 00:31:08.470 --> 00:31:12.049 an agency project team. So, um, you could apply 00:31:12.049 --> 00:31:14.930 to be the account manager, the graphic designer. 00:31:15.269 --> 00:31:18.130 And as you know, I was already really struggling 00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:21.490 to figure out like, where's my niche. So at one 00:31:21.490 --> 00:31:23.430 point I was like, well, maybe I'm going to do 00:31:23.430 --> 00:31:25.930 video. That's what I want to do. So I applied 00:31:25.930 --> 00:31:29.410 to be a video producer, somehow got that. And 00:31:29.410 --> 00:31:32.799 that was my capstone. class project I was the 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:35.900 video producer and I barely knew how to work 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:38.079 a camera but I knew how to edit it really well 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:40.839 so I was like as long as I can get things into 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:44.099 an editing software and I have the vision but 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:46.700 I was like I really don't know what I was thinking 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:51.000 and and that's that's just me being honest is 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:54.380 like sometimes you are in this like craze of 00:31:54.380 --> 00:31:56.740 college and You're trying to figure out your 00:31:56.740 --> 00:31:59.099 journey and there's so many emotions. There's 00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:03.460 so much going on. So I was in my capstone and 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:06.240 applying to internships like crazy. I had my 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:08.980 portfolio. I'm sending my resume every everywhere. 00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:12.200 I used everything from that summer internship 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:15.579 to put in my portfolio. I was researching different 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:18.259 cities that I wanted to live in because I loved 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:21.319 New York, but I didn't know if like the little 00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:24.920 closet that I department was for me, but, you 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:26.319 know, I was looking there. I was looking really 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:29.720 everywhere. Um, and just hearing nothing. So 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:32.079 it was, that was also really, really challenging. 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:34.140 You know, I was like, Oh, it's because I don't 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:38.759 have CNN on my resume, which is not true. I get 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:42.000 there, but, um, so at the end of the first semester, 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.619 I remember we had like your, your meeting with 00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:47.859 your professor, um, to talk through all your 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:51.140 group feedback on your capstone project. And, 00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:56.779 um, I go into this meeting, and I think I had 00:32:56.779 --> 00:33:00.779 gotten a C in the class, which was devastating 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:04.500 for me. I was a straight A student all through 00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:07.059 college, and I really think a lot of it had to 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:09.279 do with me just being in the wrong role. I was 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:11.559 in a video producer role. I didn't have the skills 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:15.329 for it. I thought I could pull it off. but I 00:33:15.329 --> 00:33:17.910 really couldn't. And they were reading some of 00:33:17.910 --> 00:33:20.230 the feedback I had gotten from my peers. And 00:33:20.230 --> 00:33:23.910 it wasn't that great. And it was heartbreaking, 00:33:24.170 --> 00:33:26.750 honestly. It was heartbreaking. I cried in the 00:33:26.750 --> 00:33:29.130 meeting with my professor, actually. So that 00:33:29.130 --> 00:33:32.589 was a huge low point for me. And I felt like 00:33:32.589 --> 00:33:35.029 a failure. I felt like I can't do anything right. 00:33:35.150 --> 00:33:36.769 I have no direction in life. I don't know what 00:33:36.769 --> 00:33:39.750 I'm doing. Um, and I actually walked out of that 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:43.549 meeting and my phone was ringing and it was a 00:33:43.549 --> 00:33:48.230 call from Lake Buena Vista, Florida. So if anyone 00:33:48.230 --> 00:33:53.250 know that Lake Buena Vista is the small city 00:33:53.250 --> 00:33:57.269 where Disney is located in Orlando. And I answer 00:33:57.269 --> 00:34:00.329 the phone like you know like trying to brush 00:34:00.329 --> 00:34:03.509 away my tears from like one of the heaviest meetings 00:34:03.509 --> 00:34:06.329 I've ever had in my college career feeling the 00:34:06.329 --> 00:34:10.329 lowest I've ever felt and They, you know, it 00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:12.230 was a recruiter at Disney saying, Hey, we received 00:34:12.230 --> 00:34:14.309 your resume and we want to set up an interview 00:34:14.309 --> 00:34:17.030 with you. Um, do you have your schedule available? 00:34:17.070 --> 00:34:22.090 And I'm like, anytime, any day is good for me. 00:34:22.090 --> 00:34:25.190 I was so, it was like going from the lowest of 00:34:25.190 --> 00:34:28.349 low to the highest of high and just feeling like 00:34:28.349 --> 00:34:31.809 when I didn't even believe in my own self, someone 00:34:31.809 --> 00:34:35.409 out there believed in me. That was such a impactful 00:34:35.409 --> 00:34:40.320 moment for me. And. Yeah, it's it's it was huge 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:44.079 lesson because I think you know, I think me being 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:46.800 in the wrong role I took it personally as like 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:51.980 a reflection of me and my skills and Felt like 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:54.179 that meant that I was a failure, but it really 00:34:54.179 --> 00:34:56.630 just meant that I wasn't in the right role and 00:34:56.630 --> 00:34:59.929 I wasn't doing the right thing. But that actually 00:34:59.929 --> 00:35:02.210 drove me so much closer to doing the right thing, 00:35:02.309 --> 00:35:04.150 you know? So it is a full circle moment and I 00:35:04.150 --> 00:35:06.590 think people don't always talk about their failures 00:35:06.590 --> 00:35:09.110 and it is kind of feels a little bit embarrassing 00:35:09.110 --> 00:35:11.309 to be like, yeah, I got a C in my capstone in 00:35:11.309 --> 00:35:14.170 college class, but you know, look at me now. 00:35:14.750 --> 00:35:18.300 So like you can get. scene you can have low moments 00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:20.219 and you can get really bad feedback from your 00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:22.559 peers on a group project which had never been 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:25.059 the case for me because I was always you know 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:26.900 the leader of the group project and doing all 00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:29.780 the things but it was just it was a rough year 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:32.119 for me and senior year can be really really challenging 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:34.260 and really confusing and where do I want to be 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:35.920 with my life and what do I want to do with my 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:39.659 life so kind of having that moment and then it 00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:42.940 turning around to getting that Disney interview 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:46.929 and then of course nailing those interviews and 00:35:46.929 --> 00:35:50.110 and then getting the role was just such a full 00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:53.389 circle moment really. Yeah that's such an important 00:35:53.389 --> 00:35:56.829 lesson too that you just said like just because 00:35:56.829 --> 00:36:01.679 this one Placement was not right for you doesn't 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:03.840 mean the whole you know everything is thrown 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:06.880 out It's not all or nothing and rather learn 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:10.639 it then then like in your career as well and 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:14.179 how to navigate that and how to take Criticism 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:17.880 and move on and and then know that it's temporary 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:21.039 And literally within the next minutes, you could 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:23.219 have one of the highest moments of your life. 00:36:23.320 --> 00:36:26.099 It's always darkest before the dawn, right? Like, 00:36:26.440 --> 00:36:28.880 that's such an important lesson, I think, too. 00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:31.880 Yeah, and knowing that feedback is not always 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:34.900 personal. I think I took that so personally at 00:36:34.900 --> 00:36:38.139 the time. And it was, again, it was so much a 00:36:38.139 --> 00:36:41.099 product of the environment I was in and what 00:36:41.099 --> 00:36:43.719 I was going through at the time. And that had 00:36:43.719 --> 00:36:47.070 no... reflection of me as a person or my skills. 00:36:47.070 --> 00:36:52.050 It was just the wrong time and the wrong job 00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:55.389 and the wrong goal. But that didn't mean that 00:36:55.389 --> 00:36:58.210 like my career was over. It was a great lesson 00:36:58.210 --> 00:37:02.690 to learn very early in college. And then kind 00:37:02.690 --> 00:37:06.530 of something that I brought with me into my first 00:37:06.530 --> 00:37:09.730 intern or not my first internship, my first job 00:37:09.730 --> 00:37:12.110 post grad, which was it happened to be an internship. 00:37:12.489 --> 00:37:18.429 So before Brittany gets into her post college 00:37:18.429 --> 00:37:21.789 life, the exciting stuff, we're going to take 00:37:21.789 --> 00:37:23.670 a quick little break and then we'll be right 00:37:23.670 --> 00:37:29.909 back. 100 % of men and women have hormones. And 00:37:29.909 --> 00:37:32.349 with the increased presence of processed foods 00:37:32.349 --> 00:37:35.070 and environmental toxins, it's more important 00:37:35.070 --> 00:37:37.690 than ever to make mindful choices in the products 00:37:37.690 --> 00:37:41.170 we use every day. That's why I trust Q and Grace. 00:37:41.420 --> 00:37:44.099 high -performing, clean products designed to 00:37:44.099 --> 00:37:47.079 support hormone health while reducing exposure 00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:50.780 to harmful chemicals. Because this topic has 00:37:50.780 --> 00:37:53.960 been my primary focus since ending birth control 00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:57.400 in 2024 in an attempt to regulate my changing 00:37:57.400 --> 00:38:00.340 midlife hormones, after making healthy swaps 00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:03.940 in my diet, personal care products, and exercise 00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:07.079 routine, I've been able to lower my dose of anxiety 00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:10.800 medication I once relied very heavily on. and 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:13.639 have restored balance to my nervous system and 00:38:13.639 --> 00:38:16.099 cleared up the brain fog I was experiencing in 00:38:16.099 --> 00:38:19.320 perimenopause. Hugh and Grace has played a key 00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:23.059 role in this transformation, offering safe, effective, 00:38:23.239 --> 00:38:26.179 non -toxic solutions that support my wellness 00:38:26.179 --> 00:38:30.820 journey. If you listened to episode 16 with certified 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:33.679 Mayo Clinic Health and Wellness coach Tracy Danielson 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:36.320 Mitchell, you heard our talk about the importance 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:39.230 of hormone health. Coming in March, I'll be doing 00:38:39.230 --> 00:38:42.449 a deep dive into heart and hormone health on 00:38:42.449 --> 00:38:45.130 my Live and Learn Patreon, where I'll list all 00:38:45.130 --> 00:38:48.670 the tests, supplements, and product swaps that 00:38:48.670 --> 00:38:51.530 have helped me balance my hormones in my 50s. 00:38:51.730 --> 00:38:54.349 Plus, Tracy will be back to answer all your heart 00:38:54.349 --> 00:38:56.889 and hormone health questions at the end of the 00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:59.550 month. If you're on this journey with me and 00:38:59.550 --> 00:39:02.510 are interested in exploring Hue and Grace's trusted, 00:39:02.949 --> 00:39:06.429 non -toxic products, visit my link at hueandgrace 00:39:06.429 --> 00:39:11.230 .com slash lesson plan to receive 10 % off and 00:39:11.230 --> 00:39:14.250 free shipping. You can also reach out to me at 00:39:14.250 --> 00:39:16.969 any time with questions at nextlessonplan at 00:39:16.969 --> 00:39:20.469 gmail .com. Live and learn with me as we focus 00:39:20.469 --> 00:39:24.369 on living fully and feeling our best. Visit hueandgrace 00:39:24.369 --> 00:39:27.769 .com slash lesson plan to see how easy it is 00:39:27.769 --> 00:39:30.750 to start making some healthy swaps on the way 00:39:30.750 --> 00:39:36.090 to non -toxic livid. So we're back from break 00:39:36.090 --> 00:39:39.690 and we're ready to hear all the exciting details 00:39:39.690 --> 00:39:45.420 of what happened after the calls from Disney 00:39:45.420 --> 00:39:48.719 and how that played out and where it led her 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:54.739 today. Yeah. So when Disney calls, you answer. 00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:00.699 And I had just been so excited for the opportunity. 00:40:00.699 --> 00:40:04.420 I had some other interviews for different internships 00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:07.920 at other companies. I was interviewing with a 00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:12.599 agency in Nashville, but I just really, really 00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:14.599 wanted to focus on this Disney opportunity. I 00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:17.579 felt like it was, you know, I grew up a Disney 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:20.579 kid. I went to the parks all the time. So, you 00:40:20.579 --> 00:40:23.639 know, Orlando was not on my short list of cities 00:40:23.639 --> 00:40:26.699 that I wanted to move to, but I just felt like 00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:30.300 this was the right opportunity for me. So I packed 00:40:30.300 --> 00:40:33.400 up all my stuff. I moved across the country to 00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:35.920 Orlando, Florida, not knowing a single soul. 00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:40.059 Went from you know a student sleeping until noon 00:40:40.059 --> 00:40:44.000 every day to a nine to five and that was a jarring 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:46.440 moment I'm sure other people who've graduated 00:40:46.440 --> 00:40:49.900 college can also attest it is jarring to go from 00:40:49.900 --> 00:40:53.679 you know the student life to the real life But 00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:57.239 the internship was amazing. I have to really 00:40:57.239 --> 00:41:00.679 credit my leader Kayla because she was Just she 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:03.760 saw my talent and really like let me thrive and 00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:07.159 like helped pave opportunities for me within 00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:11.679 the internships um that that just made me stronger 00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:15.099 in in all of my skills so um one of the things 00:41:15.099 --> 00:41:17.539 so when i when i got the internship it was a 00:41:17.539 --> 00:41:20.460 social media i think it was social media and 00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:24.380 communications coordinator um internship and 00:41:24.380 --> 00:41:26.300 i just thought oh i'm gonna go down down there 00:41:26.300 --> 00:41:28.139 and take pictures of the castle all day i'm gonna 00:41:28.139 --> 00:41:31.380 be in the parks i'm gonna be you know doing all 00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:35.130 this um fun fairy pixie dust stuff. And I got 00:41:35.130 --> 00:41:36.309 there and they were like, you're going to be 00:41:36.309 --> 00:41:39.030 in the talent acquisition marketing department. 00:41:39.030 --> 00:41:42.150 And I was like, what the heck is talent acquisition 00:41:42.150 --> 00:41:46.929 marketing? So instead of my job being attracting 00:41:46.929 --> 00:41:50.389 customers to come spend their money at Disney, 00:41:50.510 --> 00:41:54.530 it was attracting job candidates to apply for 00:41:54.530 --> 00:41:58.170 a job at Disney. And on top of that, I was not 00:41:58.170 --> 00:42:01.710 in the, you know, parks vertical. I was in the 00:42:03.659 --> 00:42:05.840 technology verticals, but I was specifically 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:09.579 working on campaigns to help attract technologists 00:42:09.579 --> 00:42:13.260 to join Disney. So it wasn't that fairy pixie 00:42:13.260 --> 00:42:15.179 dust magic that I thought I was getting myself 00:42:15.179 --> 00:42:19.539 into. So it felt kind of like, what did I get 00:42:19.539 --> 00:42:21.900 myself into at first? And you know, there was 00:42:21.900 --> 00:42:24.860 a lot of fears then of like, was this the right 00:42:24.860 --> 00:42:28.559 choice for me? But also, it was a huge opportunity 00:42:28.559 --> 00:42:30.480 to learn a business that I didn't know a lot 00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:34.579 about and I felt you know, my leader Kayla was 00:42:34.579 --> 00:42:38.880 so supportive and so knowledgeable and I just 00:42:38.880 --> 00:42:42.360 knew I wanted to learn from her and she really 00:42:42.360 --> 00:42:48.420 let me grow in so many ways. So I knew that I 00:42:48.420 --> 00:42:50.760 had to turn this internship into a full -time 00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:53.300 job. It was kind of a risk, you know, moving 00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:56.039 across the country and that was kind of like, 00:42:56.039 --> 00:43:01.659 it was Orlando or bus set up. And I do have a 00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:04.360 competitive side, as you probably know, Rachel. 00:43:04.360 --> 00:43:11.219 Yeah. At my former gymnast. Yeah. I had these 00:43:11.219 --> 00:43:13.059 six months of this internship to really prove 00:43:13.059 --> 00:43:15.639 myself and get this role. And there were eight 00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:18.780 of us interns. And I knew that it wasn't everyone's 00:43:18.780 --> 00:43:21.099 just going to get a job handed to them. So I 00:43:21.099 --> 00:43:24.960 did my assigned work. And I did it quickly. And 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:28.360 what I then tried to do in that internship was 00:43:28.360 --> 00:43:33.480 really look for gaps in what needed to be done 00:43:33.480 --> 00:43:37.760 with the department or, you know, things that 00:43:37.760 --> 00:43:41.840 that the people that things that they weren't 00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:44.940 doing that I could fill with my passion and my 00:43:44.940 --> 00:43:48.239 expertise. So this time during this time, aesthetics 00:43:48.239 --> 00:43:50.239 were a huge thing on Instagram. Like everyone 00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:52.380 wanted their grid to look a certain way and use 00:43:52.380 --> 00:43:56.670 the same filters and things like that. So I went 00:43:56.670 --> 00:43:59.789 to my boss, Kayla, and asked, is there anyone 00:43:59.789 --> 00:44:03.510 looking at our Instagram, you know, as a full 00:44:03.510 --> 00:44:05.889 grid and being plan for about it? Are we planning 00:44:05.889 --> 00:44:08.809 it? Or is it just kind of whenever a photo that 00:44:08.809 --> 00:44:12.820 looks nice comes in, we post it and I gave her 00:44:12.820 --> 00:44:15.599 so many ideas of how I would handle it if I was 00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:18.019 handling the grid. And I had already mocked up 00:44:18.019 --> 00:44:21.179 a few slides. I had edited some photos that we 00:44:21.179 --> 00:44:25.780 already had in our photo library. And she really 00:44:25.780 --> 00:44:28.539 loved my ideas and then was willing to help me 00:44:28.539 --> 00:44:30.739 get presentations with some of the higher ups. 00:44:31.340 --> 00:44:34.199 And eventually, I got approval to manage the 00:44:34.199 --> 00:44:36.179 Disney Careers Instagram on my own, which was 00:44:36.179 --> 00:44:39.230 not something that interns got to do, so that 00:44:39.230 --> 00:44:42.590 was a huge responsibility and it helped make 00:44:42.590 --> 00:44:47.849 me kind of, it kind of made me, what's the word, 00:44:47.989 --> 00:44:52.989 oh my gosh, indispensable. It made me more indispensable 00:44:52.989 --> 00:44:57.269 as an intern and it really drove that need to 00:44:57.269 --> 00:44:59.590 solidify my spot as a full -time employee. So 00:44:59.590 --> 00:45:01.570 if you're an intern, I think the biggest lesson 00:45:01.570 --> 00:45:05.309 here is, to look beyond the scope of what you're 00:45:05.309 --> 00:45:08.269 doing and look at what the company needs, look 00:45:08.269 --> 00:45:10.409 at some gaps that aren't being filled, and think 00:45:10.409 --> 00:45:13.010 about how you can use your expertise and your 00:45:13.010 --> 00:45:15.530 skills to fill those gaps. Because that really 00:45:15.530 --> 00:45:17.090 makes you more indispensable, and that makes 00:45:17.090 --> 00:45:19.550 the team go, oh, I didn't even know we needed 00:45:19.550 --> 00:45:21.949 this, but now we definitely need this, and we 00:45:21.949 --> 00:45:26.110 cannot lose this person. So another thing, too, 00:45:26.210 --> 00:45:28.760 is that when you're an intern, people are really 00:45:28.760 --> 00:45:31.039 blind to things that are happening in their department. 00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:34.320 So you're kind of this new voice coming in and 00:45:34.320 --> 00:45:37.159 things that maybe no one even saw before, you're 00:45:37.159 --> 00:45:38.780 coming in and being like, oh, why do you do things 00:45:38.780 --> 00:45:41.860 like this? And ask those questions because there's 00:45:41.860 --> 00:45:44.619 usually not a good reason for the way that people 00:45:44.619 --> 00:45:48.280 are doing things. So I would say any internship, 00:45:48.619 --> 00:45:51.639 people have always welcomed me and I, as an intern 00:45:51.639 --> 00:45:54.019 manager, I'm always welcoming new ideas, new 00:45:54.019 --> 00:45:57.349 ways of doing things. which can really help make 00:45:57.349 --> 00:46:01.090 you more of a solid spot on the team and make 00:46:01.090 --> 00:46:03.650 people see you as not just an intern, but actually 00:46:03.650 --> 00:46:05.650 a member of the team and someone that we can't 00:46:05.650 --> 00:46:09.289 lose and let go of. So I'm guessing because I 00:46:09.289 --> 00:46:11.610 know you and I know your journey that you did 00:46:11.610 --> 00:46:16.440 launch this into a full -time job. Correct, yes. 00:46:16.440 --> 00:46:19.920 So I went from the social media communications 00:46:19.920 --> 00:46:24.199 coordinator to a communications coordinator role. 00:46:24.619 --> 00:46:27.739 I got a 30 -minute meeting on my calendar that 00:46:27.739 --> 00:46:30.579 said quick connect and it was for the next day 00:46:30.579 --> 00:46:33.719 and I spent just so much time freaking out about 00:46:33.719 --> 00:46:35.539 that because I had no idea what it was about 00:46:35.539 --> 00:46:38.119 but it was with my boss and my boss's boss. So 00:46:38.119 --> 00:46:41.460 I was a little bit nervous but I got into the 00:46:41.679 --> 00:46:44.179 the call the next day or it was in person at 00:46:44.179 --> 00:46:46.719 that time. So I walked into the office and they 00:46:46.719 --> 00:46:48.619 said, we want to offer you the full -time role 00:46:48.619 --> 00:46:52.800 as a communications coordinator. And I think 00:46:52.800 --> 00:46:54.960 I blacked out because I was so excited. I was 00:46:54.960 --> 00:46:58.110 like, dream job, dream company at Disney. oh 00:46:58.110 --> 00:47:00.670 my gosh and I said yes on the spot I was like 00:47:00.670 --> 00:47:03.550 yes yes yes it was like a proposal to be honest 00:47:03.550 --> 00:47:05.789 like that's how I felt in the moment I was like 00:47:05.789 --> 00:47:08.630 someone got down on a knee and I blacked out 00:47:08.630 --> 00:47:13.409 and just said yes and the next day and you know 00:47:13.409 --> 00:47:16.869 I'm telling my parents and I'm like I'm so excited 00:47:16.869 --> 00:47:18.670 and they're like oh well how much are you getting 00:47:18.670 --> 00:47:22.389 paid now and that's really when I was like ooh 00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:25.860 well they said it's it's two dollars an hour 00:47:25.860 --> 00:47:29.639 more than what i was getting paid before and 00:47:29.639 --> 00:47:31.380 my parents were kind of like don't you think 00:47:31.380 --> 00:47:33.679 you're worth a little bit more than that and 00:47:33.679 --> 00:47:37.099 i was like you know you could be right about 00:47:37.099 --> 00:47:39.619 that so i had not even thought about the money 00:47:39.619 --> 00:47:42.619 at that point um but you know of course my parents 00:47:42.619 --> 00:47:45.099 like I did have student loans that I needed to 00:47:45.099 --> 00:47:48.840 start paying off. And that was something to be 00:47:48.840 --> 00:47:50.840 considered. I mean, it's your career. You should 00:47:50.840 --> 00:47:55.539 be earning what you're worth. So I went in the 00:47:55.539 --> 00:47:57.639 next day, and I talked to my leader. And I said, 00:47:57.739 --> 00:48:03.019 hey, I'd like to negotiate the salary for this 00:48:03.019 --> 00:48:05.139 new role, or the hourly rate at that point, because 00:48:05.139 --> 00:48:09.539 I was still hourly. And they basically said, 00:48:09.780 --> 00:48:13.699 well, you already verbally accepted. So that's 00:48:13.699 --> 00:48:18.539 all we can do. So I look back on that. I still 00:48:18.539 --> 00:48:21.940 have, I don't have, I mean, I regret. not negotiating 00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:24.820 at that time, but I didn't know better. And I 00:48:24.820 --> 00:48:27.000 think this is another lesson that I wanna give 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:30.440 to young people is to never feel like you're 00:48:30.440 --> 00:48:33.119 put into a situation where you need to accept 00:48:33.119 --> 00:48:36.059 something on the spot. I was just so happy with 00:48:36.059 --> 00:48:38.039 that internship and so happy with how things 00:48:38.039 --> 00:48:40.920 were going. I didn't see really the bigger picture. 00:48:42.250 --> 00:48:43.949 And of course, like, you know, I stayed with 00:48:43.949 --> 00:48:46.110 the company for another two years after this 00:48:46.110 --> 00:48:49.110 all happened. So it wasn't like a make or break 00:48:49.110 --> 00:48:51.929 with my career. But when I look back on it now 00:48:51.929 --> 00:48:55.190 with more perspective, I definitely feel like 00:48:55.190 --> 00:48:58.690 it's important to look at the fine print of things 00:48:58.690 --> 00:49:03.030 and not just accept anything on the spot. Even 00:49:03.030 --> 00:49:05.030 if it is your dream job and it feels like everything 00:49:05.030 --> 00:49:09.150 is perfect. Receiving an offer, that's really 00:49:09.150 --> 00:49:13.230 your opportunity to negotiate and I think that 00:49:13.230 --> 00:49:16.110 women especially struggle with this because they 00:49:16.110 --> 00:49:19.190 feel like maybe they're less deserving of more 00:49:19.190 --> 00:49:23.059 money or whatever it might be. you know, I always 00:49:23.059 --> 00:49:24.599 say the worst thing that they can say is no. 00:49:24.820 --> 00:49:26.800 And at least you can say that you tried then. 00:49:27.239 --> 00:49:29.860 So I think at that moment, it was it was tough 00:49:29.860 --> 00:49:33.159 for me, but it was it was a lesson learned the 00:49:33.159 --> 00:49:37.159 hard way of, you know, receiving that offer and 00:49:37.159 --> 00:49:39.440 being disappointed or being so excited on the 00:49:39.440 --> 00:49:41.480 spot. I didn't even have a chance to be disappointed 00:49:41.480 --> 00:49:45.179 about the pay. And yeah, I just I think it's 00:49:45.179 --> 00:49:48.500 important to talk about pay transparency when 00:49:48.500 --> 00:49:51.059 it comes to career, especially when you're early 00:49:51.059 --> 00:49:53.570 and starting out. Yeah, how would you know? This 00:49:53.570 --> 00:49:56.829 is really your first opportunity to negotiate. 00:49:56.949 --> 00:49:58.730 You were an intern. That's your first full -time 00:49:58.730 --> 00:50:01.170 job. You don't even know to say, could I take 00:50:01.170 --> 00:50:03.550 24 hours? Because you just wanted to say yes. 00:50:03.969 --> 00:50:05.250 Because of course, you're like, don't give it 00:50:05.250 --> 00:50:08.409 to anybody else, right? Right. But to just say 00:50:08.409 --> 00:50:11.269 like, It's okay. It's such a great lesson. Can 00:50:11.269 --> 00:50:14.110 I have 24 hours to think it over? I will get 00:50:14.110 --> 00:50:16.849 back to you. But you don't know when you're brand 00:50:16.849 --> 00:50:18.869 new and you're just so excited. Like you said, 00:50:18.929 --> 00:50:22.090 you had had a good experience. That's a really 00:50:22.090 --> 00:50:25.489 good thing to share. So thank you for being honest 00:50:25.489 --> 00:50:28.590 about that and sharing that. So you stayed there 00:50:28.590 --> 00:50:32.130 for two and a half years? Yes, correct. I stayed 00:50:32.130 --> 00:50:35.090 there for two and a half years. and then the 00:50:35.090 --> 00:50:38.570 pandemic hit. I think everyone my age probably 00:50:38.570 --> 00:50:42.469 has a story or your career journey always has 00:50:42.469 --> 00:50:47.010 the story that says, and then the pandemic. And 00:50:47.010 --> 00:50:51.329 I was furloughed for a while and I was called 00:50:51.329 --> 00:50:55.769 back on my skeleton team. I felt at that point 00:50:55.769 --> 00:50:57.789 that I was due for a promotion. I was working 00:50:57.789 --> 00:51:00.130 outside of my scope, but it was also this time 00:51:00.130 --> 00:51:03.960 where it was like How dare you ask? They didn't 00:51:03.960 --> 00:51:05.320 say it like that. But you know, it just kind 00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:08.079 of was like, it didn't feel like the right time 00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:10.579 to be asking for things because we were just 00:51:10.579 --> 00:51:13.940 lucky to be alive. And, you know, so it was hard 00:51:13.940 --> 00:51:16.460 for me as someone who, as you can tell from this 00:51:16.460 --> 00:51:18.000 career journey, I've always been so driven. I 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:19.659 want the next step. I want to climb the ladder. 00:51:19.719 --> 00:51:22.639 I want to get there. And then this pandemic felt 00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:26.240 like it was really slowing things down. So. I 00:51:26.240 --> 00:51:28.719 really didn't want to leave Disney. That was 00:51:28.719 --> 00:51:31.539 never my goal. I really wanted to like, when 00:51:31.539 --> 00:51:33.139 I first joined, I was like, I'm staying here 00:51:33.139 --> 00:51:36.960 forever. This is it. But again, like I said in 00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:39.400 the beginning, let yourself change as you go 00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:41.559 on and let yourself make different decisions 00:51:41.559 --> 00:51:46.320 for yourself. So I saw an opening at another 00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:49.239 company now called Travel and Leisure Company, 00:51:49.559 --> 00:51:53.769 which was formerly Wyndham Destinations. and 00:51:53.769 --> 00:51:57.289 it was for an employer brand specialist role. 00:51:58.210 --> 00:52:01.210 And so I was in that talent acquisition marketing 00:52:01.210 --> 00:52:03.250 role, which is similar to employer brand. It 00:52:03.250 --> 00:52:05.969 was all like marketing within HR. So I knew I 00:52:05.969 --> 00:52:09.449 had this kind of like niche expertise that like 00:52:09.449 --> 00:52:11.510 I could definitely do this role. I read the job 00:52:11.510 --> 00:52:12.710 description. I was like, I could do this with 00:52:12.710 --> 00:52:15.329 my eyes closed. Like this is the job for me, 00:52:15.329 --> 00:52:17.429 but do I want to leave Disney was really the 00:52:17.429 --> 00:52:20.449 big question. So I had my interviews at that 00:52:20.449 --> 00:52:24.659 company and made the probably what felt like 00:52:24.659 --> 00:52:27.880 the hardest decision in my career that thus far 00:52:27.880 --> 00:52:33.880 to leave my dream company to You know go for 00:52:33.880 --> 00:52:36.679 a higher role a higher paying role I think that 00:52:36.679 --> 00:52:41.039 was a piece of it too at that time I when I got 00:52:41.039 --> 00:52:42.880 that offer I didn't even know I was worth that 00:52:42.880 --> 00:52:45.000 much and that was a really eye -opening moment 00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:50.280 for me So I took that role. I cried on the call 00:52:50.280 --> 00:52:52.159 with my manager, Kayla, who I had mentioned. 00:52:52.320 --> 00:52:55.300 She was such a great mentor to me. And that was 00:52:55.300 --> 00:52:57.360 one of the hardest part was leaving the people 00:52:57.360 --> 00:53:00.099 because I still am in touch with all of my friends 00:53:00.099 --> 00:53:04.019 from Disney. It was truly one of the best experiences 00:53:04.019 --> 00:53:07.659 working there and for a company so large. But 00:53:07.659 --> 00:53:10.019 then, yeah, so I moved over to Travel and Leisure 00:53:10.019 --> 00:53:15.619 Co. And I went from a team of 50 people doing 00:53:15.619 --> 00:53:19.360 recruitment marketing to a team of two. And that 00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:22.179 was a jarring experience. So that was a huge 00:53:22.179 --> 00:53:25.699 shift. But in that role, I really got so much 00:53:25.699 --> 00:53:28.159 exposure to leadership because there was only 00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:30.400 so many people doing my role. So I had to be 00:53:30.400 --> 00:53:32.539 the one to talk to our chief people officer, 00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:36.940 our chief human resources officer. Hire ups within 00:53:36.940 --> 00:53:39.599 the company and I was able to travel a bunch 00:53:39.599 --> 00:53:42.880 during that role too because we had You know 00:53:42.880 --> 00:53:46.320 our resorts all across the country. So I had 00:53:46.320 --> 00:53:49.719 such good opportunities there I got to be my 00:53:49.719 --> 00:53:52.260 little jack -of -all -trades there as well because 00:53:52.260 --> 00:53:55.019 there wasn't so many people on the team So I 00:53:55.019 --> 00:53:59.199 was doing a lot more strategy work And that gave 00:53:59.199 --> 00:54:02.650 me Kind of such a varied experience from Disney 00:54:02.650 --> 00:54:04.750 because Disney is a really traditional company 00:54:04.750 --> 00:54:08.210 very hierarchical and then I went to travel leisure 00:54:08.210 --> 00:54:11.670 where I'm getting phone calls from like You know 00:54:11.670 --> 00:54:13.769 higher -ups that I never even got the chance 00:54:13.769 --> 00:54:17.329 to talk to at Disney. So it was definitely a 00:54:17.329 --> 00:54:20.170 very contrasting experience, but I feel like 00:54:20.170 --> 00:54:24.260 it it led me to where I am now 100 % because 00:54:24.260 --> 00:54:27.519 if I didn't have two drastically different experiences 00:54:27.519 --> 00:54:31.860 and I wasn't able to, you know, gain that experience 00:54:31.860 --> 00:54:34.119 from each one and see how different companies 00:54:34.119 --> 00:54:36.340 operate differently and like, you know, pull 00:54:36.340 --> 00:54:38.079 things where I'm like, oh, we were doing it really 00:54:38.079 --> 00:54:39.960 well at this one and we were doing it really 00:54:39.960 --> 00:54:42.440 not well at this one and like vice versa because 00:54:42.440 --> 00:54:44.739 like, you know, every team does things differently. 00:54:46.440 --> 00:54:49.079 Yeah, that was invaluable to where I am now if 00:54:49.079 --> 00:54:51.420 I if I hadn't had that opportunity I wouldn't 00:54:51.420 --> 00:54:54.420 have learned half the things that I that I know 00:54:54.420 --> 00:54:59.320 now so That was a that was a great step another 00:54:59.320 --> 00:55:01.619 one of those situations where it's like you're 00:55:01.619 --> 00:55:03.940 learning as you go and you don't know what you 00:55:03.940 --> 00:55:07.940 don't know and Everything in your career has 00:55:07.940 --> 00:55:10.380 been a stepping stone. It feels like right with 00:55:10.380 --> 00:55:13.659 a lesson learned. Definitely. So how long were 00:55:13.659 --> 00:55:18.889 you there? So there I was at travel leisure for 00:55:18.889 --> 00:55:23.289 about two years. And again, I think I was ready 00:55:23.289 --> 00:55:26.769 for that next step. I was ready for manager title. 00:55:26.889 --> 00:55:30.030 So I felt like I was doing the role of a manager, 00:55:30.369 --> 00:55:33.670 but I just really wanted that title. And I saw 00:55:33.670 --> 00:55:37.409 a job opening at Sephora and it was for employer 00:55:37.409 --> 00:55:41.719 brand manager. I could not not apply to that. 00:55:42.260 --> 00:55:44.780 I was like, this is what I've been working for. 00:55:46.079 --> 00:55:48.579 I really liked the company. I really liked what 00:55:48.579 --> 00:55:51.480 I was working with. But once I did the interviews 00:55:51.480 --> 00:55:54.179 at Sephora and met my now leader and everything, 00:55:55.320 --> 00:55:57.739 it just felt like everything was falling into 00:55:57.739 --> 00:56:01.719 place. I met my now leader, Claire, and she and 00:56:01.719 --> 00:56:03.599 I just, I felt like our interview was just a 00:56:03.599 --> 00:56:07.000 conversation. It was just like, we were... jumping 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:10.539 off of one another, pitching ideas, talking, 00:56:10.539 --> 00:56:13.579 talking shop, if you will. And it just felt like, 00:56:13.639 --> 00:56:17.019 oh, this is where I'm meant to be. And that was 00:56:17.019 --> 00:56:19.340 just such a amazing experience. And when I got 00:56:19.340 --> 00:56:21.719 the offer, again, it was like, it was like when 00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:23.579 I got the Disney offer, I was like, oh my gosh, 00:56:23.699 --> 00:56:25.599 dream job, the dream company. I can't believe 00:56:25.599 --> 00:56:29.500 this is actually happening. And when I got there, 00:56:29.519 --> 00:56:31.860 it was actually one of those moments where I, 00:56:31.960 --> 00:56:34.099 this is when I really had imposter syndrome because 00:56:34.099 --> 00:56:37.929 I got, to my first calls with Sephora and everyone 00:56:37.929 --> 00:56:40.429 on the calls were smarter than me and I think 00:56:40.429 --> 00:56:42.710 that was like the first time not the first time 00:56:42.710 --> 00:56:45.349 in my career that sounds so bad but it was like 00:56:45.349 --> 00:56:47.210 one of the first times in a long time that I 00:56:47.210 --> 00:56:49.349 felt like I was sitting in a room and I was not 00:56:49.349 --> 00:56:51.690 the smartest I wasn't even close to the smartest 00:56:51.690 --> 00:56:56.030 person in the room and I was like did I just 00:56:56.300 --> 00:57:00.800 talk myself into something that I can't do or 00:57:00.800 --> 00:57:03.119 you know so I was having all this imposter syndrome 00:57:03.119 --> 00:57:05.679 where I was like I don't know if I'm qualified 00:57:05.679 --> 00:57:07.940 for this even though I knew in my heart I was 00:57:07.940 --> 00:57:10.300 it was just you know a lot getting in the way 00:57:10.300 --> 00:57:13.849 and my one of my first assignments and my new 00:57:13.849 --> 00:57:16.849 role was to pace out a budget and I was like 00:57:16.849 --> 00:57:19.750 I've never even worked on a budget before so 00:57:19.750 --> 00:57:23.130 that was like a whole thing and you know I wanted 00:57:23.130 --> 00:57:25.210 to appear like I knew what I was doing to my 00:57:25.210 --> 00:57:28.010 boss but at the same time in my head I'm like 00:57:28.010 --> 00:57:33.619 what the heck am I doing? And so yeah, so I had 00:57:33.619 --> 00:57:35.780 some tears for sure in the beginning just just 00:57:35.780 --> 00:57:37.780 with the nerves of just am I gonna be able to 00:57:37.780 --> 00:57:39.500 perform am I gonna be able to show them that 00:57:39.500 --> 00:57:43.519 I really am the great hire that They made like 00:57:43.519 --> 00:57:45.340 I really wanted them to know like I'm really 00:57:45.340 --> 00:57:47.420 good at what I do Just give me a second to do 00:57:47.420 --> 00:57:51.019 it like give me a second to prove it to you so 00:57:51.019 --> 00:57:55.480 I learned a lot about budgets I met with my like 00:57:56.829 --> 00:57:59.250 accountant, finance person separately. And I 00:57:59.250 --> 00:58:01.650 was like, teach me everything. Tell me everything. 00:58:02.650 --> 00:58:04.610 And he did. And he was great. And he walked me 00:58:04.610 --> 00:58:06.170 through it. And that's one thing I'll say about 00:58:06.170 --> 00:58:10.550 Sephora is that you can email or ping or anything, 00:58:11.050 --> 00:58:12.710 anyone in any department. And they will spend 00:58:12.710 --> 00:58:14.949 30 minutes with you and tell you anything you 00:58:14.949 --> 00:58:17.710 need to know. And they are so helpful. And I 00:58:17.710 --> 00:58:20.429 immediately knew that that culture was something 00:58:20.429 --> 00:58:22.250 I wanted to be a part of and something I wanted 00:58:22.250 --> 00:58:26.389 to stay part of. And yeah, I've been there ever 00:58:26.389 --> 00:58:31.690 since. And I'm super proud to say that I just 00:58:31.690 --> 00:58:35.389 two weeks ago during my annual review was promoted 00:58:35.389 --> 00:58:39.789 from manager to senior manager. So I'm here to 00:58:39.789 --> 00:58:43.949 stay. I love my company. I love where I am. And 00:58:43.949 --> 00:58:48.250 I am, I'm super proud of myself for, you know, 00:58:48.329 --> 00:58:50.570 even just going through it now on the podcast 00:58:50.570 --> 00:58:54.070 and looking back on so many like really low moments. 00:58:54.400 --> 00:58:58.699 It really all drove me to where I am now. And 00:58:58.699 --> 00:59:01.320 that's something to keep in mind for anyone listening. 00:59:01.619 --> 00:59:04.300 If you have had those little moments recently 00:59:04.300 --> 00:59:08.639 or going through one right now, rejection is 00:59:08.639 --> 00:59:12.179 redirection. It's all leading you to a better, 00:59:12.320 --> 00:59:15.219 brighter future. Oh, I love that quote. Yeah. 00:59:15.559 --> 00:59:18.800 And not only are you feeling like you're in the 00:59:18.800 --> 00:59:22.699 right spot with your career, but you are back 00:59:22.699 --> 00:59:28.440 in the Midwest. Yes, yes. So when I got hired 00:59:28.440 --> 00:59:32.340 for Sephora, our corporate offices are actually 00:59:32.340 --> 00:59:34.860 in San Francisco, which is funny because that 00:59:34.860 --> 00:59:38.239 kind of also feels full circle from that moment. 00:59:38.500 --> 00:59:41.860 And so I get to go to the offices four to five 00:59:41.860 --> 00:59:44.820 times a year. So I'm in San Francisco a bunch, 00:59:45.139 --> 00:59:47.900 seeing the team that's hybrid there. So I'm... 00:59:47.900 --> 00:59:50.139 personally fully remote, some other of our team 00:59:50.139 --> 00:59:53.019 members are fully remote, but many of them are 00:59:53.019 --> 00:59:56.400 hybrid in San Francisco and I was started at 00:59:56.400 --> 00:59:59.780 Sephora, I was still in Orlando and I talked 00:59:59.780 --> 01:00:02.000 to my boss and I said, I think I'm gonna make 01:00:02.000 --> 01:00:05.079 a personal decision for myself and I really feel 01:00:05.079 --> 01:00:07.679 like the Midwest is calling me back, it's calling 01:00:07.679 --> 01:00:11.639 me home. I had a really good run in Orlando and 01:00:11.639 --> 01:00:15.250 it just felt like... it's time for me to do something 01:00:15.250 --> 01:00:18.769 for me and so I visited some of my friends here 01:00:18.769 --> 01:00:21.050 in Chicago and I was I was I just fell in love 01:00:21.050 --> 01:00:24.869 with the city again and I yeah I made the decision 01:00:24.869 --> 01:00:28.789 to move and um I was and with full support from 01:00:28.789 --> 01:00:32.429 my um from my company from Sephora so I feel 01:00:32.429 --> 01:00:34.969 very very lucky that I'm able to do this job 01:00:34.969 --> 01:00:38.289 remotely and live in the city that I love um 01:00:38.289 --> 01:00:42.420 and and yeah it's a pursuit my dreams. That is 01:00:42.420 --> 01:00:46.260 so amazing. So really, you could work from anywhere. 01:00:47.300 --> 01:00:50.119 Yes, yes. And actually, for our hybrid employees, 01:00:50.179 --> 01:00:52.260 now I'm going to just sound like a Sephora mouthpiece. 01:00:53.420 --> 01:00:56.300 But for our hybrid employees, we do have a program 01:00:56.300 --> 01:00:58.739 called Work From Anywhere July. So the whole 01:00:58.739 --> 01:01:01.159 month of July, you can work truly from anywhere. 01:01:01.500 --> 01:01:03.360 So it's actually an opportunity where people 01:01:03.360 --> 01:01:07.179 will work from, you know, like countries abroad. 01:01:07.679 --> 01:01:10.420 So actually last summer I worked from London 01:01:10.420 --> 01:01:13.480 and I was able to go to the Sephora London office 01:01:13.480 --> 01:01:17.280 and work from there and meet people there. So 01:01:17.280 --> 01:01:19.760 yeah Sephora has some really great like work 01:01:19.760 --> 01:01:22.280 -life balance programs. So they encourage like 01:01:22.280 --> 01:01:25.679 they want people to get out and have those cultural 01:01:25.679 --> 01:01:28.889 experiences. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we 01:01:28.889 --> 01:01:32.369 have no meeting Fridays as much as you can, of 01:01:32.369 --> 01:01:36.849 course. And then summer Fridays in the summer. 01:01:37.610 --> 01:01:40.289 That means you log off at 1 p .m., which is great, 01:01:40.289 --> 01:01:41.909 as long as you get your work done, of course. 01:01:42.630 --> 01:01:44.889 And then, yeah, that whole month of July, it's 01:01:44.889 --> 01:01:48.690 all work from anywhere as long as you, you know, 01:01:48.889 --> 01:01:51.269 confirm with your leader timing and like what 01:01:51.269 --> 01:01:52.809 times you're going to be online and everything. 01:01:53.949 --> 01:01:56.949 Yeah, it's a great, great opportunity. Wow. A 01:01:56.949 --> 01:01:58.929 lot of my coworkers take advantage of it and 01:01:58.929 --> 01:02:00.789 it's really exciting. It's really fun. Sounds 01:02:00.789 --> 01:02:03.369 like an excellent workplace culture for sure. 01:02:04.309 --> 01:02:09.030 Which makes it very easy for me to promote. Yeah, 01:02:09.130 --> 01:02:12.869 exactly. Makes my job very easy because we have 01:02:12.869 --> 01:02:14.869 such a great culture to promote. Yeah, that's 01:02:14.869 --> 01:02:22.909 awesome. Brittany has sprinkled a ton of really 01:02:22.909 --> 01:02:26.650 valuable lessons throughout this episode, so 01:02:26.650 --> 01:02:30.909 we're going to wrap it up. She has an assignment, 01:02:31.110 --> 01:02:33.150 a little bit of homework, and some takeaways 01:02:33.150 --> 01:02:36.550 based on all of the lessons that she has here. 01:02:36.750 --> 01:02:40.500 I think... They can apply to any age. We were 01:02:40.500 --> 01:02:43.179 talking about how as you age, you know, your 01:02:43.179 --> 01:02:47.019 values shift and what you once thought was important 01:02:47.019 --> 01:02:50.619 is no longer a high priority for you. And I think, 01:02:50.619 --> 01:02:54.280 you know, I can definitely attest to that and 01:02:54.280 --> 01:02:57.360 why I decided to make such a huge decision at 01:02:57.360 --> 01:03:00.219 this point in my life because things that were 01:03:00.219 --> 01:03:03.099 once important or were once a passion changed. 01:03:03.440 --> 01:03:07.199 And in Brittany's story, you can tell also that 01:03:07.199 --> 01:03:11.139 she has had those same experiences. So what do 01:03:11.139 --> 01:03:14.380 you have for us to take with us based on all 01:03:14.380 --> 01:03:17.880 of your wisdom, Brittany? Yeah, absolutely. I 01:03:17.880 --> 01:03:21.909 think the biggest thing that's kind of been a 01:03:21.909 --> 01:03:24.690 theme throughout my career journey is like really 01:03:24.690 --> 01:03:27.769 checking in with yourself and asking yourself, 01:03:27.769 --> 01:03:31.769 am I happy with where I'm at? What would make 01:03:31.769 --> 01:03:35.710 me happier? And that always that doesn't always 01:03:35.710 --> 01:03:38.130 have to be career driven. So, you know, like 01:03:38.130 --> 01:03:40.809 with my move to Chicago, that was really personally 01:03:40.809 --> 01:03:44.730 driven. That was me knowing that I'd be feeling 01:03:44.730 --> 01:03:47.789 more at home back in the Midwest and knowing 01:03:47.789 --> 01:03:51.969 that that was the next step for me. But yeah, 01:03:52.090 --> 01:03:54.050 just your whole career journey. I think it's 01:03:54.050 --> 01:03:56.170 really important to ask yourself as you're going 01:03:56.170 --> 01:03:58.630 through things Like is this still suiting me? 01:03:58.710 --> 01:04:01.409 Is this still? Something that's giving me joy 01:04:01.409 --> 01:04:04.059 bringing you joy Do I still feel that drive, 01:04:04.400 --> 01:04:06.199 that passion? And if you're starting to lose 01:04:06.199 --> 01:04:09.000 it, ask yourself why and where, where you want 01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:11.840 to spend more energy and where you want to take 01:04:11.840 --> 01:04:13.840 your next step. And it could be something that's 01:04:13.840 --> 01:04:17.440 unexpected and something that maybe, um, your 01:04:17.440 --> 01:04:20.119 16 year old self that was watching 13 going on 01:04:20.119 --> 01:04:23.380 30 and wanting to work at a magazine did not 01:04:23.380 --> 01:04:27.730 expect for yourself. But I think, um, employer 01:04:27.730 --> 01:04:31.869 brand manager at Sephora is a great backup to 01:04:31.869 --> 01:04:35.389 magazine editor at Huge Magazine in New York. 01:04:36.190 --> 01:04:40.329 So don't ever underestimate, don't overestimate 01:04:40.329 --> 01:04:44.090 how hard it is to change your life. You have 01:04:44.090 --> 01:04:46.650 the power to change your career path, change 01:04:46.650 --> 01:04:49.369 your life, change the direction you're going. 01:04:49.989 --> 01:04:55.280 So take the risk and yeah. Yeah, that could have 01:04:55.280 --> 01:04:57.960 been the exact words that I said at the beginning 01:04:57.960 --> 01:05:01.420 of this podcasting journey for myself, right? 01:05:01.480 --> 01:05:05.440 It's like, how many more years are you going 01:05:05.440 --> 01:05:08.940 to say, I wish I would have done that, or I really 01:05:08.940 --> 01:05:12.519 need to make a change? And I talked about this, 01:05:12.519 --> 01:05:15.159 I think, in Blake's episode two, where it's like, 01:05:15.300 --> 01:05:17.840 you're never going to be younger than you are 01:05:17.840 --> 01:05:21.190 today. you know time is going to continue to 01:05:21.190 --> 01:05:24.869 pass you're never going to get this chance again 01:05:24.869 --> 01:05:29.789 and I think it's hard you know your comfort zone 01:05:29.789 --> 01:05:34.010 is your comfort zone for a reason and it's difficult 01:05:34.010 --> 01:05:37.889 to you know take risks especially you know I 01:05:37.889 --> 01:05:42.989 usually play things quite safe but I really think 01:05:42.989 --> 01:05:46.690 if you have a pull and it goes along with those 01:05:46.690 --> 01:05:49.489 values changing, like what do I want my life, 01:05:49.690 --> 01:05:52.670 my whole life, not just my job, but my whole 01:05:52.670 --> 01:05:55.670 life, what do I want that to look like? And I 01:05:55.670 --> 01:05:58.630 think so many times, and this happened to me 01:05:58.630 --> 01:06:02.309 just because if you have kids or you're in a 01:06:02.309 --> 01:06:05.239 marriage and it's like, well, don't you feel 01:06:05.239 --> 01:06:07.260 like you don't have a lot of wiggle room you're 01:06:07.260 --> 01:06:10.300 kind of stuck in a situation but now that my 01:06:10.300 --> 01:06:12.739 daughter is going off to college and I have a 01:06:12.739 --> 01:06:15.280 little bit more freedom with what I can do with 01:06:15.280 --> 01:06:19.480 my life it's like well if not now when I'm 51 01:06:19.480 --> 01:06:23.840 and you know I had thought about doing a podcast 01:06:23.840 --> 01:06:28.039 for like two years and I guess you know you can 01:06:28.039 --> 01:06:32.280 continue to delay and delay and delay and I always 01:06:32.280 --> 01:06:34.539 am that person though and maybe you're like this 01:06:34.539 --> 01:06:37.380 too where it's like I want the crystal ball or 01:06:37.380 --> 01:06:40.460 I can see 10 years from now and am I going to 01:06:40.460 --> 01:06:43.559 be where my 16 year old self thought I was going 01:06:43.559 --> 01:06:47.730 to be? but you don't know. Um, I even had a guest 01:06:47.730 --> 01:06:50.610 who, a few episodes ago, Michael Hernandez, who 01:06:50.610 --> 01:06:54.130 changed the, I stopped asking the question, you 01:06:54.130 --> 01:06:57.170 know, like, what's your next goal? Because he's 01:06:57.170 --> 01:07:00.769 so accomplished and he's like, I don't set goals. 01:07:00.889 --> 01:07:04.710 I just follow my curiosity and I follow my passion. 01:07:04.710 --> 01:07:10.429 And I was like, boom. That's amazing. Anything 01:07:10.429 --> 01:07:13.150 too, because I think as we're talking about this, 01:07:13.170 --> 01:07:15.170 the more I'm thinking like, You know, sometimes 01:07:15.170 --> 01:07:18.070 you don't always know what is next. You know, 01:07:18.150 --> 01:07:20.610 you don't know, like you can check in yourself 01:07:20.610 --> 01:07:23.570 and say, okay, I know I'm not happy and I know 01:07:23.570 --> 01:07:25.929 that this isn't suiting me, but I don't know 01:07:25.929 --> 01:07:29.409 what's next. Just try something, you know, like 01:07:29.409 --> 01:07:31.710 get yourself out of where you are that feels 01:07:31.710 --> 01:07:34.289 unhappy, but try something new. And that might 01:07:34.289 --> 01:07:36.769 not be the right thing. Like I was talking about 01:07:36.769 --> 01:07:39.110 the video producer thing did not work out for 01:07:39.110 --> 01:07:41.829 me. Graphic design did not work out for me. But 01:07:41.829 --> 01:07:44.409 those things that I did that weren't the right 01:07:44.409 --> 01:07:48.929 thing led me to where I am now. So, um, do the 01:07:48.929 --> 01:07:51.690 wrong thing, you know, do the wrong thing sometimes 01:07:51.690 --> 01:07:54.570 and try something. Um, I even tell people like 01:07:54.570 --> 01:07:56.269 trying to get into corporate America, they're 01:07:56.269 --> 01:07:57.869 like, I don't know what department or whatever. 01:07:58.070 --> 01:07:59.889 It's like, just get a job in corporate America 01:07:59.889 --> 01:08:03.170 and then have company or company have, then have 01:08:03.170 --> 01:08:07.130 coffee with everyone, you know, just meet people, 01:08:07.309 --> 01:08:09.449 talk to people, ask them what their job is. See 01:08:09.449 --> 01:08:13.090 what. really attracts you and what's you know, 01:08:13.110 --> 01:08:15.389 oh that sounds interesting and then have that 01:08:15.389 --> 01:08:17.390 curiosity. I love that line about curiosity. 01:08:17.510 --> 01:08:20.350 I think that's so important to have when you're 01:08:20.350 --> 01:08:22.819 thinking about your next step. Yeah, he really, 01:08:23.020 --> 01:08:25.319 it almost, now that I look at that question, 01:08:25.460 --> 01:08:27.800 I'm like, oh, I'm regretting ever asking that 01:08:27.800 --> 01:08:30.600 question because it's almost like having a goal, 01:08:30.720 --> 01:08:33.199 you're pigeonholing yourself because you don't 01:08:33.199 --> 01:08:36.539 know what you don't know, right? And until you 01:08:36.539 --> 01:08:40.340 have the next experience, you learn from that 01:08:40.340 --> 01:08:43.420 experience or it. introduces you to experience 01:08:43.420 --> 01:08:46.039 you didn't even realize was out there and if 01:08:46.039 --> 01:08:48.199 you say well I can't follow that path because 01:08:48.199 --> 01:08:51.920 I'm working on this goal it can maybe even hold 01:08:51.920 --> 01:08:56.640 you back and so I kind of reframed how I think 01:08:56.640 --> 01:08:59.479 about that like yes of course there are all things 01:08:59.479 --> 01:09:02.750 there are things that we want as far as our values 01:09:02.750 --> 01:09:05.069 and ways we want to live aligned to our values, 01:09:05.149 --> 01:09:07.850 but it doesn't have to be a goal. It can be, 01:09:07.909 --> 01:09:10.090 I think I'm going to follow this passion, or 01:09:10.090 --> 01:09:12.229 I think I'm going to, you know, I really want 01:09:12.229 --> 01:09:15.069 to learn more about this. So that's kind of changed 01:09:15.069 --> 01:09:18.090 my perspective, which is why these conversations 01:09:18.090 --> 01:09:23.319 are so fun. So I really appreciate all your time, 01:09:23.539 --> 01:09:27.180 Brittany. I'm just so, so, so proud of you. And 01:09:27.180 --> 01:09:29.520 I love following your journey. I've been following 01:09:29.520 --> 01:09:33.500 it ever since you left high school. So I really 01:09:33.500 --> 01:09:37.659 appreciate you being here today. Yeah, absolutely. 01:09:37.739 --> 01:09:42.060 This has been so much fun. I love talking to 01:09:42.060 --> 01:09:44.539 people starting out in their career and giving 01:09:44.539 --> 01:09:48.329 them this really honest, the ups, the downs, 01:09:48.569 --> 01:09:52.789 the good, the bad, the ugly vision of what it 01:09:52.789 --> 01:09:54.810 looks like when you're trying to build a career. 01:09:54.930 --> 01:09:56.930 Even if you do have a clear vision, it can still 01:09:56.930 --> 01:10:00.109 look kind of like a roller coaster. So yeah, 01:10:00.449 --> 01:10:05.550 I'm also totally open if any younger people or 01:10:05.550 --> 01:10:08.390 anyone really wants to reach out and talk to 01:10:08.390 --> 01:10:11.680 me about my career journey or learn a little 01:10:11.680 --> 01:10:14.479 bit more or have any questions about what I do 01:10:14.479 --> 01:10:18.899 at Sephora, I'm totally happy to talk with anyone. 01:10:19.119 --> 01:10:22.239 That's awesome. I will make sure to drop your 01:10:22.239 --> 01:10:25.720 contact information into the show notes and I'll 01:10:25.720 --> 01:10:28.199 be promoting you on my social media and I can 01:10:28.199 --> 01:10:30.260 tag you there so people can find you there as 01:10:30.260 --> 01:10:38.899 well. Brittany's journey is such a great reminder 01:10:38.899 --> 01:10:41.220 that dreams don't have to stay the same to be 01:10:41.220 --> 01:10:44.199 meaningful. Her story shows that it's okay to 01:10:44.199 --> 01:10:47.420 pivot, take risks, and embrace new opportunities, 01:10:47.979 --> 01:10:50.500 even when they weren't part of the original plan. 01:10:51.260 --> 01:10:53.300 Whether it's stepping away from an industry you 01:10:53.300 --> 01:10:56.199 once loved, learning to negotiate your worth, 01:10:56.359 --> 01:10:59.500 or choosing growth over comfort, every career 01:10:59.500 --> 01:11:02.579 move teaches us something valuable. I'd love 01:11:02.579 --> 01:11:04.899 to hear from you. Have you ever had to let go 01:11:04.899 --> 01:11:07.840 of a childhood dream? to pursue something even 01:11:07.840 --> 01:11:10.520 better? Share your thoughts with us on social 01:11:10.520 --> 01:11:14.100 media at Life's Next Lesson Plan or drop a comment 01:11:14.100 --> 01:11:17.020 wherever you're listening. And if you enjoyed 01:11:17.020 --> 01:11:20.300 this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave 01:11:20.300 --> 01:11:23.500 us a rating and review, and share it with a friend 01:11:23.500 --> 01:11:26.739 who might need to hear this message today. You 01:11:26.739 --> 01:11:29.380 can also find all the episodes we referenced 01:11:29.380 --> 01:11:33.079 today as well as many journalism resources to 01:11:33.079 --> 01:11:35.960 use in the classroom at Life's Next Lesson Plan 01:11:35.960 --> 01:11:39.220 on YouTube. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see 01:11:39.220 --> 01:11:42.479 you next time for another inspiring conversation.