I’ve held various roles over the years, starting as a camp counselor and later as a delivery driver and in food service. These summer jobs during college gave me valuable experience interacting with diverse people.

After college, I worked for a personal training company, where I enjoyed helping others improve their fitness. However, high-pressure management led me to leave. That’s when I discovered UX Design and joined a boot camp, quickly realizing my strengths lay in research rather than design.

The job market proved tougher than expected, leading to a long gap between my first boot camp and my first role. I completed a second boot camp just before COVID-19 hit, gaining momentum in my job search until the pandemic stalled opportunities. To stay afloat, I delivered groceries for Shipt until early 2022, when I fully committed to landing a UX Research role. That effort paid off with my dream job at Deveron—until the entire Product team was laid off nine months later over Thanksgiving weekend.

With real-world experience under my belt, I felt confident in my ability to find a new role, but the market had other plans. After two months of searching, I took a part-time job at Columbus Running Company. While I enjoyed it, I realized I needed to expand my search. When I saw a retail sales position at Allbirds, I jumped at the chance to work for a brand I truly love.

Unfortunately, it’s sad but true that you should sometimes never meet your heroes. While I still value Allbird's mission and products, the company culture drove me to leave before finding a new job. I am always seeking opportunities to grow and expand my responsibilities at work, but I was constantly stonewalled at every turn, which negatively impacted my attitude toward work.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.