Origin Story
Started as a leader, without the title, at a Hickory Farms kiosk in my local hometown mall.
What I Did
Hand out sausage, ham and cheese samples.
How it Helped
Working at a kiosk is an all-hands-on-deck experience. Especially during the holidays!
This helped me explain in my first interview, for a management position, how I helped with scheduling, cash handling, bank deposits, and training new hires.
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Leadership
What I Did
My first position was as the Service & Training Manager at the highest volume Old Navy, in the Baltimore district. I oversaw hiring, training and volunteer events. Created fun memories for staff and customers. I learned fairly quickly how to manage nearly sixty employees.
How it Helped
I was recognized by the District Manager, and was appointed community leader for the Baltimore district, which would also include Delaware stores as well. This accomplishment happened within my first year.
I learned to navigate meeting with all stores by weekly check-in calls to ensure that all Service & Training Managers were meeting volunteer/community goals, designated by Gap, Inc.
Later, I would make it into the Gap, Inc leadership program for Old Navy. This program was an intense, 18-month program, where selected individuals would rotate different leadership roles like Shipping Manager, Operation Manager, etc.
The ultimate goal in completing this program was to quickly learn the business so that the individual could move into an Assistant Store Manager position, once available in the market. This would ultimately lead to my Assistant Store Manager, Men Merchandiser, position at Banana Republic Factory Store within the Gap, Inc retail chains.
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Regroup & Reset
I decided to take a step back to complete a Master of Arts in Publications Design from The University of Baltimore.
How it Helped
Strengthened my skillset in design, writing, and website management. Projects included:
- Creating and designing an app for The Baltimore Zoo
- Creating and designing front end websites using CSS, Bootstrap, basic javascript
- Typography studies
- Social media style writing
- Internship with Baltimore Magazine
Obtaining the M.A. in Publications Design led me to my first corporate position.
The rest is history! And by history, I mean check out my full resume.