This last weekend I was given an amazing opportunity to share my story with 90 high school and college kids at the CPRS Disrict 7 Summer Leaders Workshop. Here's my speech!
I'll never forget the first time I heard about a rec major. I had gone rafting with some friends from college during the summer of 2004 and someone asked if I was a rec major? I said no and had honestly no idea what that was. I had just come off the worst semester of my life- from straight A's in high school to a 1.8 my freshman year of college. I absolutely hated college at that point.
I went home and dug through the fall 2004 catalog. Yes back then you could put your hands on a book that held all the classes for the next semester. And there it was. A list of classes like intro to recreation, special event planning, recreation and leisure. I was hooked.
The hardest part was convincing those closest to me. People were shocked. I wanted to major in what? I had gone away to school to study how to provide recreation and leisure programs to a community? By this time I had heard it all- you'll never make enough money, people don't have jobs in this, you are crazy. They said it all. Sadly no one ever said this.
Don't give up on your dreams.
So I'll say it today. Just in case you haven't heard it in a while. Don't give up on your dreams. Even when they seem daunting. Even when they seem like they might swallow you whole. Even when you can't see the other side. Don't. Give. Up. I promise more the anything they will be worth it. They might not look like what you thought in the beginning, they might take a completely different path then you expected but I promise they will be worth it.
As I was preparing for this speech today I thought if I could go back and share with my younger self some wisdom what would it be?
The first...
Hard work or work hard – both are necessary to get where you were need to be. You have to put in the time and effort at any task just for the sake of doing what was asked of you. That means doing the tasks you don’t want to do or for that matter anyone else wants to do either. At one point for me in college that meant being a skate park attendant for Clovis Area Recreation. Was it fun sitting out for hours upon hours in the hot valley watching kids skateboard all day? No it wasn’t. But it was what was asked of me and I honestly feel like it provided valuable insight and a great story for later when my staff would tell me that I had no idea what it felt like to be in their shoes.
Good people- you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. So choose wisely. Find a mentor. Someone to bounce ideas off of, who is older and wiser then you and learn as much as you can. Ask questions of people you encounter and work hard to learn the tasks they are good at – they will take you far in life.
Don't think you know it all- you probably think that now. I know I did. But trust me- with age brings wisdom. So when someone older then you gives you wisdom, listen. Learn everyday – everyone you in encounter in life has something to teach you. Even if it’s not the lesson you had wanted or hoped or expected.
Learn something new about someone- we get so consumed by our everyday lives and duties that we forget we are dealing with people. Find common ground with them, discuss new ideas, and ask about their family. Learn the name of the janitor in your building. You never know when you might need something how those relationships and bridges you’ve created will make a huge difference. A great story for this is actually how it all worked in getting my current job. I had a great coworker that I worked with and he knew my current boss – so we talked about the job and the requirements and he asked if I wanted him to call on my behalf. So he did and whatever was said in that conversation about me was instrumental in helping me land the job. And it was because I took the time to get to know my coworker and we had formed a relationship based on more than our day to day responsibilities.
Don't think you’re a shoe in. – Go into a job interview with everything you have. Even if you think you the best candidate act like you are not, but show them that you will work hard and do what is asked of you.
Do something for someone that can never repay you – this one is one of my favorites. Because in doing so you can change someone’s life forever. It happened to me. I had sent my resume off to a city manager in the Houston area and he ended up not being able to hire for the position I was looking at so he forwarded my resume to another city manager and said I wish I could hire her but it’s not the right timing – hope she works out for you. The city manager he sent my resume to is my current boss. I can never do anything to repay a man that I’ve never met that changed my life but I can pay it forward. I can do the same thing for someone else and hopefully mold their future for the better.
Authenticity to self – Be who you are. Embrace that – and it will lead you into the future. Never be afraid to be who you are – I know that sounds cliché or scary but it’s true. It’s never gotten me anywhere pretending to be something I’m not. One of my favorite quotes says this:
A company or a team needs to be constantly rejuvenated by the infusion of young blood. It needs young people with the imagination and the guts to turn everything upside down if they can. It also needs old fogies to keep them from turning upside down those things that ought to be right side up. Above all, it needs young rebels and old conservatives who can work together, challenge each other’s values, yield or hold fast with equal grace, and continue after each hard-fought battle to respect each other – Building Community
Actively pursue what you love- attend seminars, learn something, invest in who you are, don’t ever stop learning. There will always be something new that you will fall in love with.
Passion is a lot like fire, when contained it can provide light warmth, mystery, and beauty, but left out of control it can cause destruction and damage, both personal and external. – Christine Fluter-Brown
Not to be afraid of failure – Things may not work out the way we envision and there are many uncontrollable decisions along the way, but true growth comes from adversity. – Michelle Fitzgerald
This one is tough because as much as you don’t want to fail it will happen. And when it does learn from it. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. You might get some bumps and bruises along the way but you will learn. I remember one time when I worked here I missed a deadline for a grant application and I was so upset. I’m pretty sure I sat in Sarah’s office and I cried. She was obviously disappointed because it meant that we would have to wait until the next grant period to apply but she was gracious and reminded me that it wouldn’t be the first and it wouldn’t be the last time. It will happen and all the preparing in the world will never make it any easier.
Help your employees to succeed – I’ve been very lucky with all of my bosses to have been blessed by people who not only want to better themselves but also their employees. Sarah Reid was my very first boss out of college and I have to say I learned so much from her on how to help the people around me. To find their strengths and showcase them, to find their weaknesses and help them work on them. There’s nothing more encouraging then to know that the people you work with on a daily basis want you to succeed and will do anything to make that happen. Even in my last position in Sugar Land my boss knew from day one that I wanted to be a city manager someday and helped to position me in situations, meetings or by joining committees to help me reach that goal. Because of her vision I was asked to be part of a lunch time book club of influential women in the organization led by our assistant city manager. I have an intern now in Willis and I do everything I can to position him to succeed and I hope that I can have an impact like my bosses have had on me.
Lead by example – To lead it, you’ve got to live it. Show up early, stay late, pick up trash. More is caught then taught.When we opened the rec center we had part time staff and in the beginning we needed to show them how to run the front – so all of us full time staff would rotate out up front. We knew they were watching so we answered the phones the way we wanted them to, we checked logs, did court checks. And eventually they understand what we were asking from them.
Integrity - Our character really comes through when we are faced with challenges and others are always watching, what would you want your actions to say about you, and how do you want to be remembered? - Michelle Fitzgerald
I always tell my staff integrity is what you do when no one is looking. When your boss isn’t around how do you treat the kids? Is it the same or different? Or when you are at the pool and it’s easier to lay out and tan instead of watch the campers what do you do? How you act when no one is looking speaks volumes for your character. I’ve learned over the years that your name means a lot – it means a lot when it comes up in conversations and someone says do you know so and so? Everything you’ve worked for stands in that perception and hopefully the person will say I do! And I love working with them because of reasons X, Y, and Z. Remember that long after you leave a job or a city your name and what you’ve done will linger – make sure your message is inspiring.
Earlier I told you don't give up on your dreams. I warned you that they might turn out completely different then you expected. I guess I say those things because I've lived them. Because at one point my dreams looked completely differentthan they do today.
In 2007 I graduated from college and that fall I started as an intern here in the great city of Reedley. I worked hard and I learned a lot. In February of 2008 I was offered my first full time job in the same city I had interned for. I remember the day Sarah called to offer me the job and I thought life can't get any better than this. And for 2.5 years I worked and learned andfailed. I tried new programs and new ideas. I learned as I spent more time working in city government that I enjoyed learning about how it all worked. And I knew then I would love to be a Parks and Recreation Director and my long term goal was to be a city manager someday – which is why I decided to go back to school in the fall of 2008.
In the midst of my first job out of college and graduate school the recession hit me square in the face. At the age of 25, a year into a 30 year mortgage I received my layoff notice from the city in May of 2010. I can honestly say that the last two months on the job were devastating. I always thought if I ever left it would be on my terms not someone else's. But instead I left, with no clear picture of my future or what was around the corner. I was scared and unsure and fearful of what lie ahead. I started applying to any job I could get my hand on and I remember the first one, a part time position in northern California for teens and skate parks. I honestly thought I had the job and then I got my rejection letter. It turned out to be the first of many and I would spend the next six months sending out over 50 job applications all over the country. These cities included places like
Tahoe City, CA
North Bend, WA
Rockwall, TX
Golden, CO
Richland County, MT
Bellevue, WI
I got several interviews, and sometimes second interviews but was always told no. At this point family and friends encouraged me to look into other fields, and told me with the recession maybe it was time to give up on my dream of parks and recreation.
That fall I was attempting to finish my grad school comprehensive exams, when the city of Sugar Land called and offered me a second interview in Texas. I remember standing outside the library at Fresno State calling my Grandma and asking if my Christmas present could be a flight to Texas the week of Christmas. She said yes if that's what I wanted. I also remember her asking if it was worth the risk? And in that moment it was. I had nothing to stand on except this open door God had laid before me and my faith. So I flew to Texas with a 1 in 4 chance of being selected as their new athletics/aquaticscoordinator. I remember driving in from the airport and realizing there was a 25% chance that I might be living in the 4th largest city in the USA soon.
On the day I received my last unemployment check I got the job offer and two weeks into January of 2011 I was to be in Texas. I was going to help open the city’s first recreation center as the Athletics/Aquatics Coordinator. So I packed what I could fit in my Toyota, brought my best friend along with me and moved to Texas. Moving and starting over is never easy. But moving to another state takes courage – everything is different. People act different, say different things, and even common practices in the field you are working in are completely different. These are the moments that I’ve realized we must embrace change. I fought loving Texas for a long time because at the end of the day it wasn’t California. But I’ve realized over the years that even if it isn’t the state that I grew up in it’s an amazing place. Filled with new opportunities, new people and a whole laundry list of things that make it unique. And over the last 4 years it has become home. I was part of a team of 5 that successfully opened the city of sugar land’s first recreation center running athletics/aquatics first and then transitioning into leisure classes and camps. I absolutely loved being able to watch a once empty building turn into a hub for kids to come and learn new things at camp or a group of middle aged men relive their glory days in our men’s basketball league.
All along most had always known that I wanted the chances for advancement within parks and recreation but also inmunicipal government in general. I interviewed for the senior center manager position and didn’t get it. I interviewed for the admin manager position in public works and didn’t get it. Don’t get me wrong – I loved my job and enjoyed it but I also wanted to seek out every possible opportunity. It’s never easy dealing with rejection – I said earlier not to assume you are a shoe in because trust me in these two cases I thought for sure they would promote from within and I had to be the most qualified candidate. But God had other plans for me. Right around thanksgiving of this last year I got an email from the HR director in a small city north of Houston saying that they had been forwarded my resume third party and were curious if I would be interested in applying for the Assistant City Manager position responsible for Economic and Community Development. Now obviously if you’ve been paying attention at all you know that besides an MPA degree my passion and focus and experience has been in parks and recreation. I had no clue about economic development! I honestly thought the first time I read it had to be spam. Some cruel joke. I showed my boss and the first thing she said was this: “Please tell me you are going to apply for that?” And so I did. And then I panicked. I had absolutely no experience in economic development. But I trusted God and this open door and I went for my interview. I was upfront and honest and shared with them my background and told them even though I had no experience in economic development but I would work hard and learn. And that’s exactly what I did. The learning curve has been long but I’m working every day to better myself. I read the state codes almost on a daily basis, learning about what I can’t do so that I don’t go to jail. I’ve made friends and contacts that have been in the business longer then I and I’ve been lucky enough to be mentored by a seasoned vet with years of experience in tax abatements, and deal closing. Even though every day is different and some days are harder than others I keep putting one foot in front of the other because I know more than anything I want to leave my mark on Southeast Texas, and make sure the community is better than I found it.
So in closing let me say this: there is always a plan. It might not be the plan you laid out but there is always a plan and in most cases it's better than anything you can imagine.
It has been almost 4 years ago to the day I walked out of those front doors, with no job, no income, nothing but my faith to see me through. And now I get the amazing chance to stand up here with you today to tell you this- don't give up on your dreams. No matter what. It will be worth it and it will be wonderful and along the way you will meet some amazing people that will guide your path. Lean on them, work hard, and whatever you do- believe in yourself. Life is best lived outside of your comfort zone.
