Her Story
About Allison
I've known I wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid, and that passion led me to SUNY Oswego where I earned my teaching degree, followed by two master's degrees in teaching after moving to New York City. I spent five wonderful years as an educator in Brooklyn, teaching first grade, second grade, and math, with certification in special education. I loved teaching, and I still miss it. But when my husband and I decided we wanted to travel, I realized teaching wasn't conducive to that lifestyle since it's more of an in-person kind of job. So we got rid of our apartment in New York, put our stuff in storage, and took off for two years. We traveled across 45 states and then backpacked through Europe for about six months. My current role at Team Velocity, a software and marketing company for the automotive industry, allowed me to work remotely throughout our travels, and I ended up really liking it. Now I'm an account manager handling about 80 client dealerships around the country, mainly based in the West. My team and I are client-facing, working with dealerships on their websites and figuring out what they need. We just bought a house and settled in, so I'm figuring out what route I'll take next, but for now I'm still here and happy with where I am.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Allison
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think the ability to be able to adapt and be flexible has been something that I've worked really hard to be okay with and have gotten really good at. I've changed roles within both careers quite a bit and gone where I needed to go. The two jobs are very different, but for myself, I would say that adaptability and flexibility are what I've focused on developing throughout my professional journey.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to just go for it. I think a lot can surprise you in life. The change was an extremely hard thing for me to do, but in doing it, I have found so much happiness. Being someone who literally thought I was going to teach since I was a kid, and have three different degrees that cost me a lot of money in it, it was not an easy decision, but it's one that has benefited my life, and I'm very, very happy with the choice I made. So I would tell her to go for it.
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