Her Story
About Amber
I've been working in business development and customer success for over 20 years. I spent 10 years at Skipper Buds before they were bought by Marine Max and did a massive layoff in March 2025. That's when I decided to go back to school and get my bachelor's degree in business management through Western Governors University. I completed it in just 6 months through their accelerated program. Without a degree, my resume was getting rejected without even getting to know me, so the degree really helped me start landing interviews and significantly increased my pay scale. I got hired at NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) almost exactly a year from the date I was laid off. I've only been there two and a half months, but I'm already learning so much. NFPA handles all the booklets and fire protection kits and materials that the United States needs to abide by for fire safety. I handle Amazon customers who purchase these kits and booklets - processing orders, canceling orders, communicating with different departments to make sure dates are up to date and orders are processed correctly. I call customers to thank them and restart the next cycle of inventory. It's all remote, which is amazing because I have two young daughters. I'm now pursuing my master's degree in business administration starting June 1st, also through Western Governors University. I'm trying to move up the ladder and keep growing with the company.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Amber
01What do you attribute your success to?
I definitely attribute my success to my kids, my daughters. I just feel like right now, everybody's saying, oh, don't go to school, don't get an education, just go to a trade, it's a waste of time. I'm showing them that actually, our life has changed significantly since I've started bettering myself with school and just going out of my comfort zone. I want them to see that their mom works, takes care of them, takes care of herself, and hopefully that motivates them.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is that age doesn't matter, and to always keep pushing yourself more. It took me a long time to get out of my comfort zone and push myself to try better than just my normal position that I was at for 10 years. It was like a big awakening. Somebody just said, you know, it doesn't matter how old you are, just go back to school, further your education, and see where it takes you. That's probably been the best thing so far.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If you feel uncomfortable, you're probably gonna succeed. Don't be intimidated, and just go for it. Because a lot of the times, you can do not even more than what the person that intimidates you is doing. I feel like you could just keep pushing and strive to be your best.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The company is very broad, and there's a lot of departments and different angles that we work with, and different pieces of the company that I don't even know about yet. I'm just trying to figure out how I can utilize my education and my experience to take it to the next level. The job that I have now, I love it, it's great. I'm just wondering how I can utilize my education and experience to succeed beyond where I am. I was hired as a customer success management, but I know I can do better than that. So I'm just trying to push through and figure out every department and what I can do to succeed.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For my personal life, honesty, being with my family, building memories, and showing my two daughters that their mom works, takes care of them, and takes care of herself, and hopefully that motivates them. With work, I just want to work for a company that values me and sees my potential, and I would love to just keep growing and growing into being higher up with the company.
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