Angela Williams, MBA

I would say my parents have always instilled in me that I can do anything. My parents didn't really have the opportunity to go to higher education - my father only had a high school education, and my mother only had an associate's degree. So I made it a point that I will do better, and I think we all kind of want to do better, but my parents set the table for me to do better and gave me the opportunities, letting me know I can be whatever I want to be. I'm also coming from a family of educators - I have aunts that are teachers, and my mother is a kindergarten teacher, so that value of education is just something that I grew up with. I enjoy doing it, and I think I will fall back on teaching because I was also a substitute teacher at one point. My goal was to be a teacher, but I got detoured with the business management. I love the business aspect of it, but I do plan on one day returning to the teaching world because I do love working with children.

The best career advice that I received is that it's very important to be your authentic self. It's also very important to network, because when you network, you get the chance to meet people that can help guide you and lend a helping hand to some of the questions that you're searching for. Sometimes, if you do not put yourself out there, it can lead to a stagnant career. I am a people person and I enjoy talking anyway, so that just comes natural to me. But I do believe that's one of the best advice - to definitely network outside of work and inside of work. It's important to have a mentor as well, someone that can help guide your career. That has been very helpful in my career, having mentors and having sponsors as well. Having sponsors who can root for you at the table is very helpful.

I would say don't give up. If the door shuts, find a way to knock it down. What I mean by that is taking time to reflect and seeing what you need to achieve that. If that means going back to school, if that means getting a certificate, if that means finding a mentor, I do believe that when you take the time to figure out your next steps and the whys, you will be better. For me, I learned by going after interview after interview. Sometimes I didn't get the position, and it was very heartbreaking. But each time I went for that interview, I learned something about myself. So it's just something that you have to be invested in yourself that you can do better. I would say don't give up, take time to learn. Learn from your mistakes, or learn what you need to know to make that change, to open that door.

Challenges would be that I'm usually very hard on myself, and sometimes it's just really hard to advance when there's a certain skill set that you need. Sometimes that's the challenge - you may want to advance, but then it may not be the right timing because you need to have X, Y, and Z skill set. That can sometimes be a challenge and a frustration. But the good news is that sometimes these opportunities come full circle, and so you may get a little frustrated, but then you just take your time and work on those skills, and then you'll have that door open. There's a lot of area for opportunities - you can take your time to work on those skills and the door will open surely.

I would say being my authentic self - being true to yourself and believing in yourself. I just continue to know that the sky is the limit and you can do anything that you put your mind to. I have positive values instilled in me that if I wake up and say I can do it, I can do it. Education is second - it's very important to be educated, because being versed in a lot of skill sets can definitely come in handy in your career. I think the value of having that constant learning is very beneficial.