Her Story
About Ann
My career in higher education began in 1998, though it happened somewhat serendipitously. I was a college athlete who played golf and earned my bachelor's degree in TV radio production. Initially, I thought I wanted to be a golf coach, so I pursued a master's in sport management at Georgia Southern University, where I worked as a graduate assistant teaching golf. That experience opened my eyes to the possibility of teaching in higher education with a master's degree. After graduating, I began teaching in both the golf course management program and sport management program at St. Leo University. One of my co-workers there, an accounting professor named Debra Pendarvis, gave me career advice that truly changed my life - she encouraged me to get my MBA, saying that while the master's in sport management was good, an MBA would help carry me anywhere. She was absolutely right, as my last couple of roles wouldn't have been possible without the MBA. The vice president at St. Leo also took a liking to me and encouraged me to pursue my PhD, with the university helping to fund part of that degree. Currently, I serve as director of curriculum in a position that allows me more flexibility with my hours. This has given me the opportunity to return to competitive golf and compete in tournaments while I'm still able, because as I remind myself, I'm never going to be younger than I am today.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ann
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a lot of things I learned from my parents - hard work and dedication. My competitive background in sports has also been crucial. In sports, if you miss practice, you're behind everybody else, and it's the same way in work. You can take breaks, of course you have to, but you just have to keep plugging along, and sometimes you just have to block out the noise.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from my co-worker Debra Pendarvis, who was an accounting professor at St. Leo University. She encouraged me to get my MBA while I was there, telling me that the master's in sport management was good, but an MBA would help carry me anywhere. She was absolutely right - the MBA changed my life, because my last couple of roles wouldn't have been possible without it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think you should follow the path that you think you want, but pay attention to the doors opening around you, because the path you think you might want may not be the path you should be on. You need to be open to opportunities that present themselves, even if they weren't part of your original plan.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There are a lot of challenges for women in leadership roles in this industry. Most of the leaders at the top or along the way are men, and in some of the lower level positions, it's women because those roles are detail-oriented. But the higher level positions are more big picture, so it's very hard to break in. Women tend to explain things in detail, and that doesn't always translate well to men or other leaders at the top, because they don't have time for the details. If you give too many details to them, you kind of make them feel bad because they don't necessarily understand. You have to be able to translate the details to the bigger picture, especially at the middle level. Being able to communicate the bigger picture will help a woman move up.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is the most important value to me, especially because I played golf. Golf is a game where you call penalties on yourself, not like football or basketball where you try to get away with things. So honesty, being honest, and doing the right thing is very important to me. Ethics matter deeply in everything I do.
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