Arianna Kreider

I attribute my success to dedication and not giving up when I don't do something right the first time or when it's a little hard. Especially seeing people my age maybe not doing as much, or having the easy way out where their parents are still paying for things for them, it's easy to think I shouldn't have to be working this hard. But I just push through that, knowing that it's something that's definitely going to pay off in the end - that's how I keep going.

The best career advice I ever received was that it's never too late to do the kind of things you wanted to do. I had a little bit of a different journey from right out of high school - everyone went to college, and I went right into the working field. You can often think it's too late to go back and do more, do other things you want to pursue, but it's definitely not. It's honestly been a better experience for me jumping into getting an education after working first.

I think being bold and doing things even though you might not feel like you're 100% qualified for them is crucial. Definitely apply for jobs and schools that you think maybe you won't get in, or you don't stand a chance to, because you really never know. Sometimes taking that extra step, or reaching out to someone you think is never going to answer, and then they do, and you have a great conversation and make a connection - that's what a lot more men are more comfortable doing that unfortunately women aren't, because there's less women in these career fields. So definitely just be bold, even when it's scary.

I think not having somebody to necessarily guide everything is one of the biggest challenges. I'm the first in my family to be very business-career-oriented in a specific field and a competitive field, so not having someone that's gone through those steps before to kind of guide me has been difficult. It's more like figuring it out on my own, asking friends, and finding allies and mentors in the field instead of having an easy family member down the hall who's done it all before. So definitely finding mentorship outside of family has been hard.

I would definitely say communication is most important to me. I think that's the one thing that you can't learn from a class, from a training guide, from just watching videos online - that's something you really need to practice with and get comfortable with. Especially my generation, I think people stray away so much from phone calls, emails, and outreach, and that's honestly the thing that's been the biggest help for me. Just meeting with people for a quick chat, learning a little bit about people when I don't necessarily have to, has made all the difference.