Her Story
About Crystal
My career has been a journey of unexpected turns and natural leadership. I spent 20 years as a child care provider, but it was so much more than that - I was helping needy families, volunteering for CASA, working with foster kids and single parents, all while homeschooling my own children. I managed everything from scheduling calendars and events to outreach and networking, meshing it all together. Throughout that time, I was deeply involved in hospitality and event planning, doing weddings and banquets, though it was never formally established. When I closed my daycare and needed a job, I landed in hospitality by accident and initially hated it, going in grumbling that I didn't want to do this. But then I discovered I was very good at it - it came naturally to me, and I became an overachiever. The challenge was that being more efficient than existing employees caused problems, but I kept excelling and ended up helping different hotels get re-established and back on track. Now I work at Oakview Group, a venue management company, primarily at the Hilliard Center and the Solomon B. Ortiz Center. My roles are hybrid - I handle event setup, serving, and teardown, along with all the planning in between. I've done events ranging from 850 people for the Heart Walk to proms, A&M graduations, and weddings. The events have grown from small hotel rooms with 110 capacity to stadiums and arenas with thousands of people. I'm never bored, and I always make the experience meaningful for customers and clients, guaranteeing their return with great reviews.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Crystal
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to stubborn perseverance and a competitive spirit. If I believe in something or know what I'm capable of, I don't give up or take no for an answer - I just explore different routes. Sometimes no doesn't mean no, it just means not right now or not here. Even when it seems like I should give up or there's just no way, I keep going. Sometimes you have to step back and let it happen for you or come to you. You just live your life, and what you're good at will show up to somebody in an obvious way and become tangible. But if you try to force it, it becomes emotional. So it's about not giving up, being persistent, and letting your work speak for itself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received about being in a position of leadership is that a good leader sets the example for the team. If you want productivity and success, then you need to exude it, project it, and show them what that means and how it looks. You don't sit on the sidelines and bark orders - you work with your staff and create the expectation. Don't write it on a handbook or something, go be it. That's been the most valuable guidance I've gotten about management and leadership.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Grow thick skin. You can't operate out of emotions and you can't be emotional. If you're sensitive, save it for your personal life and don't take it to work with you, because you're gonna make everybody happy one day and every customer's gonna have a problem the next day. You have to have thick skin and you can't take stuff personally at all. You can't take it home with you and let it eat at you, because I did that for a long time. Then I realized, I'm not a taco, I can't make everyone happy. You don't have to like me, but you're still gonna scrub the toilet, so get busy. You cannot get emotional when it comes to working. If it's what you love, you won't be emotional, because if it's not what you love, you're gonna be emotional no matter what because it's not where you belong. You can't take anything personally because it's a reflection of them, it's an offense they have in themselves. Even when you love what you do, there's still gonna be problems, and you can't let those get to you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My biggest challenge is that I'm bringing with me the work ethic I had 25 years ago, which was if someone was doing better than me, I stepped up my game so I could get there. I did not put them on a chopping block and sabotage them to get rid of the threat. I have a work ethic that is unfamiliar to this generation, and when I operate at my level, I'm always working way over my pay wage. The social implications that go along with it are huge because I pose a threat to mediocrity, and they are the majority and they don't like it and they unite. My biggest challenge is trying to come into what would be considered an entry-level position with a way higher mentality and way more qualifications - I'm way overqualified in some areas but out of date in others, like QuickBooks has changed in 20 years. This creates issues in the workplace. As for opportunities, I keep getting offers and leads in other areas, but they require relocating. I feel like I'm in a cocoon where I am, confined in a box. I know what I'm capable of and what I have to offer, but it's about getting to the right person at the right time without the social status complications of a small town and people I've upset because I'm willing to do more. If you work harder and they have to pay fewer people, wages can rise, but nobody understands that concept.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Accountability is one of the biggest values for me - being accountable and being able to be held accountable. Responsibility is crucial, along with integrity and follow-through. You do what you say you're gonna do, be a person of your word, keep your word, be honest and follow through. Whether you hold yourself accountable or someone else holds you accountable, you need to recognize it. The only way we improve is if we can see our own flaws instead of deny them, run from them, defend them, or find a way to excuse them. Something may have happened to you, but you don't get to use it as an excuse for why you did what you did. You need to learn from it so you can grow. I'm seeing a whole lack of work ethic and accountability in the world, and I'm hard on myself - I can't believe I said that, I can't believe I did that, and I'm overly apologetic and remorseful because I want to move forward and grow and do better.
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