Jessica Lawrence

I would say that getting my first bachelor's degree was probably my biggest achievement and what changed everything for me. I got my first degree when I was 28, and coming out of high school, neither of my parents had degrees. I didn't think I was super talented or smart enough to go to school. I actually dropped out of a philosophy class because it was just too hard, and I didn't feel like I was up to the task. No one really knew how to help me get through to graduation - when I had questions about how to sign up for classes, my parents didn't really know, and I was too scared to talk to people. When I was 25, I had just ended an engagement and was feeling pretty down about life. Marriage and family hadn't worked out, and I didn't really have anything else to show for my life, so I ended up going back to school just to see how it went. Surprisingly, I ended up getting my associate's degree and then transferring to BYU, which is really hard to get into and really competitive. I was actually really shocked that I got in - I got like a 16 on my ACT and just didn't think of myself as a really smart person. That degree really changed my outlook on myself and on life, and my ability to make things happen. Before that, I just didn't think I was talented enough or smart enough to have a meaningful job or career. It was when I got my degree that I was like, oh, maybe I can have a family, but maybe I can also have a career too and do something meaningful for my community outside of family life. That degree really changed everything for me. I wouldn't change it for anything because of what it did for my confidence and my ability to understand how achievable things are through hard work. You don't have to be the smartest person or the most talented if you're just willing to work hard - you can achieve everything that everybody else is doing.

I would say, don't hold yourself hostage to your own dreams. A lot of people have this vision for their life, and that's good - everyone should have a vision because that's where you travel, that's where the miracles and excitement happen on the journey to reaching that goal. But sometimes we hold ourselves hostage to those dreams to the point that we don't allow ourselves to take other opportunities that might actually be better, or might in the moment not seem like they connect to that end goal, but actually really do. For example, I never wanted to be a religious educator - I don't love high school students, they're really mean. But I kind of begrudgingly applied for it because it really felt like I should do it. I ended up loving it, but for a while after I moved on, I was like, that felt like the most random waste of time that I did for several years that didn't really contribute to anything. It wasn't until this year that I realized it did actually guide me and prepare me in different skill sets for what I'm doing right now. One of the big projects I work on is a religious educator teaching manual, and I'm one of the best editors for the job because I'm their only editor that has actually taught in that field and understands at a personal level what this manual looks like in the classroom. Steve Jobs said you can't connect the dots going forward, you can only connect them going back. If you hold yourself hostage to your own dreams, you might actually miss your dream, because you don't know how to actually get there - it's not always a clear path through life. If you say no to everything because you're so set on your path, you might actually miss out on a lot. Going back to my degree in psychology, if I was so stubborn about becoming a therapist, I would have missed so much in my life - I would not be an editor, I would not be owning my own business and hiring all of these really wonderful women to work with. Sometimes we think we know what our dream in life is, but we don't - not until we've experienced more of life do we really know what our true dream actually was. If you can be humble and workable, you might end up with something far better than what you initially thought was a cool idea. Have your dreams, have the goals, because you need those, but don't let them rule your life.

The job market has been really awful, and it's discouraging across the board whether you're in STEM or not. I have so many friends in STEM-related fields like mechanical engineering, computer science, and math that are being laid off and apply for 200-plus jobs and don't hear back from any of them - they don't even get an automatic rejection email. I was in there for a while myself. Last year, I went 8 months and applied for over 50 jobs and got rejected from all of them. Most of them, I made it all the way to the very end, down to the very last thing where you can maybe have it in the bag, and then they say no, they went with someone else. In publishing especially, a lot of times established publishers may become complacent but get the jobs over newer graduates or new hires just because of experience. All of these graduates that are just graduating this year have no hope - all of their jobs are getting taken by AI, and they haven't even gotten to have a chance in their field. Honestly, they're some of the better workers - they're more polished and more ready to work than some people who have been in the field for a really long time. I've seen a lot of editors, and some editors who have been editing for 20 years really suck because they've gone to this level of complacency. Most of these graduates that graduated in the last year are far more skilled and ready to enter the workforce than some of these so-called professionals. It's so tragic that the person who honestly probably has more enthusiasm because they're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed right out of college and has more talent and skills isn't even being taken seriously because they're just being seen as an intern. Editing in general, even outside of a job crisis that we're having in the United States, is a really competitive field - it's like trying to get into the NFL but to fight over pennies. Within a job crisis, it's even more difficult. I like to remain balanced and appreciate those who have just graduated because they're very enthusiastic and have so much to offer to the market.

I'm very religious, and my faith influences both my personal life and my professional focus. I believe very strongly in the principle that where much is given, much is required - I think that's from Spider-Man, but it really resonates with me. I believe that I am my brother's keeper and that we have an obligation as humans to help other humans when we're able to. When you open doors for other people, more doors can open up for you, and when doors open up for you, I think as a member of society you have an obligation to open doors for other people. To be a good member of this world and of your community means that you share the opportunities and blessings that have been given to you. Instead of closing the door behind you, you keep it open and help other people to come in. That's why I have two interns - I'm paying them, and it really is just like a service. I was given a really unique and cool opportunity, and I do feel obligated to help other people build their resumes, find opportunities, and be able to network, and not gatekeep the opportunities that I have. I specifically hired recent graduates who have completed at least one internship because I wanted to give people who wouldn't have been given a chance otherwise an opportunity. They honestly truly do deserve that chance, and I want to help them build their resume so they can have that competitive resume going into a field that showcases accurately the skill set they can actually bring to the table. I also believe that you don't have to be the smartest person or the most talented if you're just willing to work hard - hard work can help you achieve everything that everybody else is doing.