Joy Pearson

I think a lot of it is perseverance, especially in my last career and going into this one. It's not taking no for an answer, but it is a little bit of that. If the door closes in one way, it's still going around or trying to come up with creative problem solving to still get the end result, even if it's not in the way that you initially expected it. I feel like this has been crucial in both my military career and now as I transition into the wine industry.

A couple years ago, a friend asked me if I could do anything in my life, what kind of passion or career would I pursue. I told her I've always been a really big fan of wine, especially champagne. Her response after our conversation was, 'Why aren't you doing that?' I didn't have a good answer, and that was really what got me into actually pursuing the education side initially. I guess my advice would be, if you are not passionate about your job, easier said than done, but pursue your passion. I'm so happy in my life. Everything kind of lined up in a really weird way for me to even get this job, and just the timing of it was amazing.

Honestly, I felt like I was a bit behind, at least in this industry, just because I don't have the years of experience. So in my mind, I was kind of like, I'm gonna do as much of the education piece as I can, so that I feel like, at least on that aspect, I'm sort of caught up. And honestly, just having a really open mind with the people that I've worked with. I think the best advice I got when I was starting even my first job in the Navy is just you kind of want to be a sponge for the first few months and just absorb as much as you can of the people you work with and the job itself before you can really get into it. Young women, I think, in the Navy definitely need to be very resilient, which can be very frustrating, but don't be afraid to be bold. Own yourself. Don't shrink to fit the room.

Honestly, I think right now, pretty much all over the news, the wine industry is suffering. People are not as interested in it, and the younger generation, I think Gen Z, is not really into wine as much. So it's kind of coming up with solutions for that, trying to figure out ways to get people more excited about wine or more involved in the actual process. I think when people have a hand in the creative process of wine and they realize what it is, they get just as passionate about it.

I think just maintaining ambition. I feel like I've done a lot of side projects in this industry, things I probably never would have considered doing with a different job. I loved my last job, but it wasn't something that I came home and continued to pursue education with. In this capacity, I taught myself how to code so I could start building an AI machine learning program related to wine, which is crazy to me because I'm doing that in my free time and I love it. It's about finding ways to continue education, like little online certifications that are free. I have a few of them specifically in Champagne. I've looked into getting my master's with a concentration in wine business, which I think is something that I will hopefully be able to apply for this fall.