Tala Carnine

I've been working since I was young, gaining experience across multiple industries including retail, food service, warehouse work, and delivery driving. I served in the military and worked my way up to store manager positions at Dollar General and Food Lion, often getting promoted quickly because I love taking on multiple tasks and finding organizational patterns. Currently, I'm taking time off from traditional work to focus on my education at Campus, an innovative online accredited college where I'm pursuing business administration with a focus on AI through their applied entrepreneurship program. I've been enrolled since June of last year and have been on the honors list for four consecutive semesters - summer 2025, fall 2025, and winter 2026. My main areas of expertise are organizational management, logistics, and business law. Right now, my days are focused on being a mom to my young daughter, attending college, and volunteering with my mother-in-law every Friday to help elderly and disabled family members clean their houses. Through my entrepreneurship course, I'm learning to pitch to investors and developing a business concept that I hope to scale nationally, starting in Odessa, Texas. I'm also working on plans to eventually start a nonprofit that would help youth transitioning out of foster care or adoption by partnering with plumbers, tradespeople, and other professionals to provide apprenticeships and life skills training.