Terri Zeigler

I think just being persistent and goal-oriented. Even with the obstacles and pivot points that happened, it's been about staying true to what I had set out to do. The main thing was making myself more marketable. During the recession, I understood that I was kind of stuck - I had experience, but I didn't have a degree. I was determined to get that education, even though I know the bar has been raised even higher now with master's and doctoral degrees required for certain things. For me, it was about having a balance where I still maintained my career and working while also pursuing my education. Now that I've acquired that education and continue to build in my career, I believe that puts me in a very marketable position. Of course, my faith is a driving factor. And now, being a single mom, my daughter's also my motivation. I have to be her mentor. I want to be the person she looks up to, that she sees the grit, and she sees the sacrifices, she sees my attention to staying true to my goals and staying focused. That's what I hope to be for her - to be an example, her role model.

I remember hearing a minister, a preacher say this: if what you're going through right now is not what you saw, then what you're experiencing right now is only temporary. That helped me to not get stuck, to not give up, and to not feel that where I am is the end. Remembering your vision, remembering what was revealed to me as far as what my purpose is and where I'm to go, where I'm headed - that's what kept me anchored. The key thing is, do you see your vision? Where do you see yourself going? Where do you see yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? What is your goal? Where are you aiming to go? Is it going to lead you to your purpose? Are you fulfilling your goals?

I think mentorship is definitely important - being willing to be mentored, finding that person that you can look up to, someone that has been through obstacles in life but stayed the course and kept going where they were planning to go. I've always knew I was leadership material. I knew that I should be in this position. My degree was in management. But now to have built to get to this place, I think that's what I would contribute to someone that's coming up behind me - asking exactly what is it that they're looking for? What is their purpose? Because I believe in living a purpose-driven life. I think when you find out what your purpose is, then it helps you navigate life, and it kind of helps you navigate even some of those pivots and those pitfalls and those challenges in life. Having that purpose in mind, it keeps you anchored, it keeps you knowing that you're not done until you see what you saw. If what you're going through right now is not what you saw, then what you're experiencing is only temporary.

I would say some of the main challenges for the younger generation is that they don't have long-term goals. Their goals are short. I think they can jump ship at any given time. They're not anchored. Some of them are driven, but they're more driven for money's sake, but not necessarily building relationships and building foundations. So I think they're easily distracted and willing to just kind of move to the next best thing, not really getting the foundation that they need. I think that's one of the obstacles that maybe they're facing - chasing the dollar and not chasing development and establishing relationships, building. I think they're not learning to build.

Integrity, character, and humility are most important to me. I believe in servanthood to leadership. I believe in serving as I lead. I'm looking to build others.