Victoria Crockett

I attribute my success to the support of my community, especially my dad who guided me into HR and my parents who supported me through having a child young. I also credit my ability to not take things personally at work and to focus on what I can control. I've learned that almost 80% of your whole life is based on what you can control - that 20% is inevitable, but the 80% is up to you. I realized that I get to choose what kind of life I want for myself, and I get to wake up every day and choose what kind of life I want. Even though I had my daughter at 19, which was life-altering, I didn't let my circumstances define me. I stopped making excuses in my early 20s about being a young mom and instead focused on what I could do with my 24 hours each day. I worked three jobs while going to college and got my undergraduate degree by age 23, when less than 2% of teen moms achieve that by 25. I've learned that whatever perception people have of you is what they have - what matters is the perception you have of yourself. I pride myself on having strong leadership skills and expertise in my field, and I use my network outside of work to stay grounded. Most importantly, I've learned that life is going to happen with ups and downs like a wave, but you get to choose how you respond and what you do with your circumstances.

The best career advice I received was from my dad when I was trying to figure out what to do with my business degree. He told me that business is very broad, and I needed to identify what specific area I wanted to be in - whether project management or another field. When I said I didn't know, he suggested I get into HR because HR is a really big space to thrive in any area. He explained that in HR, you can do payroll, benefits, employee engagement, investigations, talent development, or work in a general space - there are so many different paths. That advice opened my eyes to the versatility of HR and helped me find a career where I could have real influence and make an impact on workplace culture and employee engagement. It turned out to be perfect advice because I realized during my internship at the City of St. Louis Park that HR is such an important role where I feel like I matter every day.

The most important values to me are personal agency and taking ownership of your life choices. I believe that you get to choose what kind of life you want for yourself, without your parents in mind or anyone else's opinion. You get to wake up every day and choose what kind of life you want and how happy you are. I also deeply value not taking things personally and focusing on what I can control - I remind myself that almost 80% of your whole life is based on what you can control, while that 20% is inevitable. In my work, I value being a visible, physical resource and showing people through my actions, not just words, that things can work differently. I want to demonstrate that HR can be supportive and create positive change in workplace culture. I also value giving people the foundation and tools they need to succeed, whether that's coaching managers on leadership skills or helping employees feel heard and respected. In my personal life, I value providing my daughter with a strong moral foundation so she can navigate situations and make good decisions. I believe in setting boundaries and teaching people, especially young women, to distinguish what is acceptable in their relationships and friendships. Most importantly, I value the belief that your circumstances don't define you - you still get to have a great life and give your best, no matter where you start.