I knew my passion was in education early on in my life and thought the most direct pathway to this was by becoming a classroom teacher. Later I would find out that I would have to make some unexpected pivots in my career to lead me to a role as a project manager for IBM SkillsBuild. Unfortunately after pouring myself into classroom teaching, I experienced burnout as many teachers do. Any fans of the TV show Friends knows the famous phrase by Ross, and that is, "Pivot!" So, I pivoted into a completely different direction and opened my own clothing boutique, thinking maybe education wasn’t for me.Â
Five years later I took yet another pivot into the unfamiliar world of tech by becoming a project manager for IBM Skillsbuild, which has turned out to be a career where I get to combine my skills, experience, and passion I gained with classroom teaching and my small business experiences each day. The day I realized all my pivtos finally made sense was when I was in my new role, and my manager at the time told me that my skillset was "unicorn-like" and that I brought a unique perspective and skillset to my work. Sometimes you have to make pivots in your career, and you might feel like you're veering off track. As long as you keep pivoting and honing your skills with each opportunity, you can also end up in a career where you feel passionate, driven, and "unicorn-like."