Career Path of a Talent Associate at Ednovate
Adrian's career path, initially focused on music education, pivoted to public affairs after a shift in interest from teaching to teacher support. This led to a Capstone experience with Leadership for Educational Equity, a "really great experience" that transitioned Adrian into the charter education world, ultimately leading to their current role as a Talent Associate at Ednovate.
Career Exploration, Nonprofit Experience, Public Affairs, Charter Education, Career Change
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Adrian Yu
Talent Associate
Ednovate
UCLA 2021
Na
International Relations & Affairs
Education
Human Resources (HR)
Disabled, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. Adrian's career path highlights a shift from music education to public affairs, showcasing adaptability.
2. His internships with local governments and the non-profit Leadership for Educational Equity provided valuable experience and networking opportunities.
3. His career progression from a charter school operations role to a talent associate at Ednovate demonstrates growth within the education sector.
Transcript
Can you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had leading up to your current role.
I entered college as a music education major. I was really intent on being a music teacher and had wanted to do that since I was in eighth grade.
However, the more I did student teaching, the more I felt I wanted to support teachers rather than be a teacher myself. So I switched to public affairs halfway through college.
I'd recommend doing it sooner if you're going to switch, but it was a really good choice. I think I switched to public affairs. Towards the end of my senior year, I was asked to do a Capstone experience.
I had previously done a couple of different internships, including city internships with the City of Torrance and the City of Hermosa Beach, just working in local government. I highly recommend that experience.
But I hadn't really worked in any nonprofits before. So when it came time to do that Capstone experience, I chose to do it with Leadership for Educational Equity. It was a really great experience.
I got to work alongside a mentor and be their policing advocacy intern throughout the entire year. It was in the middle of COVID, so it was completely remote.
From there, I graduated. I was able to get into the charter education world from that experience, moved across the country to work in Brooklyn at a charter school as part of their operations team. Then I missed LA too much and moved back to Los Angeles.
Now I've been at Edna Marie for about a year and a half as a talent associate.
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