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Career Path of an Accessibility Specialist at Salesforce

Beginning as a biology major, Haley's path unexpectedly shifted after becoming a freshman teaching assistant, where they discovered a passion for "talking to people and educating them." This led to a career change, transitioning from a potential pre-med path to becoming a high school teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina, showcasing a proactive approach to career exploration and a willingness to adapt based on discovered strengths.

Career Exploration, Education, Teaching, Mentorship, Career Change

Advizer Information

Name

Job Title

Company

Undergrad

Grad Programs

Majors

Industries

Job Functions

Traits

Haley Shust

Accessibility Specialist

Salesforce

Elon University, 2015

Masters of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (focus: Digital learning); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Biology & Related Sciences

Technology

Education

Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member

Video Highlights

1. During college, Haley initially majored in biology and became a teaching assistant, discovering a passion for education and mentoring.

2. She transitioned from a potential pre-med/pre-dentistry path to an education career after realizing her strengths lay in teaching and mentoring.

3. After graduating, she pursued a lateral entry teaching program and worked as a high school teacher before transitioning to her current role as an Accessibility Specialist at Salesforce.

Transcript

Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.

Certainly. I began my undergraduate studies as a biology major. You'd never guess I'm not doing that anymore.

But that degree gave me entry into being a teaching assistant. During my freshman year, Professor Eric Bauer reached out to me and said, "Hey, I think you are a meaningful presence in the classroom, and you do a really good job mentoring your peers, answering questions, and helping to support them. I think you'd make a great teaching assistant."

So I was the first freshman teaching assistant in the biology program and proceeded to do that almost every semester of my college career. Through that, I learned that I really loved talking to people, educating them, and, of course, learning myself in the process.

That's where I decided to shift what was going to be a potential degree in pre-med or pre-dentistry into more of an education career. I attended a few shadowing sessions for nursing school and physician's assistant school and quickly realized that just wasn't for me. I have the utmost respect for those careers, but I think I'm better suited for the educational aspect.

After I graduated, I applied for a lateral entry teaching program and ended up being a high school teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a little while.

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