How Identity Influenced A Director Of Operations' Career At Linqia
Melanie, a Director of Operations, notes the challenges of navigating a career as a first-generation college student, stating that "doing anything for the first time...can be scary and...overwhelming," but emphasizes learning through observation and diverse experiences. The absence of familial career models led Melanie to actively seek learning opportunities, such as working in a cafe, gaining valuable skills like customer service that "is incredibly valuable" and are still used today, proving that career success can stem from varied pathways.
Overcoming Challenges, Resilience, Communication, Career Development, Practical
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Melanie Archer
Director of Operations
Linqia
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
N/A
English, Writing & Education, English
Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Melanie's experience as a first-generation college student provided unique challenges but also fostered valuable learning through observation and peer interaction.
2. Melanie emphasizes the importance of leveraging diverse experiences, even seemingly unrelated ones like working in a cafe, to develop crucial skills such as customer service and interpersonal communication.
3. She highlights the contrast between her own career path and those who benefited from family connections or internships, emphasizing the importance of actively seeking out learning opportunities and maximizing every experience to build skills and knowledge
Transcript
As someone who identifies as a first-generation college student, how has that impacted how you've navigated your career?
Doing anything for the first time, especially within your family system, can be scary and overwhelming. But for me, I felt I could learn so much through osmosis, exposure, and observation.
I didn't necessarily have many models for navigating the college experience or thriving in it. Instead, I learned by watching my peers and seeing how others worked through their challenges.
The same is true for opportunities afforded to those who are not first-generation college students. I myself hire quite a few interns, as that's common in my industry.
I can recall dozens of times an intern was a colleague's daughter or a friend's daughter. It's amazing for these individuals, and they are wonderful people I'm excited to work with. However, that was never something available to me, given my family background.
For me, it was important to learn as many lessons as I could within my own context. Thinking about working in a cafe while in school, customer service is incredibly valuable. I focused on small ways to interact with people to get more positive responses.
Could I make someone's day better with my engagement? That's the same learning I still use and teach today. I didn't learn it at an internship; I learned it working at a cafe.
For me, it was realizing I would learn what I needed to learn where I was. It's about growing where you're planted and gaining as much as possible from your experiences.
In my opinion, my path wasn't better or worse than those who had internships coming into my company. It's all about what you take away from the experiences you're a part of.