The Power of Advocacy: How Asking for More Changed My Career

Mrs. Eaglestaff, my high school guidance counselor, suggested that I attend the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP) - a one week summer program at the University of Washington (UW) for students of color to experience university life and gain exposure to accounting careers.  I was excited to be away from home for the first time and live in the UW dorms - even if my home was only 13 miles away. 

ACAP also placed me at a summer internship at Arthur Andersen to convert their index card file tracking system to a barcode program - eight hours a day of typing file names into the database and slapping a bar code sticker on files.  At the end of my internship, I asked Anne Lynam (Controller and Seattle University alumna) if I could continue working at Andersen part time while I attended Seattle University (SU).  Anne coordinated teams across the office to find work for me to support 20+ hours a week.  Anne’s sponsorship started the chain of events that led me to spend a decade in ‘Big 4’ consulting to leading billion dollar functions at Expedia to C-level executive at tech startups today.

I attribute my success largely to building a professional network, leveraging mentors, and advocating for myself.  I don’t quite know where I learned these skills or the chutzpah to follow through.  All I know is that my greatest skill is listening to advice and implementing what made sense to me.

If I can help make the path forward a little clearer, a little more confident, and a little more supportive for the next woman coming up—that’s what this is all about.