Posted 31 weeks ago (October 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM) in Us
My life has been kind of crazy. And by that, of course, I mean awesome. The professional path that led me to being a Brand Manager Assistant at Rise has been an excellent adventure I’d love to share! Between smuggled puppies, inspired coffee houses, and creating a safe space for terminally ill kids, I’ve got great stories worth telling!
Camp Boggy Creek. I worked as a front desk administrator at Camp Boggy Creek one fall and spring on the recommendation of a friend who worked there. This is such an incredible organization! During the summer they invite children with severe or terminal illnesses ranging from asthma and diabetes to heart diseases and cancer to come, at no cost, for one week camps where they can play and interact with other kids who are facing the same challenges.
The side benefit of working the front desk at Boggy Creek was that there were points at which I had some free time and they decided to capitalize on my inborn craftiness to make awards for the kids. My favorite awards to make were for Best Weekly Theme, because each week it would change, so I got to make some really fun awards for them like Best Gangster and Best Ancient Greek!
Drunken Monkey Barista. My first experience as a barista was actually in Mount Dora, where I learned the ins and outs of the espresso machine, properly steaming milk, and all kinds of other caffeinated goodness. Later, when I lived in Orlando and Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar was still under construction, I walked right up and asked if they were hiring. They said to come on by the next week and made me a morning barista.
Working there was such a blast and in line with my own ideals about buying local, supporting the arts, and eating healthy foods. When I think back on all the amazing people I met at Drunken Monkey, it was definitely a great source for connecting with the community. I’ll be the first to admit that I initially knew people by the drinks they ordered and had a terrible time remembering names, but I met some good friends, inspiring artists, and even my current pastor being a barista there!
Front of House Manager at The Plaza. While still working at Drunken Monkey I got to know people from The Plaza LIVE Theatre right across the street. One of my degrees is a B.A. in theatre from UCF and I had plenty of experience in just what it seemed they needed help with. I was looking for some more work and they hired me to be their front of house manager.
Part of my job was putting out proverbial fires. There was one evening when this broke my heart. One night a man tried to bring his chihuahua into our no-animals-allowed theatre - I love animals but I caught him on the way in and had to ask him to take his dog out to his car. It turns out he did no such thing and he had just hidden it in his shirt. Sneaky, right? Except someone saw his little pup’s head sticking out of his collar during the show and I had to ask him to leave!
Brand Manager Assistant at Rise.
While pulling double duty at Drunken Monkey and The Plaza LIVE, I had started to realize how much I needed a change so I started putting out the feelers for new opportunities. After a few months of looking with no results - or at least, no results I was willing to leave 2 soul-fulfilling jobs for.
No sooner had I started to retreat, a shining light appeared on the horizon in the form of my long-lost UCF college friend, Ms. Dawn Borglund. She had posted a simple message on Facebook: “Come work with me at Rise” followed by a link to several job descriptions. I hadn’t talked to Dawn in forever but I recalled her fondly and figured that anywhere she was working had to be worth a look, so I took a look, interviewed, and the rest, as they say, is history.
It’s been a wild time and I haven’t regretted any of the jobs I’ve had. Despite their challenges they’ve enriched my life and led me to Rise–which like myself and so many other places I’ve chosen to work with, is focused on helping others. Go, team!