Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Savannah Pagnozzi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Savannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

The best boss and mentor I’ve ever had is Allen Sandoval. He owned the karate studio I trained at, and was also a huge part in training all the students. I first met him when I was about 4 years old. He was the PE teacher at the school I went to. When I was 6, my mom jokingly said, “wanna try karate?” I immediately said yes, and was hooked after the first class. I truly believe to this day it was who Allen Sandoval was/is that made me want to do karate, and stick to it. He was someone who you didn’t want to disappoint. He is kind, gracious, tough, caring, and an absolute beast in business and martial arts.

I got my black belt around 10/11 years old, and started helping out with summer camps and assisting classes. Once I was older, I worked the front desk, along with teaching classes until I was 20 years old. Being able to work under Mr. Sandoval, I learned what a boss who truly cares looks like. He listened to his staff, and was invested in our growth in and out of the studio. He also taught me the power of dedication, hard work, integrity, and never giving up.

One of the biggest things I learned from Mr. Sandoval is how to carry yourself. Whether you’re walking into a room of friends, or a room where you know no one, how you carry yourself does not change. You say hi to everyone, you speak from your heart, and you truly listen to what people have to say. People can feel the difference between pretending to care and actually caring, and Mr. Sandoval cared from the bottom of his heart about everyone he connected with. And that is something I aspire to be every single day.

I’ll never forget the time my mom had to have a conversation with him about finances. I was around 10 years old, money was getting tight for my family, and karate was expensive. I still remember him running out to the car after my mom, giving her a hug, and telling her we’ll figure it out, since he knew how much I loved the sport and how dedicated I was. That’s the kind of heart he has.

Anyone who knows Allen Sandoval loves him, and I could never thank him enough for the impact he has had on my life!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into the stand-up comedy field by simply pursuing a dream. When I was about 20 years old, Nikki Glaser’s first Comedy Central special came out. Of course she had already been crushing it, but with this, she was really gaining some traction. When friends started to see her, they would come to me and be like, “oh my goodness, you are her!!!” Once I watched her, I was like, “that’s what I want to do. That’s my dream.” And after years of putting it off, here we are pursing it. BIG thank you to Nikki Glaser for pursing her dream, so that I could realize it was mine as well.

The thing I’m most proud of when it comes to comedy, is that I talk about the real stuff. The tough times in life, my imperfections, and my mess ups (and boy there are a lot of them). When you speak your truth, it’s a universal language everyone can understand and relate to. It also can bring up deeper conversations between friends and family after my shows, and that, to me, is everything.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to learn is, “don’t be a chameleon.” I have this talent, where in any room, I can quickly figure out exactly how I should act and what I should say in order to be liked, and I would do just that. People would always be so impressed by how well I could, “chameleon,” and because of that, I took pride in it. This year, I had to unlearn this. Adapting to every room you’re in is only deceiving and betraying yourself. Be unapologetically you in every room, because why would you want to be loved for someone you’re not?

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think non-creatives struggle to understand the emotions of creatives. Artists feel things much deeper than most people, making them more emotional and sensitive. In order to be a successful creative, you have to pour so much emotion into your work, and a lot of that emotion comes from pain. We have to dig up these old (or new) feelings, feel the pain again, figure out how to make it art, and I don’t think that’s an easy process to understand, unless you’re living it yourself. A lot of non-creatives don’t understand this beautiful process artists have to go through.

The best thing you can do for an artist, whether you’re a friend, partner, or family member, is just support their work in anyway that you can, be encouraging, and love them for who they are.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savannahpagnozzi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savannahemmapagnozzi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/savannahpagnozzi

Image Credits

Cameron Rice
Brandi Bigley
JT Anderson
Patrick Pagnozzi