We asked some fantastic entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us about their first job in their field. Check out their stories below.

Timmie Standridge

While finishing the final semester of the Fitness Specialist Program, I needed to reach my work experience hours, so I began reaching out to my sphere of influence. A friend of a friend co-owned a small private training gym in Point Loma, San Diego. I went in to meet with the two owners; one a retired Navy SEAL the other a retired Marine Corp Vet, to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I had never trained anyone in a professional setting, I was training my friends here and there and mostly for free. I remember the self doubt and apprehension swirling around my head as I drove to the gym to meet with them. Read more>>

Lina Haji

At the age of 22 I took an undergraduate class in forensic psychology called “Psychology and the Law.” The professor came in and was a young, stunning, bombshell of a female who began discussing her experience working with serial killers, sex offenders, gang bangers and more offenders. I was hooked. I applied to a minimum security prison shortly after with no experience and only a bachelors degree. When I got to the prison for my interview, the director said: “If you really want this job, you will come back tomorrow at 10am and give an hour long lecture to 150 inmates about feelings and emotions.” Read more>>

Joelisse Galarza

In 2019, I was attending Columbia University in the City of New York as a Masters student of Social Work specifically focusing on children, youth and families. Coming from San Antonio, TX, I wanted to see other states and how they implemented Social Work support in schools, specifically in New York. I was working at my field internship for the Children’s Aid Society in Washington Heights within a charter middle school/high school Salome Ureña. Read more>>

Dana Strickland

When I decided that I wanted to go back to school to be a therapist I was working as a Library Technician on Luke Air Force Base. I went through about a year of imposter syndrome and then a lot of things in life changed so I told myself it’s time to rip the band aid off and either do it or not. Obviously, I decided to go for it but was intentional about planning. I knew that before I got to the practicum and internship portions of my program that I would feel better if I had more experience even adjacent to behavioral health so I applied for and got a job through the state with the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) as a Case Manager. Read more>>