Yolanda

My background includes a wide variety of meaningful experiences that began when my boss appointed me the manager in his small engineering business years ago. I learned a few things about myself and tried working on the things that got in the way of my success I was aware that if I was to succeed in my promotion, I had to bite the bullet and return to school. Thus I enrolled in a "Small Business Management" course. I`d never considered some of the realities of what my promotion really embodied until my job changed: 1) Not only was I making a better salary but, 2) My job was to make my boss look good. He had to remain credible to his clients and I was now an integral part of that effort and his company`s image. My relationships between my boss and his clients were always ethical and business-like from the start. When I became the drafting room supervisor I immediately enrolled in a small business management course to get an understanding of the concepts, laws, procedures and expectations of being in a small business. Apart from being in school, I began to see By nature, I`m diplomatic, easy going and focused on goals and that I possessed innate personal and interpersonal skills. For a time, I worked for a clinical psychologist whose small business entailed consulting people who were displeased with their jobs or careers and wanted change. She was what I call a "career futurist". Through the help of some sophisticated computer programs she was able to tap into personality tests (inventories) that merged their responses with other tests revealing their best working environments and careers guaranteeing long-term success and happiness in their lives and careers. Because of her advice, I returned to school to finish my education as an English major whereupon I ended teaching at USC in their Management Communication Department at the Marshall School of Business. I learned the value of enrolling in classes taught by professors who were rumored to be hard graders. It was a smart move on my part because I found that the tough professors were the ones who best prepared their students for jobs outside academia. Being an English major prepared me to write my own proposals and documents when I opened my own business. Finally, "strategy" is an operative word for me. When I was in graduate school, I volunteered to write the English Department`s newsletter because it not only exposed me to the department`s professors but it gave me some insight into the business of education. I learned the value of enrolling in classes taught by professors who were rumored to be hard graders. It was a smart move on my part because I found that the tough professors were the ones who best prepared their students for jobs outside academia. Finally, "strategy" is an operative word for me. Be strategic about how you go about achieving your goals, even if it takes you longer to accomplish your goals.

Willing to travel: 15 miles

Experience: I was the drafting room supervisor when I was employed at a small engineering company. I wrote a drafting room manual outlining the rules and requirements when working on client drawings. I opened my own engineering business serving clients in Southern California`s aerospace industry. I have been a member of Toastmasters International and was an invited keynote speaker at Southern California Edison`s Mentoring Fair. I`ve taught upper-division composition courses to students at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and at the University of Southern California (USC). I`ve trained and accompanied students to compete in international case competitions where some of my teams won first, second and third places. I instituted a faculty to faculty mentoring program while I was on the faculty in the Management Communication Department at USC`s Marshall School of Business. I`ve been a communication skills trainer in workshops at the Southern California Minority Business Development Council and a certified volunteer at the California Science Center for a select group of student docents in a science weekend program where I coached their public speaking skills and helped increase their interpersonal awareness skills. My education extends to being in a federally funded community program (Project Literacy U.S.A. Adult Literacy) that aimed at teaching adults how to read. I was a volunteer in an international service program for high school students in Cross Cultural Solutions in Xi`an, China in 2007 and 2008. I`ve been a speaker at the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico where the topic was "How to Establish and Evaluate a Faculty to Faculty Mentoring Program."