Where are you from?

This question is always the weirdest for me to try to answer! You could say I’m from “everywhere and nowhere.” I grew up a military kid, moving stations with my family every 1-5 years, and my first time ever living off a military base wasn’t until I attended college. I was born in Pasadena, CA. I graduated from and spent most of my school years between Oklahoma and Texas. I’ve lived in Fargo for the last eight years and should probably just say I’m from here now!

Tell us a little bit about you.

As I shared, I grew up a military kid, so moving and traveling was my whole life growing up and pretty much defined my pre-adult years. By the time I reached high school, I’d been to about 32 countries. Traveling is still something I love to do every chance I get. It just looks a bit different now that I’ve got those adult responsibilities!

I attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, attaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Master’s in Special Education. I taught fifth grade (still my absolute favorite grade level of kids to be around) here in Fargo for three years. At the end of my third year, though, I was offered the opportunity to jump into a full-time coaching gig as Head Coach and Director of Youth Programs at the CrossFit gym I was a member and part-time coach at already. CrossFit had completely changed my life and health, so I decided to pursue educating and connecting with the community through this other avenue for as long as I could. Along the way, I fell in love with creating and planning our marketing and eventually decided that pursuing content marketing for the long haul was what I wanted to do! Now, it’s what I love to do most.

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

When I’m not working or begging my dog to cuddle with me, you can probably find me at CrossFit Fargo still, either training to compete locally or spending time with my friends. I’m also an avid concert-goer, so you can likely count on me to be at the Armory in Minneapolis at least one weekend a month for a show (and it’s probably EDM). It’s also not unlike me to accidentally, yet annoyingly often, double-book myself for a competition in the morning and day right into a concert that night.

What’s a ridiculous fact about yourself?

I hate to say it, but…I think I own almost 100 books I haven’t yet read because my TBR list is ridiculously ambitious for the rate at which I actually finish books these days.

I also have two steel rods and about a dozen screws in my back from a full spinal fusion for what was severe scoliosis. That one tends to surprise people more than the books.

If there was a movie about your life, who would play you and why?

I can only hope…Jennifer Lawrence or maybe Ariana Grande (post-Glinda). I’ve always loved how unapologetically herself Jennifer Lawrence is, awkward sides and all. We’re also both an ENFJ-T, and I think that’s pretty dope. I’ve recently become slightly obsessed with Ariana Grande now that she’s embraced what I think has to be her full self after fully diving into acting.

Tell us about your experience.

At the surface, it appears I’ve bounced around career paths quite a bit since graduating college, but when I look back on it all now, I realize it’s all been connected. My experience is in connecting and engaging with people of all ages, backgrounds, and personalities to bring them value and education.

As a teacher, you learn to meet every learner where they’re at at the moment to help them get to where they want or need to be. Not all fifth graders come ready to devote their attention and efforts to school (shocking, right), so connecting with each individual in a way that makes them want to learn from you is vital. As a CrossFit trainer, it’s similar. You are welcoming people from every walk of life into your classes, and your job is to provide them with the best hour of their day, while bringing them value in learning or fine-tuning a skill, a technical lift, their capacity, etc.

As far as the nitty-gritty of marketing goes, much of my experience is in planning and writing content. I’ve been the sole copywriter and content writer for a large machinery company—doing everything from digital ads to print—contracted to provide content and social media planning for a non-profit, freelanced to create branding materials for a one-man LLC, had articles published in online magazines, managed a small business’s social media and website, and more. I’ve also had a fair amount of experience in project management and event coordination across all of my jobs.

What part of your job do you believe makes the most impact?

The connecting and education! One of my favorite sayings is that “people join people.” It’s an aspect of writing that I love most, and where I believe the most impact is. I love to use writing to bring some level of joy to the reader, whether it’s because it’s educational, thought-provoking, or just something that makes them smile. When I write for our local community, I get the opportunity to shine a light on the businesses, organizations, and incredible humans around us, hopefully demonstrating the reasons to be part of it all.  

Why does our community matter to you?

There’s power in people. People join people, and no one accomplishes anything truly alone. People are at the heart of just about everything we’ve come to know. Why wouldn’t we want to do everything we can to love the communities we’re part of?

What are some of your goals at Spotlight?

My biggest goal is to grow, really. I’m always looking for ways to grow personally and professionally, and in turn, I want to help our clients and the Spotlight team grow, as well. I’m especially excited for an opportunity to put more of a focus on long-term content strategy and marketing for Spotlight. For our clients, my number one goal is to genuinely connect with them, learn what they want and need for their business, and do what I can to provide them with those things in the ways they want to receive them.

What part of your position provides the most value?

This answer will evolve in time, I suspect! Right now, I’m here to learn from and connect with everyone, so that I can discover how to provide the best value to each team member and client.