now, and I see where you are and what you've been able to accomplish. I didn't know a lot about what you just shared, but I think it's important for other people to hear that kind of story because it will encourage folks to get involved in getting into this industry and understand all of the benefits that this industry offers. And, I think your story is one of many that I've heard over the years. I've been involved with this industry since 97, and I've seen a lot as it pertains to recruiting in this space, working in marketing and a lot of other areas. But one of the things that I've always taken away about the design industry is that there are all kinds of opportunities in the space to work. And it is incumbent upon you as an individual, if this is an industry that you're interested in, that you should get involved, you should connect with people, that there's always going to be people like what, Cherise just described as some of the founders of the firm she used to work with that were willing to sit down and work with her. I've always seen people like that throughout my time in this industry that were willing architects, engineers, environmental consultants, planners were willing to sit down and kind of educate you. Even as a consultant in this space, I've gotten a lot of great lessons out of that. So I think your story is a refreshing story and a great reminder that anyone in this space needs to take the time to help out, certainly the next generation, and to encourage them to be a part of this industry because it is such a great and dynamic industry. But sometimes you just need to hear a story like yours, Cherise, that will get the ball rolling and get you moving forward. Cherise Lakeside: You are preaching to the choir. It's one of the reasons I teach the CDT certification program. That's 12 weeks twice a year, two hours a week for 12 weeks. So 24 hours of instruction. Not everybody in my class is a young professional, but there's a good chunk that is. And they're all over all the disciplines. And I share that story with them every time. And I also leave my door open for my students. I still get emails from students I had eight years ago, either sharing a success or telling me they took a different path, or I love it when they get done with their test and tell me, Cherise, your voice was in my ear the whole time. It's like, yes, that's what I'm trying to accomplish. Mentoring is important. And with all of our baby boomers leaving and Gen X being so small, I think that we are. We have a short now, even more so than we have in the past. And for me, I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for the mentors that I had. And I think we have a responsibility when we've been given a gift to pay that forward and give that gift to somebody else in whatever capacity we have to share that knowledge. Randy Wilburn: It is. It really is. And now you're preaching to this choir because I'm always saying to people, hey, mentoring is hugely important. The transfer of knowledge in this space, in this industry, from. Especially from the boomer generation, which they've transferred a lot of knowledge to Gen X in this space, but then also to millennials
Made with FlippingBook Annual report