Julie graduates from college with baby Kaeli
I was a child bride.
I got married at 19—only two years out of high school. When I got engaged, I’d attended one year of college at Utah State University. After my engagement, I dropped out of college. I didn’t see the importance of college and I hadn’t decided on a major.
My sister, Jill, was horrified.
After dropping out, I worked full-time as a secretary for an international electronics organization, saved money for my wedding, and enjoyed having a little money.
Before long, however, I realized that I was capable of doing what my bosses were doing. I knew that I needed to go back to school. I wanted to keep my job but needed to reduce my hours to allow me to go to school. I was very scared to approach my boss, the Vice President of Marketing, about my plan. Fortunately, he was very supportive and helped me figure out how I could attend school and keep my position.
When I started back to school, I commuted 100 miles a day (50 miles each way) from school to work and back again. Utah State University is nestled in the mountains of Cache Valley. Every day I twice traveled a narrow, steep canyon that is very treacherous in the snowy, Utah winter. My small, run-down car had poor tires and lacked four-wheel drive. There were many winter days when I’d try to come through the canyon but would have to turn around and go back.
My days were long and full. When I wasn’t working, I was either commuting or going to school. When I had breaks in school, I worked full-time. This allowed me to keep my insurance. I was also fortunate to receive company assistance with tuition.
My husband was also going to school and working and there were many times we stressed about how we would fund the next semester of college tuition.
To my great surprise, during my senior year of college, I became pregnant. It wasn’t planned. I worried that pregnancy would interfere with school. But I was very determined to finish my degree. Even though I hated it, I went to school pregnant. I was embarrassed to give my senior presentation when I was eight months pregnant. My daughter was born on April 30 and I took my last final on May 26. The good thing about the timing of my daughter’s birth was that I was able to get in more study time for finals during maternity leave. I graduated with a degree in Business Marketing and I was driven to establish my career. My parents were not college graduates. I am the third of five children and was the second person in my family to graduate from college.
I was promoted after graduation. I began to learn the ropes of manufacturing. My new job required me to travel—something I’d never done. My first plane ride was a business trip to California. During my time at that company I was promoted several times and traveled the world, which was very exciting to me.
When I was pregnant with my second child, I went on a business trip when I was 8 ½ months pregnant. I had to get a doctor’s note to travel that close to delivery. The truth is that I definitely could have declined the trip without impact to my career, however, I was driven to ensure I was not perceived as a female with limitations.
Five years after the birth of my daughter, I had a son. I traveled extensively while they were young. Fortunately, I had a very supportive husband, and a mother-in-law and mother nearby, who took care of my children while I worked and traveled. I sent postcards from around the world to my daughter’s elementary school classes. I wanted the kids in the small, Utah town where I lived to know that travel was possible—something that seemed impossible to me as a child on a farm.
When I was 29, I was promoted to the position of Director. I was the youngest Director in the company’s history. I was also the only female Director in our division. It was a male oriented, engineering organization. During my lunch hour, I would often run out to buy diapers. My older, male colleagues would just go to lunch. They weren’t responsible for diapers or babies and I was definitely at a different place in my life than they were.
After working for other smaller organizations as a Vice President, including a technology start-up company, I decided to go to MBA school. I was 35. I’d always wanted an MBA and I knew that if I didn’t get it done, I’d never do it. At the time, I was Vice President of Marketing at MarketStar, a busy, time-consuming job that required me to travel.
I must love to commute, because once again I commuted 130 miles (65 miles each way) to night school, often returning home at midnight. Yes, it was also a good way to lose 20 pounds. Again, my husband was extremely supportive and became more of a single working parent, which allowed me to accomplish my goal. My husband is a saint. We’ve been married 25 years this year (2010).
I’ve loved having a career in business, but it took time for me to find what I loved within the broad scope of business. I love customer service and process improvement. My strength is execution. I’m now Vice President of Information Services for MarketStar. I oversee a department of approximately 100 people comprised of Information Technology and Market Analysis personnel.
I’m an example of someone who has gone to school with a family and successfully built a career. And yes, I have a high energy level, which is a requirement if you work full-time, go to school and have a family.
By building Lookilulu.com, I’m excited to help young women figure out their career interests early and to help them understand the thousands of incredible, fun career options that are available.
Guest post by Julie Simmons, Jill’s sister and co-founder of lookilulu.com.
