Growing up, I devoured books, magazines and the sports page of my hometown newspaper, always dreaming that one day I too would tell my stories and share my insights with a reading audience.
As I got older, though, that seemed more and more like a wild fantasy. Sure, I thought to myself, some people make a living writing, but I couldn’t do it. Saying I was going to be a writer was like saying I was going to play shortstop for the Texas Rangers: fun to think about, but not a serious plan for the future.
For many years I toiled away in corporate sales. It was nice for a while, but I was never truly happy. So, after more than a decade with the same company, I quit my steady job, moved to Chicago and enrolled in a writing program at DePaul University, intent on finally realizing my dream.
That led to writing opportunities that I could have never envisioned. Things really took off when I landed an internship at United Airlines. Few in the corporate communications department expected much from the oldest intern in the airline’s history, but I sought out chances to prove myself. Before long, I was a full-time employee and the lead writer on my team, with a monthly column in United’s inflight magazine, Hemispheres.
A few years later, here I am, a published writer with a portfolio of stories of which I am very proud.
Resume
EXPERIENCE
AUGUST 2020 – PRESENT
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER, ALEDO ISD
In the midst of the pandemic, I decided to try something completely new: teaching. Based on my experience as a writer, I was given the opportunity to teach seventh grade English language arts at Aledo Middle School. In this capacity, I designed instruction for, taught and mentored my students to the best of my ability. While it’s been an interesting and fulfilling experience, it’s not something that I want to do long term.
JUNE 2016 – AUGUST 2020
SENIOR WRITER, UNITED AIRLINES
In this role I wrote stories for United employees and customers, everything from corporate announcements and executive messages to feature pieces about United’s people, products and destinations. My work appeared monthly in United’s inflight magazine, Hemispheres, as well as on its employee news site and its customer-facing storytelling site, hub.united.com. Pandemic-related layoffs brought an end to this incredible opportunity.
JUNE 2003 – OCTOBER 2013
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, FEDEX
For many years after college, I worked as a sales representative for FedEx, overseeing territories in California, Nevada, Illinois and Texas during the course of my career. Just before I left to pursue writing, I was an import/export specialist helping clients navigate the murky waters of international shipping.
EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, ARLINGTON
I studied marketing and sales at UTA, graduating with a 3.5 GPA.
WRITING AND PUBLISHING (master’s degree, not completed), DEPAUL UNIVERSITY, CHICAGO
I’m four credits shy of a degree but chose not to continue once I started earning money as a writer, since that was the goal all along. My two years at DePaul did, however, give me a solid foundation for what I do today, so I thought it appropriate to include that experience in my resume. I was a 4.0 student and my work was selected two years in a row for inclusion in DePaul’s annual literary journal, Crook & Folly.
PERTINENT SKILLS
- EDITING AND PUBLISHING (PRINT AND ONLINE)
- SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
- PREVIOUS WORK WITH ADVERTISING AND BRAND MANAGEMENT TEAMS
- SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATION
- EXTENSIVE CORPORATE MARKETING AND CUSTOMER-FACING EXPERIENCE
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