This essay is one of 35 selected by a panel of judges for “Ambitions Interrupted,” a series from The GroundTruth Project and YouthVoices, its storytelling platform.
Name: Mariel (Mary Eleanor) Davis
Age: 29
Dream job: International development worker
City, Country: Cairo, Egypt (from New York City, USA)
Current job/school: Nonprofit communications and partnerships manager, graduate student studying management
Challenge: Keeping an open mind to unconventional career opportunities
I’m lucky enough to say that I have my “dream job” – everyday, I get to work on a crucial social issue in a part of the world that really matters to me. I lead global communications at Education For Employment, a youth employment network in the Middle East and North Africa.
I didn’t always know that my path would take the shape that it did. When I started at my organization five years ago, I expected to be working as an entry-level communications associate. When I started the job, however, I saw that I was the assistant to my organization’s founder and chairman – it wasn’t what I had in mind after graduating from college. I had put in grueling years at a specialized language study program, and I worried about that investment going to waste. An executive assistant role just didn’t fit into the career path I had envisioned.
But it’s that first role that made my dream job possible. My boss ended up being a phenomenal role model and teacher. I had the opportunity to observe how he developed relationships, made strategic decisions and navigated the challenges of a social startup. He invested in my professional development and expected me to weigh in on important decisions — and he really listened. That was truly empowering – it was the best training I could have ever received.
I was able to later transition upward into other positions, largely because of the valuable skills I had developed in that first role – the one that I never sought to begin with. I’ll always be grateful that I had that chance, and that circumstances made me rethink my expectations and keep an open mind to alternative career opportunities.
This story was originally submitted to YouthVoices, a platform powered by The GroundTruth Project that encourages young people to share stories about the issues affecting their generation. Submit your own essays and answer new questions here, or learn more about global youth unemployment with this interactive map.