By her own account, Patricia Rowan wasn't always this successful...
Her life may have been very different if it weren't for a change in her school that took her from her neighborhood in Harlem into downtown New York City.
Now Patricia has a Global Role with Procter & Gamble's Gillette Corporation and travels the world in Business Class! She's lived in several major cities and has done work in some of the most exciting, exotic countries in the world.
Hear how from her first school-bus ride into New York City at the age of 13, she discovered a whole new world of people and opportunity and from then on - knew her life could be different. She shares the steps she took to achieve more career and financial success than she could have ever imagined...and hopes to inspire YOU next.
Click the video above or click here to view on our YouTube channel
Patricia Rowan - Associate Director of Human Resources for 'Gillette's Product Supply' business.
Pat's Top Advice:
- Experiences are the key to change and success. It's what changed her life.
- For Pat, she knew that education was the key to changing her life.
- It pays to speak up.
- ASK FOR HELP.
- A 'no' might mean a 'no' for today but it's not a 'no' forever.
- You can make a "way" when there is "no way".
- You HAVE to keep trying!
- Have contacts (Network!) and let people know what you are up to and what you are looking for. (Speak Up!)
- Believe in yourself - even when you're scared. (Pat still gets scared but she believes in herself and powers though!)
- Resources may be inside you or they may be around you. Use your Resources and Network.
Pat's Career Path
Tough Start: Patricia (Pat) grew up on "on the 20th floor of a Project House" in Harlem, New York. She is 1 of 5 kids. She felt confined by what she calls, "the four walls of Harlem". She didn't know anything about life beyond her neighborhood.
Pivotal Moment: One year, her school district changed and she was bused out of Harlem into downtown New York City. She says: That experience of leaving Harlem - is what changed her destiny. For the first time, she saw that her life could be something different and thought "I want to be like that too". She knew she wanted to shoot for more.
1st Job: Pat got her first job while she was still in High-School. She worked because she saw people around her doing better and doing more. She wanted to have her own money. She worked in a grocery store as a cashier and grocery bagger.
Mantra: Pat is the type of person who when she sees something - she goes after it!
School: Pat's parents did not go to college but Pat realized that EDUCATION was THE KEY to HER changing her life.
College: When Pat graduated from high-school, she applied to college and got in. In college she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She thought being a doctor would be a good idea because that's the only career she'd really heard of.
Pat loves people so she took a class in Psychology and did really well in it. She also found that she LIKED reading about Psychology and even chose to read and learn about the subject just for fun! That's when she knew what she wanted to do with her life.
Learn more:
What is the Study of Psychology
2nd Job: Pat worked at McDonalds between her freshmen and sophomore year in college. She learned that if she wanted to succeed and do better - she needed to work. Life was not going to be handed to her on a silver platter.
While working at McDonald's, Pat realized she had to focus on school to have a better life.
Bump: Once out of college, Pat decided that she wanted to continue her schooling and get her Master's degree. When she told her Mom though - her Mom said there was no money. Pat did get accepted to 'Graduate School' and was excited. However, she was told the school had no financial aid for her.
Undaunted: Her Mother took her up to the University and met with the Dean of Psychology. His department had no money for Pat. Finally, the dean had an idea and found some financial aid in a completely different department where Pat wasn't even taking courses.
The experience taught her to not take 'No' for an answer and to be nimble in her thinking. If she heard 'No' to one try - then she would try another direction until it worked out for her.
Big Break: Pat helped some engineering students at her campus with their project. They then referred her to the company, 'Procter & Gamble' where Pat got her first interview.
The lesson she learned there? "I need to have contacts and let people know what I was up to and what I was looking for."
Learn more:
Explore all the #CoolCareers at Procter & Gamble
Career listings at Procter and Gamble
Boston Jobs and Careers at Gillette
Pat has been with Procter and Gamble for 29 years and LOVES her Cool Career. She says she still can't believe 'this person from Harlem would be at this place in her life'.
xx CH
Comments