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Crystal Harvey

Assistant Director

University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center

Reno, NV USA

“The most valuable thing to have in your professional career is very accurately knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and being very honest with yourself about it.”

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Crystal Harvey

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01:14

Crystal Harvey Highlight

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03:36

Interview

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02:40

Combining Engineering With Business

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00:56

Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses

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Innovators Can’t Be Afraid Of Failure

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01:35

Day In The Life Of An Assistant Director At The Innevation Center

Milestones

My road in life has taken me all over.

I grew up in Nevada and went through the International Baccalaureate Programme at Wooster High School, which is designed to teach students through an intercultural lens.

I originally wanted to pursue aerospace engineering because I loved airplanes, but the University of Nevada, Reno, didn’t have an aerospace program, so I went into mechanical engineering instead.

After graduating, I spent a few years as a mechanical engineer at a startup company—it should have been my dream job, but I realized that I wasn’t as happy as I should have been.

When the company lost funding and had to downsize, I made the decision to go back to school for business rather than look for another engineering job.

I decided to go back to the University of Nevada, Reno, part time for my Master of Business Administration degree.

While going to school, I also started working at the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center, which helps to build Nevada’s innovation economy through the lens of the university.

After working with the Innevation Center for a few years, I’m now the assistant director, managing our staff and programming.

Keep following my journey

Education

High School

Bachelor
Mechanical Engineering
University of Nevada, Reno

Graduate
Business Administration and Management, General
University of Nevada, Reno

Career

Assistant Director

I manage the staff and programming at UNR Innevation Center.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Business

Technology

Problem Solving

Day to Day

I manage all of the staff at the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center and do a lot of the programming at the facility. The goal of the facility is to build Nevada's innovation economy from the perspective of the university, so I'm engaged in helping to facilitate that by leading the staff and programs.

Skills & Qualities Beyond School

I believe that the two biggest skills innovators need are not fearing failure and allowing yourself to be creative. These skills go hand-in-hand. It's important to be able to think outside the box, face negativity, and be brave enough to vet it out yourself and keep moving forward even if you fail at first.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for everyone

Take time to learn very accurately what your strengths and weaknesses are so that you know when you should push forward, when to ask for help, and when to stop. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and being honest with yourself about them is one of the most valuable things you can bring into your professional career. If you're fortunate enough to build an honest support group around yourself, listen to them when they give you those more difficult pieces of advice.

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

"Failure is not okay."

Challenges I Overcame

Career Change

Job Loss

Interviewed By

All In

All In

Innovative careers in Nevada’s historic industries