Kassie Davis
CME Group Foundation
Santa Fe, NM USA
"I’ve tried to look at every new position as a new learning experience and think about what I can take from past jobs and put into this new job and really see how I can round out my experience and expertise."
Career Roadmap
Kassie's work combines: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Get a summer job or after-school job in the field that you're interested in rather than the typical first jobs that don't relate to your interests. That way you can really explore the field first-hand and determine if that's still something you want to major in and do for a career.
Here's the path I took:
Bachelor's Degree
Consumer Merchandising/Retailing Management
Stephens College
Graduate Degree
Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Loyola University Chicago
High School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
When I was young, I knew I wanted to go to school and make a career for myself, but career paths for women felt very limited to fields such as teaching, nursing, and retail merchandising.
2.
While working for the small business my dad owned during my high school summers, I became motivated to learn more about business.
3.
In college, I merged my experience in business with my interest in fashion and majored in retail merchandising.
4.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Stephens College and started my career at a local department store—while working, I went to graduate school at night for my master’s degree.
5.
After receiving my MBA in marketing, I worked at the Chicago Tribune as a retail marketing manager, then at Marshall Field’s as the vice president of marketing research and planning.
6.
When Target bought Marshall Field’s, I took on the job as the director of public affairs and started the corporate philanthropy program—this is how I made the transition from retail to philanthropy.
7.
During my career, I’ve been out of work and had to look for new jobs a few times, but I’ve loved working in the world of Chicago philanthropy because of how fulfilling it is.
8.
I now work as the executive director for a private charitable foundation that’s focused on education for low-income students.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Women should be teachers or nurses.
How I responded:
When I was young, women's jobs were limited to things like nursing and teaching. But if you have a passion for something else, as I did with business, don't be afraid to test those waters.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
After six years with a company, I unexpectedly lost my job and didn’t know where to go. It's important to look at every job you take as a way to round out your skills and make connections so that you bring new, more rounded skills to your next job.
My parents helped with my undergrad education, but I had to pay my own way through graduate school. I went to night school while working full time and really cut back on my expenses because I knew that it would open more doors for me in the future.