Leah Jewell
Pearson
San Diego, CA USA
"Have fun exploring, but be deliberate about it. Don’t just assume things are going to come your way."
Career Roadmap
Leah's work combines: Education, Business, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Explore your options and experiment with different possibilities. However, try to do this exploration as cheaply as you can. If you are unsure about what you want to do, then go to a community college or take vocational classes.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Mass Communication/Media Studies
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Certification
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Stanford University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Growing up, my goal was to be a teacher.
2.
Both of my parents were high school teachers and extremely passionate about their work, but they discouraged me from following in their footsteps because they knew how challenging the field could be.
3.
In high school, I became interested in pursuing medical illustration and even apprenticed alongside a professional for a few years.
4.
Due to criticism and discouragement from my mentor, I ended up deciding not to pursue medical illustration as a career.
5.
Decided to stay close to home and attend the University of New Mexico, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies.
6.
My first job out of college was working for Prentice Hall, an educational publishing company—while I was working there, Prentice Hall was acquired by the Pearson organization.
7.
I started out working in sales, but eventually got promoted into roles in marketing, editorial, and various leadership positions.
8.
I've now worked for Pearson for over 32 years and currently serves as the managing director of career development and employability.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
Don't be a teacher.
How I responded:
Both of my parents were high school teachers and were passionate about what they did, but they dissuaded me from going into that same profession because they didn't want me to struggle. I ended up listening to them and pursued my passion for education in a different way.