Michelle Toledo
Dieste
Dallas, TX USA
"Never discount your dreams and, while the road to where you want to go is long, figuring yourself out along the way is half of the experience."
Career Roadmap
Michelle's work combines: Technology, Business, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Chino High
Associate's Degree
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Fullerton College
Graduate Degree
Communications, Focus in Advertising
California State University, Fullerton
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an Account Director:
Bachelor's Degree: AA - Liberal Arts
Graduate Degree: BA - Communications, Focus in Advertising
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
1999 Graduated Chino High School.
2.
1999 attended Mount SAC.
3.
2000 transferred to Fullerton College to prepare for CSUF transfer and to play on their Women's Golf Team. We were 2001 Orange Empire Champions!
4.
2001 graduated from Fullerton College and transferred to CSUF.
5.
2004 graduated from CSUF, had an internship in 2003 which lead to my first job offer and was working prior to graduation.
6.
2008 left the OC ad scene and moved to New York.
7.
2013 came back to OC—left advertising for a year.
8.
2015 got back in the ad game and moved to Dallas, TX. In 2019 bought my first home all by myself.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
"Being a hair stylist is not a career." Obviously I'm not a hairstylist, but my best friend is and makes just as much (if not more than I do) and has a much better work schedule that she gets to set for herself. Granted however she doesn't have PTO.
How I responded:
Give everything you're interested in and that makes you happy a chance! While I chose to go to CSUF and obtain a BA in Advertising and still work in this field, sometimes choosing to go to a community college and geting a certificate can be just as fulfilling and lucrative. ESPECIALLY for those of us who had to pay for college on our own. Never discount your dreams and while the road to where you want to go is long, figuring yourself out along the way is half of the experience.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
With my parents divorce when I was 13, during college I was raised by a single mother and paying for college was something I had to take on all by myself. While getting into such debt at a young age is scary, education is priceless.