Sara Stevick
Capital One
Mechanicsville, VA USA
"If you spend your life trying to fit the mold others have cast for you, you will likely miss out on some of the most profound and happy experiences that would help you come into your own."
Career Roadmap
Sara's work combines: Education, Design, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Special Education: Teaching of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, K-12
Radford University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Sr. Learning Associate-Instructional Designer:
Bachelor's Degree: Instructional Design or Educational/Instructional Technology
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Became a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at a residential school for the deaf for 3 years right after college.
2.
Moved across country to Arizona and became an Itinerant teacher of the deaf for a year.
3.
Transitioned into general education as a high school biology and anatomy/physiology teacher.
4.
Moved back to Virginia after having my son, and starting teaching at a new school in August 2019.
5.
Was diagnosed with a Giant Cell Tumor of bone in my arm in October 2019, and had to go through a limb salvage surgery where they replaced half of my radius using fibula bone from my leg.
6.
When I returned to my teaching position in February 2020, it quickly became apparent it was not conducive to recovery, and I resigned.
7.
Started my journey to Instructional Design in the middle of a pandemic through self learning and a strong work ethic.
8.
Began working as a Sr. Instructional Designer at Capital One in the Audit Department in July 2020
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Having come to instructional design as a second career after teaching, I experienced quite a few individuals who were of the line of thinking that people should stay their course, especially if their first career was in humanities or social science.
How I responded:
Follow your heart! At the end of the day, it is you who has to work 40 (or more) hours a week in that position, and if you are finding yourself more inspired by a different path then take it! It will be a lot of work, and you will need to weigh the pros and cons, but if you spend your life trying to fit the mold others have cast for you, you will likely miss out on some of the most profound and happy experiences that would help you come into your own.