I'M CJ JACKSON, AND THIS IS THE BUSINESS REVIEW
AMIRA LEWALLY MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE, BUT HER EMPLOYER SAW SOMETHING ELSE IN HER THAT MANY EMPLOYERS OVERLOOK. A&E'S SUPERVISING PRODUCER AND FORBES 30 UNDER 30, SHARES HOW SHE GOT HER START, AND THE EVENT THAT CHANGED HER CAREER FOREVER.
"I remember the interview with who became my boss for many years and I still work with him very closely. I think he knew I didn't know certain things that most people that were going for a coordinated position knew because I didn't have an agency background. I worked really hard for it, but he also saw something in me that I think other employers didn't, don't always see in people. Passion. But I think he knew I was very passionate about storytelling and that really wanted to be in this industry and wanted to give a voice to different storytellers.
"I just came from the Forbes summit, so I've met people in different lanes, and we've had these conversations about what drives each of us. And it's, we're all very passionate even though we do very different things about the one thing that we do and like why we do it."
ONE EVENT THAT PROPELLED LEWALLY'S CAREER, ALSO REQUIRED A HEALTHY DOSE OF COURAGE.
"When I came into this position, I was a coordinator so you feel like you're very low level and you don't speak up as much and you just wanna keep your head down in work. It took me, my manager at the time and I thank him for doing this just to say, Hey, you're great at your job, but we'd love to hear what you think, your opinion, your views, and I know that have any scary, but that's also why you're here. Cause the moment I started to open my mouth and give my viewpoints, my career changed forever. So your voice is important. And it took me a while to get the guts to share my voice, but the moment I did, that's when everything changed."
THE BUSINESS REVIEW IS A PRODUCTION OF LIVINGSTON MCKAY AND HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY