Amy Piersak

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT AMY PIERSAK

If you told 21-year-old me that I would not be doing what I set out to do in college, I would have brushed you off. I always thought I would be a teacher, never thought there was something else I would be capable of. Boy did I prove myself wrong! My career path has been anything but what I thought it would be. I started off doing exactly what I thought I would do my entire life – I thought science. Always figured I would be a high school teacher, but I found myself as a middle school science teacher and loved working with the kids. I bounced around school districts – I never got my footing, I lost my passion and truly I was basically told I wasn’t good enough. That hurt and I had to find a way to rebuild myself. Thanks to friends and family, I was able to adapt my resume to a business setting. I now find myself in a job with potential, where I am respected, where I am valued. In my first year, I used my background to create a presentation on Unconscious Bias – this led me to presenting it across the company in a webinar for our Women in Leadership ERG. I then was asked to present at our Annual Meeting on this topic. I had so many people come and talk to me about it afterward. This led to a 2nd year of presenting at the Annual Meeting, this time on “What We Say Matters” and how we can accidentally shut people down using phrases like “that’s not how we do it” or “that won’t work here”. Again, many people coming to talk to me after about their thoughts. It was amazing, me, a non-leader role, having an opportunity to share ideas that might help influence the way someone changes what they do. I have also been able to be a part of the Women in Leadership ERG nearly since the beginning of my time at CHS. I started off being asked to present, then became a committee member, then a board member and now I am a co-lead for CHS Women in Leadership. Looking back at where I started to where I am now, I recognize I still am teaching – just differently than I expected. I will always love to learn and love to share that knowledge with others. This is something that drives me; I thought I lost my passion, but I really lost my direction so many years ago due to lack of support, growth opportunities and positive influences. My passion is still there and is being fed.