Attending Speak to Inspire is one of the best ways to discover to the possibilities of different career paths. This week, we had the pleasure of inviting guest speaker Tiffany Roberts to speak about her experience working for F& M Bank. I will admit, when I heard that she was the Foundation Director for F&M Bank, it sounded like a position that entailed a lot of numbers and a lot of time spent in a cubicle — however, this was most definitely not the case!

You may be having the same question that I first had: ‘What is a Foundation Director?’ Essentially, foundation directors are responsible for directing the operations ofa foundation for an organization. But, in a less fancy way of putting it, foundation directors are responsible for giving out money! Ms. Roberts partners with different non-profit organizations all over Southern California and helps with service projects, such as donating blood, farming, working at ecology centers to learn about sustainable farming, and much more!

A phrase that F&M Bank puts at the core of their service is, “To be a good steward of resources is to serve others.” And, while this is something that F&M uses to guide their employees, it is also something that each of us that can follow every day by helping others in need.

Ms. Roberts received her Bachelors Degree from Notre Dame in 2007 with a major in Marketing and a minor in Italian with the sole purpose of wanting to study abroad! But what she heavily emphasizes is the importance of the service internships that she participated in during the summer:

#1: Camp Scully, a summer camp for Undeserved Youth

#2: Mary’s Shelter, Crisis Pregnancy Shelter

#3: Accion, Micro Lender Internships have the ability to showcase different career opportunities in a real world context, and are perfect, especially in college!

Another point Ms. Roberts made was that we may not always get our dream job after college, but going through career paths different from what you initially planned gives you the opportunity to learn so many new things! By accepting a job offer from Silvana, she learned about product marketing, global strategy, event strategy, leadership, and much more, opening her eyes to new job opportunites  she had never considered.

In order to gain more resources and expertise in her field, Ms. Roberts received a Masters in Business Administration at Boston University with an emphasis in Public and Nonprofit Management and Strategy. With the understanding of nonprofits being businesses, Ms. Roberts asked herself, ‘How can I be an asset to make them better?’

F&M Connects, the part of F&M Bank that Ms. Roberts oversees, has been involved in 2,098 hours of volunteering, 79 organizations served, and 13 corporate events!

After the Speak to Inspire, Ms. Roberts told me, “It’s very exciting to be able to speak to strong women who are in community with each other to grow and support each other, so it’s an honor for me to speak here and to be able to share my story and contribute to the various opportunities that you all will have as you grow not only in education but in so many other experiences!

Ms. Roberts encourages us serve and help others in whatever ways we can, especially since a career path is not always a straight line to follow. She encourages us to be curious and find careers, schools, and opportunities that fit and align with our values and passions!

It was great being able to hear about this career perspective, and I encourage Rosary students take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about new career opportunities at all Speak to Inspire events!