“If you ever start to feel inadequate at what you’re doing, don’t let that stop you.”
Whitney McDonald is the Theatre Operator for the Amentum Center of Performing Arts and the Aiken Community Theatre in Aiken, S.C. She acts as a liaison between the city and the theater, runs the box office, and handles communications for the theater.
Interview
There was a technical issue with our audio during this interview, so we are providing just the transcript.
Transcript
Whitney McDonald 00:00 Hi, I am Whitney McDonald. I live in Aiken, South Carolina. I am the theater operator for the Momentum Center for Performing Arts. It is a city-owned facility, and Aiken Community Theater is the main tenant. So, I work mostly for Aiken Community Theater, but I also do work for the city as well. I’m kind of split between both. I am more of a liaison between the city and the Aiken Community Theater.
Haley Hansen 00:28 How long have you been doing that?
Whitney McDonald 00:29 Two years in August. Yeah! coming up in August. It will be two years.
Haley Hansen 00:33 Can you walk me through your typical workday?
Whitney McDonald 00:36 Sure. I come in at 8:00 a.m. every morning, even though the box office isn’t open until 9:00. I use that hour to check voicemails and emails for both the theater and the city. I walk through the theater to make sure everything looks okay, especially if we have a rental that day making sure the stage and the back hallway are clean. After that, I answer phone calls and emails. It really depends on what is going on that week or month. There is always something different to do, which keeps you on your toes.
Haley Hansen 01:21 How did you wind up in that field?
Whitney McDonald 01:23 I’ve been a part of the theater for a long time. The previous theater coordinator was with the theater for over 20 years, and I always thought, “If she ever retired, that would be a really great position to have.” It seemed like a nice job weekend off, evenings free. In mid-2022, she announced she was leaving, so I applied. I knew it was a city position, so I had to interview both the city and the executive director of the theater. I had an interview one day, and two weeks later, they offered me the job.
I already knew everyone in the theater. I’ve always been a performer, mostly on stage, and a bit backstage. I did not realize how much went on behind the scenes until I took the job. I’m still learning new things every day. There is no handbook for this position; my predecessor created the role. So, I’m the second person to fill it in. I just take it day by day with support from the board and executive director.
Haley Hansen 03:08 Was there any specific moment when you realized you wanted this job?
Whitney McDonald 03:25 It was always in the back of my mind as a “Dream Job,” but I never thought it would really happen. I was happy doing theater as a hobby. When the job opened, I saw it as an opportunity. I figured even if I did not get it, I would not regret applying. It still feels surreal that I actually work here, kind of like a dream come true.
Haley Hansen 04:21 What were you doing before you came to this position?
Whitney McDonald 04:24 I did a lot of retail, food service, and worked in banking for a while. Those were the main things. I didn’t have a lot of administrative experience, other than what I gained in banking. I think I got lucky. Knowing the people involved helped a lot.
Haley Hansen 04:45 What was the biggest adjustment when you started?
Whitney McDonald 04:58 Getting comfortable answering the phone was a big one. I keep my personal phone silent all day, like a true millennial. Learning the ticketing system was daunting too. The previous coordinator had already left, so there was no formal training. Volunteers, board members, and the executive director helped, but I had to figure out a lot on my own. Learning quickly and independently was the biggest adjustment.
Haley Hansen 05:50 Are there any specific skills a student or young adult should pick up if they want to work in theater administration?
Whitney McDonald 06:01 A background in administration would help. I did not have much, and I was lucky this position didn’t require a lot of it. It depends on how much administrative responsibility a theater coordinator has. We have a treasurer who handles finances, and our executive team shares administrative duties. Also, being okay working alone is important and there are many days I’m here by myself. Customer service is key, too. You are the face of the box office, so being pleasant and helpful really matters.
Haley Hansen 07:19 That’s helpful.
Whitney McDonald 07:20 I’ve never met another theater operator, so I can’t really compare my role with others. Each theater’s daily operations are unique.
Haley Hansen 07:34 Are there any organizations, programs, or events you’d recommend for people interested in theater?
Whitney McDonald 07:43 We used to offer workshops, improve acting classes but haven’t in a while. That is a great place to start. Or just go to an audition. That is how I got started, I had never done theater before, went to an audition, got cast, and went from there. As for getting a job in the industry, I don’t know the exact route. I just got lucky. Some theaters require degrees or certifications.
Haley Hansen 08:28 It sounds like if you show up and get involved, people will help.
Whitney McDonald 08:33 Absolutely. We always welcome new volunteers and encourage people to come in and help.
Haley Hansen 08:40 Do you have any advice for students pursuing a creative career?
Whitney McDonald 08:46 If you ever start to feel inadequate, don’t let that stop you. I feel that way all the time, but I am still learning. If it’s something you really want to pursue, don’t give up. That’s my advice.
“It’s just, it’s so gratifying to me to be able to just have that privilege to be able to entertain people like that”
Mystery author Caleb Wygal turns personal tragedy into literary triumph through the Myrtle Beach Mysteries series.
Interview
Transcript
Caleb Wygal Interview Transcript
March 2025
Nora Smith 00:00
Okay, so to start, what do you do for work, and where are you currently working from?
Caleb Wygal 00:06
So, I’m an author. I write mystery novels, Myrtle Beach mysteries. And I work from my office, coffee shops, or breweries, but typically from my home office.
Nora Smith 00:16
And where is that in South Carolina? (Surfside Beach) Cool, cool, great area. How long have you been working there? And your official job title is…
Caleb Wygal 00:28
I have been an author for almost 20 years. Full-time for the past three years. And my official job title is just author.
Nora Smith 00:38
Super cool, awesome. What’s one thing you love about working as a creative in South Carolina compared to other locations?
Caleb Wygal 00:49
Compared to other locations I love… so when I started writing, I lived in the upstate of South Carolina, in Greenville. We moved to Concord, North Carolina for 15 years after that, and we’ve been in Surfside Beach – Myrtle Beach area for about five years now. What I love about being in this area compared to other areas, is that whenever I want to get out of my home office to write, I can go to the beach, pop down a chair, sit by and watch the ocean, and type and make up stuff. Yeah, that’s a big, big, big step up from where I was before, just being stuck inland.
Nora Smith 01:35
I can see that. And what does South Carolina bring to your work? Has it had any sort of influence on your writing at all?
Caleb Wygal 01:45
It’s had all the influence on my writing because I write Myrtle Beach mysteries. They wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for South Carolina. So, I mean, I’ve written before I started the Myrtle Beach mysteries. I’ve written mystery novels, a couple action-adventure novels, and basically, I just did that as a hobby. Well, once I started writing the Myrtle Beach mysteries, and I got to book three, that’s when I was selling enough copies that I was able to make a living off of it. So, if it weren’t for South Carolina and Myrtle Beach, I would probably just be doing social media marketing and website development for small businesses.
Nora Smith 02:27
How did you come up with an idea? What brought you to write about the Myrtle Beach mysteries?
Caleb Wygal 02:33
I’ve always been interested in mystery novels, and when we moved down here, my main job then was to take care of our son. I was a stay-at-home dad, and I would do social media marketing, website development, and whenever he was sleeping, I would write whenever I had a spare moment between all that.
We moved down here. He was three. He needed his afternoon naps, and I needed his afternoon naps to maintain my sanity. So, I put him in the back of the car every day we drive up and down Ocean Boulevard about every day. I could see the ocean and coast to classical music. He would sleep for an hour or so, and I just drove back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And it was during one of these trips, I had the idea for this mystery series, set there, set here in Myrtle Beach, and we went home. I did some research, came up with the character, pitched it to Paul Bucha, and they told me to stop working on what I was doing and do this instead.
Nora Smith 03:33
Wow, so cool. That’s super interesting. Wow. What a great start. So how would you describe your local professional community down in Surfside?
Caleb Wygal 03:48
Well, I mean, really, there’s authors. I’ve found authors; other authors are scattered all over the Grand Strand from Garden City to Murrells Inlet to Calabash and on into North Carolina. There’s a much stronger author network here than there was where we lived outside of Charlotte, and I’ve found that out. You know? I regularly have coffee, I had lunch with another author earlier today, because it’s a much more supportive community among each other, and we try to help each other out, and I help others where I can.
Nora Smith 04:28
It’s great. That’s a great community to work with. How would you define professional or personal success in your creative endeavors?
Caleb Wygal 04:41
Professional success – I define it, for me in my station in life is being able to pay the mortgage payment and the car payments. If I can sell enough books that I can do that, then that to me, that’s everything. Yeah, we’re not worried about that. But personally, I enjoy being able to just tell stories to give readers an escape from their lives. And I love hearing readers tell me how much they enjoy the characters and stories and how surprised they were when something crazy happens and just their reactions to.
I love hearing readers say that they have never read books before, but they wanted to start reading this series. So, they started reading the series. I’ve had people tell me they’ve used the books to learn English as a second language. I’ve had people tell me that they have been in the hospital for long stays, and they’ve read the book series as a way to make it through their long hospital stays and recovery periods. And it’s just so gratifying to me to be able to have had that privilege to be able to entertain people like that.
Nora Smith 06:04
Yeah, that sounds awesome. That’s so cool using your books to learn a second language. I would be so taken back if someone said that to me.
Caleb Wygal 06:14
I had a woman, I think last year, I think it was her. She reached out to me; said she was from Peru. And she married a guy who lives somewhere in the upstate of South Carolina, and when she moved here, she started trying to learn English. Her husband gave her one of my books, and she read them all, and she said, “Your books helped me learn English.” I’ve had a Russian friend who did some work around our house, and I know he takes English lessons, and he asked me one day, “Can I use your books to learn English? My English teacher told me to read American books.” So, I gave him some books.
Nora Smith 07:01
That’s so cool. What was your biggest fear when you decided to pursue a career in the arts?
Caleb Wygal 07:13
My biggest fear was that nobody would like it, nobody would buy it, and therefore I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. But that’s always the risk you take when you put yourself out there like that.
Nora Smith 07:30
Could you define a sort of defining moment in your creative journey, something that happened and you were like, wow, this is it? Like, “I really did this,” and kind of taken back about it, about what you could create?
Caleb Wygal 07:47
Oh wow. There’s several that pop into mind.
Nora Smith 07:52
Give them all. Give as many as you’d like.
Caleb Wygal 07:59
So, I’ve been on TV probably a couple dozen times by now. And do you know who Greg Rolls is? So, he headlined the Alabama theater for 20 years, and he has his own theater now in North Myrtle Beach. He’s in local commercials. He has a daytime talk show on the local Fox affiliate. And when I started writing the second book, I wanted the victim to be somebody who was well known in Myrtle Beach, was on billboards and TV, and because it was a main character at a large-scale dinner theater show, they were the victims. I based the victim on a younger version of Greg Rolls. I never met the man before, and so about three months after the book came out, I was invited back. I was invited to a media event at a local restaurant that was about to open. They wanted to have people come in, influences in the community, to maybe talk about the restaurant. I don’t know if you’re familiar with 1229 Shine in the Market Common.
Nora Smith 09:31
It sounds familiar to me. I feel like I’ve definitely seen or heard of it before, right?
Caleb Wygal 09:37
If you go, drive past Barnes and Noble down that street, behind it. Okay, yeah, there’s the building that has a big scuba diver mural on it. So, they invited my wife and I to go there for a media event, and there’s 10 people there total, and in the middle of the restaurant, there is this huge bar. My wife and I were on one side of the bar in the middle, and two women over in the far corner. And throughout our dinner, I kept seeing those women looking over at us. And whenever we left, my wife said, “I’m going to use the restroom.” So, my wife goes the restroom, the two women follows her into the restroom, and I’m waiting for like 10 minutes for her to come out. When she comes out, the two other women are behind her, and they’re dying laughing. And it turned out that the Fox TV station is right behind that restaurant, and the two women work for Greg Rolls, and told him the story about how I’d used him as a victim, as inspiration for a victim in one of the books.
So, they invited me to come on the show. And I said, “I will come on, provided you do not tell Greg anything about this story. You can tell him who I am, but don’t tell him the story.” And so, a couple weeks later, it’s a live show. They invited me there for such and such dates. I came into the studio, Greg came up, introduced himself to me, he said, “I just learned your name 10 minutes ago. I don’t know anything about you, but we’ll wing it. We’ll figure it out.” He said, “My producer gave me some notes, whatever.” And so, whenever it comes time for the interview, to interview me. He said we’re on live TV, and he looks down at his notes. He said, “My producer says there’s something about me, to do with one of your most recent books, and what was it?” And I said, “Well, I looked to my wife while I was figuring out who was going to be the victim in this novel. And we were watching television one day, and you came on the screen, I looked at my wife and I said, what if somebody like him?” And I pointed right at him; you wash up dead with a sword plunged through your chest one day.
People kind of came out of their offices to watch this, I guess they knew it was going to happen, and he looked at the camera, “Did you kill me,” like, no, I didn’t kill you. I killed somebody like you, but, but after that, it kind of went viral in the area, and that’s really when the book started to take off. It was after that interview, because you can find it on YouTube. That was a big moment. I’ve been on there probably six, seven or more times. They just liked the way that he and I went back and forth together.
Another one, and probably one of the most rewarding ones, was last year. My son was at elementary over next to Prestwick. I met one of the teachers at a book signing, and she invited me to come speak to her class, her fourth-grade class. Well, the fourth-grade class, there’s four different classes in fourth grade, and they said, once you come in, talk to the students. And so, I go in whenever they want me to come, and they lead me to their small gym. And there’s 150 kids in there just waiting to hear me speak. And it was just so many smiling little precious faces. They were so eager to hear me speak, and I gave my little speech, and we played a little game about using your senses to solve mysteries. They wanted me to sign little pieces of paper so I could give my autograph and that was just the best.
I’ve spoken in front of crowds of, you know, 60 to 100 people and it always just amazes me that people enjoy the series, they want to hear me talk about the books. And it’s just a rewarding thing that I never thought would happen in my life, because 25 years from this past Sunday, 25 years ago, I was in a car accident where I had a severe brain injury. I was just out of high school. I hadn’t started college or anything, and I had to relearn how to walk, how to talk, how to write my own name. Again, I never set foot in a college classroom until a couple years ago, whenever I taught a mystery writing class for Alli at Coastal.
Nora Smith 14:48
Wow, that is so inspirational.
Caleb Wygal 14:52
They told me I would never be able to work a full-time job or do any hard labor or anything like that. If you know me, where I’m coming from, where I’ve been to get to this point where I can go talk to groups of people and entertain people just by just making stuff up. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for more. If the car accident hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have asked for a better career.
Nora Smith 15:20
Wow. That’s a really cool story. Well going sort of off the last question, in a sense, what was the best and worst advice you’ve ever received in your career?
Caleb Wygal 15:40
Oh, that’s a good one. Instead of writing standalone books, write a series and have the books connect, like each book has its own self-contained story or mystery, but I have a storyline that connects them all together. And so, I went from writing individual books before I came up with this series idea where I had the main character trying to figure out, through the course of the series, what happened to his wife. Because his wife died two years before the series started, and he always thought it was of natural causes, but he learns through the course of the first book that it wasn’t natural causes. And so, he’s spent the next six, seven books trying to figure out what happened to his wife, and that was really what drew readers in, more than just individual mysteries. The best advice I’ve gotten is to write a series.
There’s a lot of bad advice out there. There’s a time where I spent a lot of money on something, I’m thinking about doing this again, because I’m just, I’m just a glutton for punishment. I spent $700 on a billboard advertisement that just got crickets and by that, I mean, that’s a lot of money for somebody like me, because I’m not John Grisham, I’m not some of these really big-name authors. I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on advertisements like that, so I’ll put down $700 on a billboard ad for a month that did nothing, and then that came off to the advice of another author said, “Hey, I’ve done billboards where I live, and they work.” Well, good for you, probably because there’s so many billboards here in Myrtle Beach, nobody pays attention. They just end up being background noise. That was one of the worst pieces of advice, to get a billboard.
Nora Smith 18:05
Well, that’s unfortunate you spent that much money on that.
Caleb Wygal 18:09
Now you learn, and I am thinking about doing it again because I have another book coming out in May. It takes place at the Legends Theater where you have all these impersonators, celebrity impersonators like Elvis Presley, Dolly, Parton, Tina Turner, The Blues Brothers, and Michael Jackson. So, they go to the theater, and somebody collapses on stage and dies. And that’s what they’re trying to figure out.
Nora Smith 18:35
Exciting! I’m going to have to read these books. I’m from New Hampshire, so I’m not originally from here, so I’ve never heard of them, and I’m very intrigued.
Caleb Wygal 18:47
You can get them at every bookstore in Myrtle Beach.
Nora Smith 18:52
Lovely. I will definitely have to read them, especially the new ones coming out. That’s basically all I have. Are there any questions that you wish I had asked at all?
Caleb Wygal 19:03
No. So when I go and give an author talk, I already know a lot about what I’m going to talk about. I’ve done it so much, and a lot of what I just gave you ends up being in my author talks. It ends in some shape or form or order or whatever. I can’t think of much that you didn’t go over. Oh, maybe, like, how I really started writing books.
Okay, so basically, like I told you, with the car accident, I wasn’t able to work full time jobs, especially the first couple years after that. But my uncle owned a hearing aid office in Greenville, on the upside of South Carolina, and I worked for him for a while. Basically, I would sit in his office, behind a computer or behind a desk. This is 2003 or 2004. I would answer phone calls, schedule appointments for them, change hearing aid batteries and clean out the wax from hearing aids. But it was a really slow job. So, I read a lot of books. And I read so many books, I started to read in front of clients, and he told me one day that I couldn’t read books anymore because it didn’t look good for him or his business if I read books all the time.
So, there’s a computer on the desk, like I said 2003-2004, and it was not hooked up to the internet. There was no such thing as Facebook or social media or anything like that. There were no smartphones and so all he had on that computer was Microsoft Paint, Microsoft Word, and scaling software. So, I started writing short stories and here we are, 20 years later. That’s basically how it all started, out of boredom.
Nora Smith 20:58
Wow, that’s awesome. Well, I’m glad you had that question, because I did not have that written down, but yeah, that’s basically it. Do you have any professionals in the creative field that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed? And if nothing comes to mind right now, I’m going to send an interview press release form later, and there’ll be a little form you can write someone in. So, no worries.
Caleb Wygal 21:25
Somebody that might be interesting for you to talk to, her name is Kelly Burton. Kelly Capriotti Burton, another fellow author who originally moved to the area with her husband. It’s been like 10 to 15 years since they’ve moved here. But they came to start a theater where the Hollywood Wax Museum is, they were going to have a theater there. It was the Pat Boone theater. I don’t know some gospel musician or something like that, there was going to be a theater there. So, she and her husband, upped their family from Chicago, moved to Myrtle Beach, got in to start getting ready to start the theater, and before the theater opened, they shut it down. You must ask her.
She and her husband are both very, very in tune with the arts. He has a band. Her daughters are both in dance school. Performing arts, stuff like that. And she writes books as well. So, she’s somebody who’s multi-talented, and owns a business too. Have you ever heard of the Black Dog Running Company? They have one business in downtown Conway and another one on Farrows Parkway. But she owns that with another friend of hers, and she’d be a good person for you to talk to.
Nora Smith 23:03
Great! I wrote down her name.
Caleb Wygal 23:06
I can whenever we get off here, I’ll send you her email address.
“I define success by being able to wake up and actually see my work impacting the lives of others.”
Desiree Williams is a licensed esthetician and educator. Desiree is turning creative passion into community impact, one lash, lesson, and life at a time.
Interview
Transcript
Emma Plutnicki 00:03
Okay, so to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from?
Desiree Williams 00:08
Well, my name is Desiree Williams. I am a licensed esthetician and a licensed esthetics instructor. I do have a suite that I work from, and I perform master extension applications as well as teaching it.
Emma Plutnicki 00:22
Amazing. And how long have you been doing that?
Desiree Williams 00:25
It’s been going on for six years.
Emma Plutnicki 00:30
Okay, a good amount of time. So, what is a typical day? Look like for you?
Desiree Williams 00:36
A typical day for me kind of starts like today. Wake up, do all my good, do all the things I need to do, and then run and go see clients. So, I like to get my clients out of the way at the beginning of the day, so in the evening I can do all of my marketing, all of my mentee calls. I teach a lot on Tiktok. So, I do free lash artist classes on Tiktok every day at 9pm so that’s basically what my day looks like. I start immediately getting into it after I do my gratitude and drink my tea and do everything that I need to do.
Emma Plutnicki 01:14
Yeah, amazing. And so how did you gain the skills to be successful in your career? I would
Desiree Williams 01:20
Say networking as well as reading. One thing that I learned is that if you want information out there it is always in a book, it’s somewhere in a book. I don’t even like Google anymore. I love to find a good book that talks about whatever topic I want to learn. So, I also watch a lot of like Alex hermosi, Grant Cardone, those guys to help me scale and do things like that. So, I feel like just networking and being a student forever has assisted me in getting where I am today.
Emma Plutnicki 01:50
Yeah, for sure. And did you have any fears when you were going into this career?
Desiree Williams 01:54
Oh, yes, plenty. I’m the first business owner in my family. So, it was a learning curve. I don’t even know where to start with my fears. I always was like, oh, well, how am I going to do this to get the inventory or the main thing was capital. So, a lot of times when you don’t have previous experience in business, it’s hard to get capital, especially if you’re not educated on things like the SBA and stuff like that. So, getting started finding a space to work was, you know, kind of hard as well. I started from my home and grew my business and was able to leave my home. So, there were a lot of fears, but thankfully, with faith, I overcame all of that.
Emma Plutnicki 02:35
Yeah, and did you have anybody along the way giving you any advice, any mentors or family members? Do you remember any of the best or worst pieces of advice that you were given?
Desiree Williams 02:44
I’m not gonna lie, like a couple weeks ago, my husband gave me the best pep talk ever, because I was like, I’m just gonna go get me a job. I’m not gonna have to worry about anything. I don’t have to follow up behind people. Just go get a job. So, I would definitely say my husband, he very, very much inspires me, even though, you know, it’s like, oh, it’s your husband. He should do that. No, some days he’s not going with my shenanigans, and other days he is. So, he was a big integral part of growing the business and doing things or learning how to do things the right way. So, some of the best advice I’ve gotten from him was, just do it. Stop overthinking it, just do it. And some of the worst advice I’ve ever gotten was not from him, but just from in general, like listening to social media. Like on social media, people tell you do ABC, you do it, and you don’t get the results that they promised. So, I learned not to use social media as a guy. But as far as the inspiration goes.
Emma Plutnicki 03:42
Yeah, that’s a good point. And have you been able to maintain a healthy work life balance with your work? Is it hard to kind of separate your personal life from your professional life
Desiree Williams 03:54
In the past? Yes, I was at the point where my business was my personality. So, like every time someone sings seeing me, they’ll be like, oh, its flash girl dance, you know? So, over the years, I was actually diagnosed with lupus at the height of my career. So that goes to show that when you first start in your business, create systems that are going to help your business continue to do what it needs to do, even if you’re not behind the chair or you can’t work. So now, after that diagnosis, I have a healthy work life balance. But before I didn’t, I woke up immediately checking emails, immediately doing this, but putting implement in business hours has been a great help to me, and now I feel like once I follow my business hours, the balance is it’s not even balanced. It’s harmony for me, yeah,
Emma Plutnicki 04:40
Perfect. And with a career like this, I’m sure it can be hard to kind of define what success looks like. So, what does success look like for you? Is it a positive review? Is it financial based? How do you define success in your professional career?
Desiree Williams 04:58
Oh, that’s a good one. I. I define success by being able to wake up and actually see my work impacting the lives of others. A lot of times, like in the career that I’m doing as an esthetician, a lot of people go to school, and they get done with school, and they never take their boards, or they learn lash extensions, and they never actually start the business or take clients. So, with me being able to teach over 1500 students, I’ve learned that my success is in helping people change their lives in a real, true way, where you know they’re not worried about what’s happening next, they actually have a plan, a strategy, to get things done. So, I define my success by how many lives I can positively impact, which is, which has been a lot. It’s kind of overwhelming once you think about it, but just being myself and letting them know, like, hey, if I can do it, you can do it too. My success comes from that. Yeah,
Emma Plutnicki 05:53
I love that. And has there been one specific moment that you can remember throughout your career that kind of stands out as having a significant impact on you, whether that’s your greatest success or just something that was kind of the pinnacle of your creativity.
Desiree Williams 06:08
I would say, honestly, my loop is diagnosis. Then the reason I say that is because I had to quickly pivot into not being behind the chair as much to oh my goodness, my hands are numb today. I can’t work today. What? What else can I do to help impact others? That moment where it’s like, I don’t I realize that I don’t physically have to be touching people to impact them. That was very pivotal for me, because social media is huge. You can. You could be in China right now. We’ll be talking like you get what I’m saying. So, um, just understanding that, boom, this is, I don’t know, it’s a lot, it’s a lot, it’s it’s a lot. And I would say, just, excuse me, I’m so sorry. No, you’re so good. Questions over here, like, I can think of multiple moments that’s great talking. I was thinking of another moment like, I was just like, whoa. You don’t realize how much you’re pouring into something till you step back and look at the bigger picture. So just the bigger picture, that’s really it?
Emma Plutnicki 07:17
Yeah, no, for sure, and working in South Carolina has that had any specific impact on you the state as a whole? Have you worked in other places, and does South Carolina specifically have any impact on your work?
Desiree Williams 07:30
Oh, very much. So I’m completing a course with Columbia’s business office. It’s called The Next Level micro entrepreneur, and I’ve never seen something like that in any other state, like just researching like, oh, I want to leave South Carolina. Where am I going to move to? What type of business support would I have? One thing that I will say about South Carolina in whole, is that our bit the business realm of it, those who are in those higher seats, they do want to see smaller micro businesses succeed. And today is, well, tomorrow will be week nine of the course. And I always tell anybody, if you want to run a business, definitely take this course, because it tells you, step by step on how to run your business and what to do, how to find loans with the SBA. This all the resources you think we didn’t have here in South Carolina that we do have, the class is only like $50 so I was just like, whoa, this information. It needs to be more. So South Carolina has definitely impacted my business like that, because it shows me that I have the resources here to do better than do the things that I want to do to impact the community. I don’t really I only work in Columbia, but I do have a lot of people that travel from Charleston. I had a young lady travel from North South Carolina, and I have no idea. I was like, I have no idea where that’s at. But just being born and raised here, it was, it’s great to have run a business here and see how things are changing. And it’s a really great straight state, especially if you want to run a business. So, yeah, I love my city.
Emma Plutnicki 09:02
Yeah, no, amazing. And how is the local working professional community? Is there a lot of support? Is, are there any, like, weekly meetings you go to? Or what kind of support do you receive within South Carolina,
Desiree Williams 09:16
It’s so many to name. They have different things, like, I’ll go on like Facebook and see what they have for meetups, like networking mixers and things like that. I don’t do anything weekly as far as networking. The last 10 weeks, I have been doing that class with the Columbia Business Office, and then just the esthetics community here is very loving, very huge. You know, everyone wants to see each other win, so I love that aspect of running my business here as well.
Emma Plutnicki 09:48
Yeah, amazing. And just as we wrap up, is there anything else that you’d like to add about your job, your career, any advice or anything like that? I’ll
Desiree Williams 09:59
Give some advice. If you are creative, because I’m definitely a creative I love with last extension, application, and just being an esthetician, doing application and things like that, you have to have that type of creativity so each person can have like, their signature look. So if you are creative, I just recommend to stick to it. Don’t try to see, do what other people are doing, do what works for you and your business will flourish.
Emma Plutnicki 10:25
Yeah, I love that. Well. Thank you so much. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. I know everything that you said will definitely help anybody looking to pursue a similar career. So really appreciate it.
Angela Yemi Gibson is a medical biller by day and an arts visionary by night: founder of a nonprofit African Dance Company in Spartanburg, SC.
Audio Interview
Transcript
00:02
Emma Plutnicki: So to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from?
00:07
Angela Yemi Gibson: I work from home. I am a medical biller, and I work for a billing company called Medical Billing Center Incorporated,
00:16
Emma Plutnicki: Okay, amazing. How long have you been working there?
00:18
Angela Yemi Gibson: Six years.
00:20
Emma Plutnicki: Okay, amazing. And that’s based in South Carolina?
00:23
Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, it is in South Carolina.
00:25
Emma Plutnicki: Okay, how does working in South Carolina specifically influence your work, if at all?
00:32
Angela Yemi Gibson: Well, I have a nonprofit that I do outside of this, but, you know, being a nonprofit, you have to at least have some type of stream. So I do both. I don’t know, I moved here from Colorado, so it’s a little different,
00:48
Emma Plutnicki: Okay, yeah. And what is your nonprofit?
00:52
Angela Yemi Gibson: My nonprofit is an African Dance Company.
00:54
Emma Plutnicki: Okay, amazing and how long have you been doing that for?
00:57
Angela Yemi Gibson: Over 20 years!
00:59
Emma Plutnicki: Wow, and you started that?
01:01
Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, I started dancing with other companies in Ohio, and then I moved to Colorado, and now I’m here. So I have my own nonprofit here in South Carolina.
01:11
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, what made you want to start that?
01:14
Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s something different. It’s always changing. It keeps people engaged and it also brings a sense of community to everyone that’s involved.
01:27
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, for sure. So what does a typical work day for you look like these days? What’s expected of you on a daily basis? What are your responsibilities
01:36
Angela Yemi Gibson: For my primary job?
01:38
Emma Plutnicki: Both.
01:40
Angela Yemi Gibson: So I work every day, Monday through Friday, from 7 to 4:30. Iam responsible for making sure that claims are clean when they go out of the system. I am responsible for fixing denied claims and rebilling those claims, patient statements, speaking to patients about their balances, communicating with the clinics and the owners about any account issues thatI have. Teamwork. and in my nonprofit, I am responsible for all the choreography, all the booking, all the costumes and the musicality.
02:21
Emma Plutnicki: Wow. And how are you able to manage both at the same time? Because I’m sure both of them are pulling you in different directions.
02:27
Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, I’m not able to manage at all. I’m not good. I’m not able to manage it all. Since I work from home, I hop from one thing to another. So it’s one moment I’m here, then the next minute I’m there. So fortunately, I have the flexibility with my job to be able to do that.
02:43
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, and are you able to manage a healthy work life balance, or is that difficult to manage?
02:50
Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s difficult to manage most of the time because most of our- I teach classes during the week and we perform and rehearse during the week or during the weekend, so it was kind of wherever. But fortunately, I have a good support system within my family, so I’m able to juggle both pretty, pretty good.
03:09
Emma Plutnicki: Amazing, and within both of your jobs, how would you define success? I feel like it’s difficult sometimes with creative careers, especially, you know, some people say it’s monetary, some people say it’s more ideological. So how do you define success in your professional career and also just in your personal life?
03:30
Angela Yemi Gibson: In my- my professional career, I would label success financially, because as much work as you do, you want to getpaid for the work that you do. But as far as my nonprofit work, I label success by the people’s response. So if no one responds when you’re doing something, that means you’re really probably not doing a good job. So if it’s- I’d rather deal with customer engagement and the responses of people in order to garner my success for my nonprofit.
04:02
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, makes sense. And did you have any fears when you started your nonprofit?
04:07
Angela Yemi Gibson: Oh absolutely. Whether I will be successful in doing it correctly, and will it be sustainable?
04:17
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah. And how were you able to kind of overcome those fears?
04:21
Angela Yemi Gibson: Just keep going. I have a team of 10 so far, and we have been going strong for these past few years, since we started the nonprofit, so it’s been pretty good. So I mean, dealing-working with people that you trust and that are dependable is key. If you don’t have those types of people involved, then you probably won’t be successful.
04:46
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, no, that definitely makes sense. And overall, have you been able to get advice from anybody? Is there any advice that stands out as either exceptionally good or just terrible advice that you received along the way?
05:02
Angela Yemi Gibson: I have received a mixture of both. I’m online a lot, so I tend to research more than anything else. So I’ve received a mixture of good and bad advice. Some people say, you know, don’t- What do people say? Don’t confide so much in the people that you work with, because the more that they know, the more that people can possibly use against you, so to speak. But I think that if you are more transparent with people, people are more- tend to either appreciate you or to be more understanding if you’re a little bit more transparent. But I’ve also learned that a closed mouth don’t get fed. You gotta ask. Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help if you need it.
05:57
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, I love that. No, that’s great advice. And throughout your career, has there been any specific projects that you’ve worked on that kind of stand out as having a significant impact on you, or just something that you know is something that has kind of been the pinnacle of your career? Anything that stands out?
06:18
Angela Yemi Gibson: This year we did, for- this is for my nonprofit, I can’t really say for my my primary job, because we do the same thing every day.
06:26
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, okay.
06:28
Angela Yemi Gibson: But as far as my nonprofit, we successfully completed our very first residency- artist in residency. So that was a week long, and it was new, and it was completely different, and it was way out of the comfort zone, but it was successful. It was very successful.
06:48
Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. Congratulations on that. And what was that? Where did that take place?
06:53
Angela Yemi Gibson: It was in Monks Corner, South Carolina, and we taught fourth grade kids and kindergarteners for five days.
07:01
Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. And how has the community reacted to your projects and just overall, your nonprofit?
07:08
Angela Yemi Gibson: Wonderfully. They’ve been very supportive here where I am, because I live in Spartanburg, so they’ve been very supportive here. Also, I am a dance teacher at one of the ballet centers here, and they have been so supportive to where they’ve written grants to be able to get make sure that myself and my two drummers are paid for our classes. So the we’ll be able to offer the classes for free to the community. So they’re free to the community, but yet we get paid for our time.
07:41
Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. And have you seen the community, like the local professional community in South Carolina, generally helping?And is it tight knit, or is there any gaps in it?
07:51
Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s tight knit. I really think that if you don’t know the right people, you’re not in specific circles. So I think that it’s really click-ish, so you just gotta know the right people. And unfortunately, I don’t know a lot of people, so I just stick to where I’m at work, who I know.
08:09
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, how are you able to have those conversations with people? Are there any, like, networking events or anything within South Carolina that you’d recommend for people if they’re trying to get in the door with people.
08:21
Angela Yemi Gibson: I honestly have no idea. I really need to know those things myself, because I need to get out there and network a little bit more.
08:30
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, I’m sure at some some points, it’s just being in the right place at the right time.
08:34
Angela Yemi Gibson: Yeah, and it’s just finding those right places in the right time, that’s the problem.
08:38
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, exactly. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for your time. Just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share any advice for future people looking for a career in your field?
08:52
Angela Yemi Gibson: Keep swimming. What I can say is, honestly, don’t waste your money on college, unless you’re going to do something specific to that particular major that you’re going for. If you go to trade school, go to trade school, but stick to your guns and just remain positive.
09:17
Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you so much. I really- You’re welcome!
“You should love what you do, because even if you love it, there are still days that feel a little mundane.”
Kelley McDonnell is a content manager at Visit Myrtle Beach. She channels her passion for storytelling into promoting her hometown’s creative spirit.
Interviews
Transcript
Emma Plutnicki 00:02
Okay, so to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from?
Kelley McDonnell 00:08
Okay, I am the content manager for Visit Myrtle Beach. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Emma Plutnicki 00:13
Amazing. How long have you been doing that?
Kelley McDonnell 00:16
For just about a year.
Emma Plutnicki 00:19
Okay, amazing. And so, what’s one thing that you love about working in Myrtle Beach specifically?
Kelley McDonnell 00:25
In Myrtle Beach specifically? Well, I am from here originally, so when I majored in Film and Media at South Carolina, and then when I graduated, I went to LA and did film production over there, and then I went to Nashville, and then Savannah, Georgia, and then I had kind of gathered all of this information and new skills and decided that it was time to move back home and apply those skills. So, I think my favorite part about working in Myrtle Beach is that I am from here originally, and I feel like all of the growth that I’ve seen since I was last here, when I was in high school or early college, has been insane. So now I feel grateful to have a job where I can kind of show that to the rest of the world, how much Myrtle Beach has grown, but in a creative way.
Emma Plutnicki 01:16
Yeah, amazing. And so, you’ve been all over the country, it sounds. So, what is special about South Carolina, and does it have any unique influence on your work as compared to other places that you’ve worked in?
Kelley McDonnell 01:32
Yeah well, I think again, it’s more because I’m from here originally, that makes it feel extra special. But I think that there’s a lot of interest in South Carolina. I know that there are some other destinations within the state that are looking into having a local film commission. I know there’s a lot of film production and sorry, that’s my level of expertise. So that’s what I always talk about. I know there’s film production a little bit in Charleston. I know we here at Visit Myrtle Beach are very passionate about starting up a local film commission here as well. So I just think there’s a ton of interest, and I think that eventually it’s going to start to catch on, and people such as yourself and the people that are studying these types of careers are going to find a way to make it happen, because I feel like that’s kind of what I did, is I didn’t feel like there was a lot of opportunity for me at the time when I had graduated high school and even a little bit of college, and then I kind of went out and learned and came back, and then I realized I could do anything. I can do it here, for sure. So I think it just takes some education and some other people that work within South Carolina who can kind of share what they’ve learned and what they’ve gathered over the years and hopefully inspire people to stay and not feel like they have to go out of state to work in the arts.
Emma Plutnicki 02:57
Yeah, amazing. And so, how would you describe the local professional community here? Is there a lot of support that you lean on?
Kelley McDonnell 03:04
Yeah, definitely. When I first moved back here from Savannah, there were a lot of local people that worked in film production that were freelance, so this was all they did. And so, I was able to find some work through them, and because of that, that was kind of how I got introduced to the folks at Visit Myrtle Beach and how I have the job that I have now. But I think, my superiors here at my company, are all very passionate about moving it forward, especially professors at CCU like Michael, you know, who have expressed interest and in growing the education of film production and just art in general, in the area. So, I feel, like I said, there’s a lot of interest. It’s just a matter of taking the actual steps.
Emma Plutnicki 03:56
Yeah, definitely. And within a creative career, it can be hard sometimes to know what success is. So how do you define success, both personally and professionally?
Kelley McDonnell 04:08
That’s a great question. I feel very passionately that success, to me, is defined as feeling excited about getting up and going to work every day. And, you know, obviously there are those days where it’s, you know, but generally speaking, I feel very grateful to do what I love. I know that there are a lot of people out there who don’t and who dread going to work and who just do it for the paycheck, and I feel grateful that I love what I do. I love the people I get to interact with. I love creating and putting content out there for everybody to see. I love interacting with people. I love knowing what they think, and how can we be better, and everything’s always moving and changing and evolving. And I love that kind of fast paced speed of it. But I think that success is just looking forward to going to work and not feeling like you’re just collecting a paycheck. That’s how I feel, at least.
Emma Plutnicki 05:02
Yeah, that’s definitely refreshing to hear. But did you have any fears going into this career?
Kelley McDonnell 05:07
Yeah, definitely when I first started. Actually, the majority of my career up until this point has been freelance, and that is definitely scary because you don’t have any job security, and kind of have to fend for yourself to get work, there’s a lot of hustle involved. And that’s really why I wanted to sit down and talk with you about this. Because when I was in college, somebody came and spoke to our class about, you know, the first couple of years getting into the industry are really hard, but you just have to keep pushing through. You kind of feel like you’re not sure which way is up and what’s happening, but, if you just keep your head down and keep putting the work in and remind yourself how much you love it and how great it’s going to be when it does work out, that’s kind of what got me through. But the biggest challenge was definitely not knowing when my next job was. Am I ever going to get a check from those people that were kind of sketchy, that kind of thing? So, it was definitely a little nerve wracking, but it got me to the point where I am today. So just, you know, keeping your head down, keep on trucking. Do follow your instincts kind of thing.
Emma Plutnicki 06:16
Yeah, I love that. And throughout your career, has there been a specific moment or project that you’ve worked on that really stands out in terms of, you know, having a significant impact on you or your creative journey?
Kelley McDonnell 06:30
Yeah, that’s a very interesting question. A handful of years ago, I had the opportunity to direct a promo for an FX show called The Patient, and the lead in that show was Steve Carrell, so I got to interview him and direct him in some promo work for that show, for FX, and that, to me, really felt like an “I made it” moment for me and I think it was just because I had worked with a ton of celebrities previously, but never in the director’s chair. And so that was my first time as like, I’m the person that people are asking the questions to. I’m the one making the decisions. And it felt very natural, and I felt like I was in the right place, doing the right thing. And it felt very good. And then kind of after that, it was like, Okay, now what am I going to do next? So it’s kind of a, it was a pivotal point in my career, because I felt like I had hit this ceiling, almost in a way, and then it was like, Okay, what am I going to do next? And it just kind of fueled me into the next phase of my career, which is how I ended up here.
Emma Plutnicki 07:41
Yeah, that’s amazing. That must have been incredible to work on that project.
Kelley McDonnell 07:46
Yeah, it was really fun.
Emma Plutnicki 07:51
Yeah, oh my gosh. And so along the way, I’m sure there’s been roadblocks and struggles, but has there been anybody that’s offered you advice, either good advice or bad advice? What kind?
Kelley McDonnell 07:59
So many people, I can’t even tell you. I mean, there have been people that I met on set that day that were complete strangers, that are just kind of like, Hey, I know what it’s, what it’s like to have just moved to LA or to have just graduated college, keep doing what you’re doing, you know, whatever, whatever. And I’ve had the opposite, where people are like, Get out now you’re still young. Like, get a get a real job, while you still can, you know, go learn how to be an accountant. I wish I did, or whatever. And you just kind of have to take each of those things with the grain of salt, the good and the bad, because it’s not always as glamorous as people think, and it’s also not always as bad as people may think. So, at the end of the day, I think you just have to trust yourself and remember that it’s just opinions. No matter who it’s coming from, it’s just opinions. At the end of the day, all that matters is what you think and how you be yourself. So yes, I’ve gotten a ton of advice, good and bad over the years from so many different types of people. But you know, you just kind of have to internalize it and decide how you want to use it from there.
Emma Plutnicki 09:09
Yeah, for sure. And so nowadays, what does your typical work day look like? What do you usually like? What is expected of you? What do you get into?
Kelley McDonnell 09:19
So, it’s really fun. It’s different all the time, which is what I like. I think a lot of people who work in the arts and creative people like for it to be different. But since I am the content manager for Visit Myrtle Beach, I kind of manage all of, any kind of content that we put out, from social media to blog articles on our website, any kind of advertisements that we put in any publications or on any websites or anything. I’ll write all the copy for it and determine which images to use. We also do commercial shoots here for the destination, which, again, is why I love my job, because I’m passionate about the city, because it’s my hometown. So yeah, we do commercials, photo shoots, things like that. So, day to day, it’s more, it’s a lot of scheduling, which I learned how to do in LA on set, which is great. So, it’s definitely a lot of scheduling, a lot of coordination with a lot of people that are local. But I meet so many different people and interact with so many different people every week that I feel like this world just keeps getting smaller and smaller, in a good way. Yeah, so sometimes we will step out and go shoot something at the boardwalk. Sometimes, you know, we do have the Myrtle Beach classic. So sometimes I’m out on the golf courses doing some content for that. So it’s definitely always exciting, it’s different every day, which is great.
Emma Plutnicki 10:42
Yeah, that must be a lot of fun. And so, I’m sure there’s certain events that go late into the night or on weekends. So how are you able to manage a better like work life balance?
Kelley McDonnell 10:53
Yeah, that’s a great question. That’s a great question. That was something that I had really struggled with when I was freelancing, because, like I said, I didn’t know when my next job was coming, so any job that was offered to me, I took it because I didn’t want to be ungrateful. I wanted to always take advantage of any work that was coming my way. So, I did not have a good work life balance. But I feel like that’s what your 20s are for, is figuring that out. So yeah, I have definitely gotten a lot better at it. There are, thankfully for me in this job, the events and the things that require me to stay late or work on the weekend are fun. So, it doesn’t feel like work, like going to work the Myrtle Beach classic on a Saturday and Sunday. It doesn’t feel like, Oh, I’m losing my Saturday and Sunday. It’s like, I get to go to the Myrtle Beach classic for free, and I get to just walk around there, enjoy the weather, interact with the people who are having a good time. So it just depends there. And that’s not to say that there are some times where things run a little late, and it’s a little bit of a bummer, but I always just practice gratitude, and I think that’s the best way of looking at it, is that, you know, if I, if I didn’t go to these events, that means that I don’t have this job, and who knows what I would be doing if I didn’t. So, I think just always kind of looking for the positives, when things like that are always going to come up. I think in any job, any career, where you have to do something that’s on your own time, or you might have to miss something so you can go to a work thing. But I think just reminding yourself the good parts of it and keep you in check.
Emma Plutnicki 12:30
Yeah no, that’s a great way to reframe that. I love that, so amazing. So just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your path, your career, or any advice along the way?
Kelley McDonnell 12:44
Yeah I mean, I would just say advice that really worked for me, like I was saying kind of towards the beginning of this is just trust yourself if you life is too short to do something that you don’t want to do, especially when it’s, you know, we’re expected to work 40 hours a week for however many years of our life, you should love it, you should love what you do, because even if you love it, there are still days that feel a little mundane. So may as well love it the majority of the time. But yeah, and just think, you know, when I was growing up, it was definitely like, go to college, get the job that’s gonna make money. You know, Do this, do this, do this, do this. And I’m so glad I didn’t do that. I’m so so glad that I stuck with art and figured out a way to make it work for me. And I just would say that anybody who is passionate about it, you should try to do your passion for work.
“Each moment that you’re able to get up again and keep pushing, that’s success.”
Cynthia Ford is the Founder and CEO of Cynthia O Writing & Consulting, a South Carolina-based firm specializing in writing services, consulting, and speaking engagements. Her company focuses on three core areas; authoring inspirational literature, providing strategic business consulting, and delivering transformative speaking engagements
Interview
Transcript
Emma Plutnicki
So, to start, what do you do for work? And where are you currently working from?
Cynthia Ford
Okay, I’m working from home, and as of 2023, I left for my full-time job to work on my own business. So, I own Cynthia O Writing and Consulting, and I have three portions of that business. One, I’m an artist in residence for literature. I’m also an author, and also I help businesses with consulting and writing needs, such as grant writing and other additional writing services.
Emma Plutnicki
Okay, cool and how long have you been doing that for? Since 2023?
Cynthia Ford
Full time? 2023 you know, I have done some other things part time as I was working full time. And I’ve been doing some social media content management as well, just part time until I launched that.
Emma Plutnicki
Okay, nice and where is home for you?
Cynthia Ford
Mullins.
Emma Plutnicki
Okay, nice. And so, what does a typical day look like for you? What’s expected of you on a daily basis, and what kind of responsibilities do you have?
Cynthia Ford
The day, the typical day, really just doesn’t exist, you know, but I do plan things out ahead of time, you know, on my schedule, times to meet with those who are interested in services. I set certain days for that. I also set time aside for researching, for grant writing. So, I just split it up. You know, I split up my day for the first portion of the day is my time where I’m, you know, I had that moment to myself, whether I’m just outside, meditating, reading, listening to podcasts, or just preparing for the day. And, you know, then I’ll begin to do my social media posts for the businesses that I help with that. And then I’ll begin additional things that I have to do for other businesses, whether it’s the grant writing services I’m consulting and reaching out and networking with other people where I can, you know, spread my services. Um, I also save time for writing, as relates to me being an author, so I have another book that will be coming out, so I set aside specifically time just to make sure that I’m on task when it comes to things I have to publish or networking regarding the books that I’m doing.
Emma Plutnicki
Nice and so the businesses that you consult for, are they, oftentimes, South Carolina based, or are they around the country?
Cynthia Ford
So far, they’ve been only South Carolina based. I’m not opposed to, you know, reaching out to other businesses outside of South Carolina. But so far, yeah.
Emma Plutnicki
How would you describe the like local working professional community in South Carolina. Do you have any experience in other places where South Carolina is particularly, particularly unique, or how is that community here?
Cynthia Ford
Do you mean as far as the business, the different businesses in itself, are they unique, or?
Emma Plutnicki
Just in general, with like, how the working community is in South Carolina. Is there a lot of collaboration? Is it kind of there are cliques of groups? How is like collaborating with businesses in South Carolina?
Cynthia Ford
I have actually seen both aspects of it. I have seen situations where businesses are able to grow because they have networked with other businesses, you know, provided resources to other constituents and, you know, just information that they needed in order to help push them to the next level. So, I have seen that definitely, yeah, you know how they’ll say sometimes not what you know its who you know. I see a lot of that, you know, you know, from just my experiences, from working with other businesses, yeah.
Emma Plutnicki
And is there a way, if you’re starting out to kind of break through that or grow your network?
Cynthia Ford
Yes, I would definitely say, attend any type of event, whether it’s virtual or in person. A lot of times there are free events that people can tap into, searching through different places, like Eventbrite or just searching online when there, when there are things that are related to what you’re doing or what you desire to do, but just kind of tapping into that. I’ve also found a lot of resources virtually myself, just through podcasts, you know, YouTube, and I have been able to pour into my business just through those things and connecting and investing in myself, the things that I’ve researched through that.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, of course. And so, you have a lot of things pulling you in different directions. In a creative career like that, it’s hard to kind of know what success looks like. So how would you define personal and professional success in your career?
Cynthia Ford
Well, you know success, of course, and like you said, I am pulled in different directions, but when I can accomplish things that I have set out to do, when I’ve set those goals and they’re accomplished. So those moments are success to me. Trying each day is success to me, because I could have a moment where I’m like, okay, you know, I’m really just not feeling this. But then when you get up and you try again, that’s success. You know, you’ve gotten past the mental things that try to hold you back, or you’ve gotten past any type of barriers that are out of your control. You know, found a way to go around it. That’s success. So, each moment that you’re able to get up again and keep pushing, yeah.
Emma Plutnicki
For sure, did you have any fears when you came into this career?
Cynthia Ford
I did. I actually it took me a couple of years to do it, and I actually desired to start it in 2019, but it’s like I knew that there was something that I wanted to do. I didn’t know how to get there, and didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was a big jump for me, because I was with the Department of Juvenile Justice for 15 years, and so I went to coastal, you know, I started with teaching, and I did some other things, and I worked with DJ J and moved up to kind of direct the position. So, to actually move from that position where you’re settled and everything is good, to launch out to something where you have to start over, that was a huge leap. So I was afraid, and I was okay, well, how am I going to make it financially? I just couldn’t pull those things together. But I began to prepare financially, mentally, and just began to get all those things together before I took the big leap, you know, just make sure that I was, you know, well, I had a well, um, grounded Foundation, and knew that was what I was going to do.
Emma Plutnicki
For sure, and along the way, when you had those fears and faced challenges, was there anybody there to give you advice, either mentors or family? Do you remember any like, the best advice that you received and also the worst advice?
Cynthia Ford
Yes, the worst advice, I think, would come from, you know, when someone would say, well, just leave. Just do it. Don’t just leave. Just do it without being prepared. And there were times when I could, yeah, I could have left when I first thought about it, but I was no way of where I needed to be as far as when prepared. I could have fell on my face financially, but, um, you know, don’t just leave without being prepared. And some people was like, just go. Let’s go. No, don’t just go. But I also received, one of the best advice that I received was someone that told me, just make sure you stay in your lane. You know you don’t have to look on anyone else’s paper when you know exactly what it is you should supposed to be doing, and you’re grounded in that. Just stay in your lane. You don’t have to copy what someone else is doing, or feel like you have to emulate what the other person is doing, do the best of what you are supposed to do.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that’s great advice. Very good advice. And so, throughout your career, have you had one project that made a significant impact on you, maybe something that was particularly meaningful, that just kind of resonated with you and kind of stands out as a pinnacle or peak of your career?
Cynthia Ford
Goodness. Actually, I have a couple, but I would probably say, when I released my second book, Dream Like a Queen. I did that in collaboration with the library, Marion County Library, and it was a tea party, and so I really prepared for that. I bought this gal, and we asked the girls to come out and dress up in their little princess dresses. And we had the library just totally transformed. So, when you went in there, it wasn’t like, oh, just your regular library. It was a magical type thing. And the young ladies were just amazed that we had a station for pictures, a station for painting, arts and crafts. And of course, they got their copy of their book pictures together. So that was, um, you know, huge for me, just to be able to bring literacy to the young people in that format, and for them to see the library in a different way.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that must have been amazing to witness. It was your project come to life. And just overall, as we’re wrapping up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your career? Any advice, anything of that nature?
Cynthia Ford
Well, as relates to great creativity, I first started and see how large of a spectrum that I can go into, as relates to writing. I just thought about, okay, me as an author, you know, I’ve written, I’ve published four books, but I have a living weight, but not knowing, just the expansion of what I can do, you know, I can. I launched out to different workshops where I can teach children and adults literacy, so you can also turn it into speaking opportunities and coaching opportunities. So, I also thought about I had, you know, take myself back to what I truly love and desire in every career or job in. I love some aspect of it, and I wasn’t afraid to close the door at a certain point. So, when you get to that point where you want to close the door and launch to something else, do that because we have different purposes in life. And you know, just don’t be afraid to tap into that. And if the door closes and it’s your time to move on, move forward. You know, it’s okay to move forward if where you are is no longer serving you, and that’s what I did. I just moved forward, and I was able to see it unfolded to me to different ways how I can launch my writing services and connect into different areas where I love and that was business that was helping youth and helping the community, but also publishing my book and knowing that I can take that book and do different things, teaching workshops, speaking, so it’s not just that one thing,
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, yeah. That’s great advice, and it’s an amazing story about how you, you know, arrange your finances and gain the courage to then quit a job that you know you had well established. So it’s really inspiring, and I love it, and I’m glad that you’re, it’s refreshing to hear that you really enjoy your job now. So thank you so much for sharing. Really appreciate it.
“You want your creatives to be the enigmas. You want them to be undefinable… I try to be chaotic as possible.”
David Estrada is the Director of Content Production at Cargo, a marketing firm based in Greenville, South Carolina. With degrees in both film and advertising from the University of Texas, Estrada blends creative direction with strategic thinking. He founded his own production company in Austin before transitioning into agency work, where he now leads cross-disciplinary teams. Passionate about film, media, and collaboration, Estrada emphasizes the importance of creative chaos and community in South Carolina’s upstate marketing scene.
Interview
Transcript
Lexi Raines 00:00
David. Okay, so first, just give a little introduction of yourself, like, what’s your name? Who do you work for? And where are you currently working from?
David Estrada 00:11
Yeah. So my name is David Estrada. I am the director of content production at Cargo in Greenville, South Carolina, and it’s a marketing firm that’s been around since 2006
Lexi Raines 00:25
Okay, so have you been working there since 2006 or how long have you been- How long have you worked there?
David Estrada 00:33
I’ve been working at Cargo since April of 2016 so about 10 years after it started, I came on board. It was a company of about 15,12 to 15 people and since has, you know, I’ve been there about nine years, and it’s grown at one point. At its largest it was like 75 people, and now we’re back to under 50. I was pre-COVID. Now we’re back to just under 50.
Lexi Raines 01:06
Yeah, that’s still like a lot of growth, though and COVID impacted so many different things so for sure. So what’s one thing that you love working you- that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina?
David Estrada 01:21
Yeah, one thing that I love about working as a creative in South Carolina, wow. You know, there’s so many things that come to mind. I studied film, radio, television, film, studied advertising. Got two different degrees at the University of Texas, you know, way back when, and never really thought that things would pan out to where I was doing both of those things at one location. You know, at one job, it’s one of those things where you- you hear stories about how people study a certain thing and they get into a totally different field. And so I just feel very lucky, very, you know, blessed, I guess, to be able to be working in in the creative field like I hoped and intended to but as far as like, yeah, the creative field in South Carolina specifically, I like that there is a base, a very good baseline, of creative professionals and strategic professionals in upstate South Carolina, and I can’t really speak from any real experience in the coastal or midlands area, haven’t worked in those regions, but in the upstate, it’s- it’s nice to be surrounded by folks with so much experience to be able to learn from and I don’t know that you necessarily get that in every region, every market, yeah.
Lexi Raines 03:10
So would you say that’s like, it’s unique influence on you compared to being anywhere else?
David Estrada 03:18
Yeah, you know, this area, I guess, has the- the benefit of, at one point in history, there was a very large amount of advertising being done on a national scale from one particular agency called Henderson advertising, and there was just a lot of money coming through the area for that, and that agency, I think, collapsed back, I don’t want to misspeak on what year that happened, but it shut its doors, and from that, a lot of other like smaller agencies and professionals that learned from being at that shop kind of fragmented off and started their own shops. So now there’s just a very robust community of advertisers you know, marketing and advertising agencies.
Lexi Raines 04:22
Yeah, that’s awesome. So, could you go into like, a little bit more detail about the profession, the community there?
David Estrada 04:31
Definitely, yeah, you know, it’s, it’s a, it’s a small, I mean, you know, it’s a small place. So it feels like everybody has kind of worked everywhere, at all the different shops. Everybody kind of knows each other, or has at least heard of each other the like I said, there’s a mix of video production strategy, design, copywriting, developers, photographers, and, you know, it’s, it’s nice in in a smaller region or market like this, to have the opportunity to work in smaller organizations where you get to learn about all those different fields. So I think especially as a young professional, I- I came in as a project manager, and that allowed me to interact across every single creative discipline to kind of learn, like, okay, what are the challenges that copywriters face, as far as, like, you know, the direction they get from their- their creative directors versus, you know, what they hear from the clients, versus like, how they’re briefed in on projects. You know, what are the challenges that designers face that are different than, like, what an animator would- would face, and then how all those kind of cogs work together in efficiencies from like, how they transfer files back and forth, how they work from the Cloud, versus what types of things need to be local, like, you know, local hard drives and or local servers. And, you know, how do they collaborate? Not just like, like, technically, but also how they collaborate in the brain space, you know, and in hybrid environments. Or, you know, in the same room and kind of like what the hierarchy is, you know, being a being a project manager, allowed me to just integrate myself across all those things. You know, I came from a background of, like I said, having studied film, you know, in college, I came from that more writing background and editing background directing and I actually owned a production company for four years in Austin after college, in Austin, Texas, after college. And so I also got the benefit of kind of learning the hard way about the aspects of like being an entrepreneur, being a business owner, you know, paying vendor invoices, accounts receivable, accounts payable. You know, paying, filing your taxes, managing a team, both internal and external, payroll, payroll taxes, and- and so there’s, there was kind of all these things that that fuse together from my background, so that when the opportunity arrived for me to kind of take more even as a project manager, take more creative control and provide more creative direction that the agency that I was at recognized that, and then, you know, allowed me to kind of make the shift over to being a full time creative
Lexi Raines 08:13
Yeah, that’s awesome. So having that background in film and then being a project manager, that’s like combining so many different aspects, like you were explaining, how have you come to, like, define your professional or personal successes and your creative endeavors?
David Estrada 08:32
How to define, gosh, you know, I think that’s what everybody’s always trying to do is to define creatives and that’s it’s just that’s not what you want to do. You want- you want your creatives to be the enigmas. You want them to be undefinable, like if, if your creatives are operating inside of your systems, then they’re not able to be creative. You know, I think that’s why you hire that’s why you hire a quote, unquote creative is because you want them to be thinking of different not just to provide you with a set of materials that you think you want but to provide you with processes, ways of thinking, ways of getting work done that are outside of your- your the blinders that you might have on as- as a business owner or as a strategist. So as far as how I would define my creative success. I think it’s, it’s that I, I try to be chaotic as possible. Yeah.
Lexi Raines 09:54
Yeah. I think, I think those are really good points to keep in mind. Success to everybody and creativity to anybody is just so different, depending on like whoever you ask. So it really, really is person to person. So you said that you started a film production company out once you got out of college. What was your biggest fear like when you decided to pursue that.
David Estrada 10:22
Oh, money for sure, you know, like, I think everybody is seeking a sense of security, you know, a sense of that, that feeling of being safe and a life of filmmaking is the furthest thing from that is It’s the scariest thing I think you can set out to do, not only because of how vulnerable your work is can be, but also because of that financial security aspect. So, you know, I mean, I was definitely afraid of putting my work out there and- and people not understanding it, or people, you know, ragging on it or- or critiquing it, and but then there’s always people that interpret it in new ways that I didn’t even think about. But I think that was always why- That was also why I studied advertising in addition to film, was because I wanted to understand the science behind, like, how businesses use the craft that that I love, and I would, I would definitely, like, recommend to everybody, like, even if you’re really interested in in film or- or any of the arts really, you know, take the time to go to finance classes, go to accounting classes, go to management and marketing classes, because even in today’s, I mean, especially in today’s age, like you are always marketing yourself. You know, your smile is your handshake, your, sorry, your- what is the saying? It’s something like your smile is your business card, your handshake is your website kind of, you know, but like we were always, regardless of how good we are at something, just being really good is not necessarily enough to get paid. You have to be able to sell your abilities. Does that kind of answer the question?
Lexi Raines 12:40
Yes, it does, and that’s honestly, that’s something I’ve heard across the board in some of the interviews I’ve done. I think that’s something that a lot of emerging creatives do need to understand, is that there’s so much more to it. Rather than just being creative, you have to know, like you said, how to market yourself, networking all the business aspects of it. So, I feel like that’s that’s really something good to think about.
David Estrada 13:08
Yeah, I would say the other well, can you go back to what the top? Know, what the question was at the top?
Lexi Raines 13:13
The question I asked? Yeah, your biggest fear when you first decided to pursue the arts?
David Estrada 13:19
Okay? Yeah, okay, yeah. I was just, I was thinking I wanted to add something else to that, but I think we summed it up.
Lexi Raines 13:29
Yeah, okay, awesome and so you’ve come a long way since graduating, obviously. Do you have, like, a defining moment in your creative journey, like was, did you have a particular project that you think made a significant impact on you?
David Estrada 13:48
There is one defining moment that does come to mind. It’s not actually a creative project, which I mean, I could, I could give a creative project as well as it was defining. But I think probably something like one of the things that made the biggest difference in my career was actually, I took two years off of college after freshman year. f\Freshman year, I went in wholeheartedly, like, I’m going to study film and and I was my, my only major. And then I took two years off, I came back, and I think that that that fear, like you talked about, that fear of security, had started to creep in. And so I thought, “you know what? It’s- films just not a- a viable career choice”. It’s an, you know, as an art like I’m always gonna be struggling. And so I went to my career advisor at- at UT and told him, “hey, you know, I want to, I want to change my, my major over to advertising”. And he said, “okay, cool. You know, schedule you to class- Classes, we’ll get you set and, you know, apply to the advertising school. We’ll see if you get in”. I should find out in a couple of weeks. This is like at the start of the semester, and I’m walking out, and I hit the button to go down the elevator, and this woman comes running, walking quickly towards me, and she’s like, “Hey, I’m so sorry,- I I am the Career Advisor with the office next door to yours, and I’m just, I couldn’t I couldn’t help the doors were open. I couldn’t help I was eavesdropping”. I was like, “oh, okay, nope, whatever. I don’t care”. And she’s like, “well, I just, I felt like, you know, you sounded like, you really love making films, making movies, and, you know, you can, like, double major or whatever, right?” And I was like, “no, like, I didn’t even realize that was a concept”. She’s like, “well, you know, with maybe, like, an extra semester looking at the” because, I guess while we had been meeting, she was like, “looking at the comparisons and like, how they how the courses would- would interactions like, I think with like, one extra semester, you could get a degree in both”. And I was like, “No way. Okay”. So then I walked right back into her office and sat down, and she got me totally rearranged and set up. I ended up getting an email from the moody College of Communication at UT that I wasn’t accepted into the advertising program, and then like, the next day, or it might even been, like, two hours later, they’re like, “oh, sorry, we made a clerical error. You’re in”. I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is like, such a roller coaster”, yeah. So that was definitely a defining moment, because now I get to have a full time job out of this. I’ve worked professionally, full time in publishing, on the publishing side, making videos and original content. And I’ve worked, you know, obviously I had my business doing commercial work and short film, and then I’ve had an agency job for nine years, and every time, it’s always been with an angle of marketing, plus video or video production or photography production. So definitely extremely grateful for that.
Lexi Raines 17:19
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that sounds, that sounds awesome. Like I- I feel like you don’t really ever wish someone was eavesdropping on you, but in that moment, I feel like that made a big difference for sure. And I feel like- I feel like everybody really, especially in college, needs somebody that’s going to guide them towards their passions, but also something that is, I don’t want to say, more realistic, but will help stabilize you. So I feel like that’s really awesome.
David Estrada 17:52
It’s good to have something to be to be grounded to. And, you know, I don’t want this in any way, shape or form, to deter somebody from fully pursuing the arts, because, you know, this is just my path, and it’s probably my path, because maybe I never fully took the leap, you know, like there, I think that there. I mean, I have colleagues from- from college who have struggled, but then I also have colleagues who did take that leap. And now are, you know, VPs at, I don’t know, like one of my buddies is VP at Black Bear pictures, you know, which has produced award winning films, and we graduated the same year, you know. So it’s, I think it’s that move of like being in the place where the work is going on, like a New York or in LA, can be very difficult financially and but if you love it enough and you’re willing to put up with the difficulty and be patient. I mean, I think that that is still the move. I don’t know how much longer you know that will be the move. Maybe things are fractaling out, you know, to different regions a little bit more. But, yeah.
Lexi Raines 19:17
Yeah, I feel like, definitely- I feel like New York and LA used to be, like a big hub for all of that, but I feel, especially with the internet and social media and everything, I feel like it’s definitely way more possible to be creative outside of those areas now, like easier than it was then. So this kind of goes along the lines of what you were talking about. But what’s the best and worst advice that you’ve ever received?
David Estrada 19:50
Okay, start with sort of the worst advice, which was. Is,” don’t be so idealistic”, which, I mean, I’ll explain because, you know, I think that there’s, there’s definitely some, I mean, there’s some drawbacks to being an idealist, but that, if you don’t have something that keeps you going, you don’t have some kind of hope, you don’t have some kind of, like, vision for what the best possible outcome could be, then what are you doing? You know what I mean, like, in order to be a visionary, like, well, in order to be a person who can affect positive change in your own life or in the life of your coworkers or your family, like, my opinion, you have got to be an idealist with a healthy dose of pragmatism. You have to know what it’s going to take. You can’t be, you know, pure idealist. You have to understand what the barriers are going to be. But there’s always going to be that final gap between what seems possible and what is impossible, that like, there’s only like, there’s only so much like delusion that you can have about a goal, right? Because if you have too many delusions, then people are going to write you off. I think you get one delusion per goal, and that delusion is usually the idea that you can do it, that you can be the one to do it, unless you’re like, you know Ryan Reynolds, or you know Trump, or whoever, like people who don’t have to the delusion doesn’t have to be them, because people already know that they can do it, right. So then they can have delusions about other, like, other things in the project, and that gap can be made up. But yeah, I would say the worst advice would be like, don’t be so idealistic. Gotta have some- gotta be an idealist to become a visionary. The best advice I’ve ever received was listen. Listen a lot more than you speak. Because, in my opinion, telling stories is not about talking in order to find the best story and ultimately tell the best story, you have to listen to the world around you, the people around you. That’s where you’re going to find the inspiration. And if you’re too busy worrying about, like, what am I going to say, what am I going to write, you’re always going to be in your own head. You know, draw from the experiences of other people. And I do think it’s an issue that maybe, maybe it’s rooted in academia. In early K through 12, academia, of like, okay, we got a speech class, we got an oration class. We don’t have, like, we don’t teach listening skills, and there’s the public speaking aspect, but I think listen more than you than you speak. In order to tell a great story, you got to listen first.
Lexi Raines 23:37
Yeah, I think that. I think that’s a great thing to live by. That’s really something that we focus on here at the Athenaeum Press- is just lifting up people’s voices from all over South Carolina, because at the end of the day, their stories matter, and they deserve to be heard, and who knows they can, if they can help anybody. It was something that was worth putting out there. Yeah, so kind of shifting gears. Do you have, like, a typical work day? Like, what does your process look like, and what’s expected of you on a daily basis?
David Estrada 24:08
For sure. Yeah. So I think that those things change a lot, because as much when you’ve been somewhere for a very long time, like 10 years, the business around you changes, and what that business needs from you can- can change pretty drastically. So like I said, I started off as a project manager, and then I became a producer, and then became a, I guess, like, for lack of a better term, like an executive producer, or like a, like a, like a production lead. So I had as a manager. I had a full team of shooters, filmmakers, editors, animators, and so, you know, my role shifted more towards being a sort of like a creative director over video and helping to make sure that all of those folks had the resources that they need and had the information that they needed in order to do their jobs, but so now my day to day is much more in the trenches of executing the work rather than the managerial side. So my day to day is oftentimes show up to a set and take a bunch of photos, commercial photography, and then spend some time in post-production, retouching those, color grading those. Or, you know, my- my day might be, because now I have a producer who does, like most of the communication stuff for me, and, you know, she might come to me and say,” Hey, we have a new bid. Can you help me kind of scope out what the lift will be, what the level of effort will be?” And so I could, I could provide some input on the budget side, or, you know, it might be, hey, we, we’ve got this new video project that we need you to direct. And so I might then be on set, you know, doing the actual commercial direction of the spot. You know, help with crewing up projects. So, you know, maybe, maybe I need to reach out and contact some directors of photography, you know, video shooters that I would want to bring on board a project. You know, other producers that could help gaffers or hair and makeup artists and just using my network to kind of crew up shoots, or honestly, a large part of my day, each day could be spent editing video, doing sound mix and color grade and searching for music tracks.
Lexi Raines 27:30
So that sounds like definitely a lot to kind of schedule and work around. How have you created a work life balance, where you think you’re able to maintain both your professional and your personal creativity.
David Estrada 27:48
I think in advertising business, there is because what you’re selling is the brain power of your people. You know, there, there’s not a physical production line with a product that is the output, where you can physically measure the quality versus the competitions output in a quantifiable way. I think, you know, media and data try to do that. But as a- as a creative shop like us that doesn’t have an internal we have media partners that we work with, but not an internal media arm. You know, it’s very difficult to come up with, like, an idea of how we measure up against the competition in a non-qualitative way. So, because of that, it is an extremely competitive industry, and everyone is always vying for that next AOR contract. And oftentimes you’re in competition against a bunch of other local shops, or sometimes national shops. And there tends to be a because of that sort of cutthroat mentality, there tends to be a do whatever it takes mentality when it comes to work life balance. So, you know, I think when you love it, it, it doesn’t affect you in a negative way, as far as, like, your- your mental health, or whatever. But, and I do love it, and so, you know, there’s, there’s definitely, like, I would say less of a work life balance in advertising than maybe other, even creative other creative industries. But yeah, as far as like me personally, what I do, I try to set boundaries more for myself than anyone I- or with myself, of like, hey, you know, like, no matter what it is you’re working on, trying to go home at seven at the latest, and, you know, pick back up where you left off. But if you have a deadline, you know, it can be tough to to sign off. And so then it becomes a question of just managing your time effectively saying no when you know, even if you want to help out on a project, knowing when your bandwidth is too strapped at smaller you know, especially specifically at cargo, you know, when it, when it was a smaller company, there weren’t really, like resource managers. So it wasn’t like, wasn’t like there was anybody managing my bandwidth. So, you know, I just, whatever came through the door, came to my plate and had to get done. Yeah, you know, Now, thankfully, we’ve, we’ve matured, and we have resource managers that are able to look at what’s on the plate of a specific creative and say, You know what, I’m not even going to bring this project to their attention. I’ve got to, I’ve got to go to an outside resource because I know that their- their plate’s already full. So yeah, I think as a as a company matures. Hopefully you’re not having to, as a creative really, like worry too much about your work life balance. Hopefully there’s, there’s a resource manager that’s that’s helping with that.
Lexi Raines 31:31
Yeah. Okay, so my final question, well, second to final question, do you have any questions that you wish you were asked during this interview.
David Estrada 31:43
Oh, that’s a great question. Let’s see. Yeah. I mean, just what’s the coolest project I’ve ever worked on? You know?
Lexi Raines 31:50
So tell me what’s the coolest project you’ve worked on?
David Estrada 31:55
Well, I guess in most in most recent years, the my favorite one is a music video that I shot with Fred Armisen from Portlandia. So, you know, working with- with celebrities is always fun and challenging. But in this specific case, you know, it was an opportunity to work with somebody who really respect and find to be, you know, extremely funny, and also to implement some new technology that I hadn’t worked with before, in the case of virtual production, so working on a volume soundstage and building environments in Unreal Engine in order to deploy those onto, you know, onto the LED screen, and just seeing how we can do in camera visual effects with, you know, the way that those volume stages can detect camera movements and and props and scale or move The background in, in parallax in a way that that computes and makes sense with the real world.
Lexi Raines 33:06
Yeah, that sounds awesome. That sounds so cool. I feel- I that was sounds like such a like an amazing experience.
David Estrada:
Yeah, it was great.
Lexi Raines
So my last question for you today is, do you have a creative based in South Carolina that you’d like to nominate to be interviewed?
Speaker 1 33:22
Oh, yeah, Rocky French.
Lexi Raines 33:26
Rocky French. Okay, awesome. And what? What the What do they do?
David Estrada 33:32
He’s a creative director.
Lexi Raines 33:35
Oh Awesome. Okay, so thank you so much for your time. Today. Sounds good, awesome. Have a good rest of your week.
“Sometimes, flexibility in this field is everything. Some people are very particular about what they want, and you have to use your creativity within the guidelines they give you. You have to realize it’s not all about you, but you can still use your creativity to put out something amazing.”
My name is Tina small town I am from Philadelphia originally. I’ve been living in Myrtle Beach for about 35 years. I moved here after college.
Sara Sabota 0:10
So where did you go to college? Was it up in Philadelphia or down here?
Tina Spaltro 0:14
No! actually, I went to Radford University in Virginia. I graduated there with a Bachelor of Science and interior design, not from culinary at all. I came down here and found a job in that field. And basically, it was all it was all on commission. And I wasn’t a salesperson. So, I kind of really realized that I was about halfway through my career. I wanted initially to start with going to culinary school, but my parents were like, No, absolutely not.
But I came here, and I worked for a little while and I waited for tables. Thats where I met your husband (interviewer and interviewee met through interviewer’s husband) and I decided I wanted to go to culinary school. Down here and I ended up graduating, I think in the 97’s, at Ori Georgetown Tech.
Sara Sabota 1:02
Tell me a little bit then where you got from there. How has your culinary career developed?
Tina Spaltro 1:08
During school, I did a couple of internships. With some small places around town, really the first job that I had was with the island Vista, or actually with the Sea Island Inn. I learned a lot, there it was like a fixed price menu, so it rotated on a two-week rotation. And that’s where I started baking. Because really, initially, I was hired to bake. Although I didn’t have any baking background at school. We haven’t had that program set up yet. But I’ve only taken a couple baking classes.
But Mike, the chef there, was really into having fresh desserts, and fresh bread. So, that is where my love started with it. I did learn a lot there by you know, working the line and doing prep work and ordering and stuff like that. But basically, I went from there to a small place like NYX on the 61st. It was like the old Latiff’s. I went there, worked there for about nine months, and then this job at the Dunes Club opened up, and I moved over there. And that’s where I started as a pastry chef.
Sara Sabota 2:15
So, tell me about your titles from Sea Island inn Island vista all the way up. What was your title?
Tina Spaltro 2:21
Straight out of school I mean, just you know, a little bit everything. I mean, like I said, Baker, you know, line cook.
Sara Sabota 2:29
You were just hired as a cook?
Tina Spaltro 2:31
Yeah, I was just hired as a cook. And I just kind of like learned my way, you know? A little bit more baking over at NYX on 61st. Actually, that was probably my first pastry chef position. And then, when I came here, I was hired as a Pastry Chef.
So, I was here for six years. And then I went over to the Marina Inn for six years and opened that property. And then they sold, and I came to this job and became available again. So, I’ve come back here, so I’ve been here twice.
Sara Sabota 3:06
I’m going to go ahead and go through these questions. What do you do for work and where are you currently working from?
Tina Spaltro 3:18
I’m working at the Dunes Club as a Pastry Chef. I mean, we do pretty much a little bit of everything, a lot of menu planning, a lot of creative wise would be like the menu planning and seeing projects go all the way through. Like coming up with an idea figuring it out and then figuring out how to do it for like 300 people. You know, that’s a lot, I know it sounds funny, but somebody will come to you with an idea and then you have to make it work, you know?
Sara Sabota 3:48
When you say somebody comes to you with you, is that a client? So, do you meet directly with clients?
Tina Spaltro 3:52
Yes but, sometimes not you know, we run off a banquet package too. A lot of times members will come to me saying you know, I really like lemon what can you do for me with lemon dessert, or you know, stuff like that just. Basically, membership or you know, outside clients.
Sara Sabota 4:14
I know you don’t have a typical day but just pick a recent day and walk me through the kinds of things that you do from beginning to end if you can.
Tina Spaltro 4:24
Oh! yeah, sure. Like today, we just opened a new property down the beach club. I don’t know if you’ve been down there yet or not. We have a small menu down there. So, this morning, I went down there to check out what was left over. We prepared a prep sheet for that came back up here and we also had dinner service up here, so we went checked. Wednesday starts dinner service so checked all the desserts up there made another prep list whenever the BEOs for the day to see what we needed. A BEO is a banquet event in order that you know any large banquet that we might have. Like today we have wine tasting for between 70 and 100 people which we have to have many desserts for.
I registered and referred to prep sheets for that got some orders together for what we needed for the weekend. Like what we went over the banquet sheets, we decided what we were going to make for the weekend and what we needed, what we had already on hand and what we needed to use up. We do a lot of like what we call mini desserts, which is just taking any kind of idea, maybe shrinking it down to a bite size portion, like a lemon meringue pie. Like we could buy little tiny tart shells, like when I said, you take an idea and blow it up, you know, and try to feed hundreds of people with it.
Like there’s also all the food purveyors now, and specialty companies provide like either small dishes, what we were going to start small tart shells, or some kind of vessel that you can add, a filling to and you know, top it and you’ve got like 150 in no time, which is great. Also, like making all these mini desserts, we figured out how to take pastry cream and make hundreds of banana puddings. Same thing with a small vessel, just make it really pretty, that would be the creative aspect of it. The rest of today will include us using our prep sheets to try to get as much done as we possibly can obviously set up the launcher tonight for dinner service, in both restaurants. We also have some to go orders to take care of today and get some stuff ready for the weekend.
So, it’s not what I mean, it sounds really chaotic. And as you know, I also have a really great assistant Tricia Green, she’s come to me. You know it’s been a blessing. And she is great. So, with me and her working together we knock it out really quickly.
Sara Sabota 6:52
Does your job feel chaotic, or does it feel scheduled and orderly? Or both?
Tina Spaltro 6:52
A little of both. Yeah, some days are really chaotic. But you know, we managed to get through them. You know, it’s really all about how you organize yourself. It’s just like everything else.
Sara Sabota 7:06
Yeah. Wow. Can you think of a defining moment in your creative journey, either a job that you landed, or maybe something that you made? Was there a point where you realized, this is what I want to do, or look at what I’ve done or something like that?
Tina Spaltro 7:26
You know, I think it was like opening the hotel at the Marina Inn, like I was here for five years, so really opening the hotel, like freed up like a lot of creativity for me. I got to do write menus, write banquet packages, and do more of like, administrative stuff with that.
And that’s where I was able to sit down and really be like, oh, research things and look at ideas, which is also extremely helpful. I think opening gave me more confidence. So, when I came back here, I was definitely more confident than when I left.
Sara Sabota 8:02
That’s awesome. Can you recommend any specific skills that an aspiring applicant should have to increase their chances of landing a role in your field?
Tina Spaltro 8:14
I think the skill that you should definitely have been obviously creativity. But being flexible with your ideas is really helpful. Sometimes, flexibility in this field is pretty much everything, you know, some people are very, like, particular on what they want. And, you know, obviously, you have to go by those guidelines, 0 even the menus that we have here, we have members that really want key lime pie, or like a brownie skillet. So you know, doing that, being flexible with that, you know, not realizing that it’s not all you, what you want too is a lot of it and just trying to put out, you know, the best possible food that you can.
Also being able to, like, look at stuff, I go through ideas, like from Pinterest, and, like, look at something and just like the way it looks, and being able to, like make it yourself without, like following an exact. After you bake for a really long time, you have ways that you do things you know, there’s a different like, a lot of different ways to make like pastry cream or something like that. But so, you get all these recipes that you keep like your mother’s sauces and like the way you do things. And then you take it from there. I think being able to be creative with that is a big thing because it helps out timewise you know you are if you already know how to do something, you know, and you can change it or alter it to make it work for that situation. It makes it much easier.
Sara Sabota 10:00
Are there any local organizations, programs or events that you recommend for aspiring creatives? In any field? Are you a part of any organization?
Tina Spaltro 10:11
Well, culinary school is great. Okay, school is awesome as far as learning, learning your skills, your skill sets and being exposed to things. There’s also the American Culinary Federation, which is here, which is a group of chefs that get together once a month. I can’t say that I go to all those meetings, but it is a really great way to network with people to find a job or, you know, learn, just sometimes they do a little bit of teaching and stuff there also. There are also some really good events. You know, I think this year, we just did taste the town this year. For a private club. I don’t think it’s a great thing for us. But as you know, ours, like a restaurant or privately on restaurant, might be great.
There’s also this CAM organization (Collaborative Autism Movement) that is for autism. And we did some stuff for this year, that was great. I think really getting involved in the community is like meeting a lot of people at the school, that you can also link up with that. They do events. So, I would say mostly, getting involved in the school would be a great start. And then from there, there’s always something they always have going on dinners and good ways to network with people.
Sara Sabota 11:29
Then before I go to the last question, this will be my last question. But also, I want to back up. I don’t actually know how big Dune’s club is. How many members? Are we talking about that you work for? Or with or whatever?
Tina Spaltro 11:40
I think we’re like somewhere between 800 and 900. Somewhere there.
Sara Sabota 11:46
And then what percentage of your work is for outside clients?
Tina Spaltro 11:50
Not as much I do get, you know, out. I often like birthday cake and stuff or friends and family and stuff. But occasionally I’ll do something like an outside wedding cake, which is great money, and also a big help, but a lot of it is just for members. And you know, our clients come here and they have events there.
Sara Sabota 12:12
So, do you have any advice for current college students or pre-professional young adults who are pursuing a career in the creative world? What is your advice?
Tina Spaltro 12:22
My advice would be when you watch all those TV shows about how like Gordon Ramsay, and all that, it’s, not really like that. Even with culinary students, you know, we get a lot of these students in here, and, you know, it’s great to go to school and stuff, but you really have to have a hard work ethic to be in the restaurant business. It will be long hours. And it’s not as glamorous, there’s a lot of likes, you know, washing dishes, making things that you’ve made a million times. But in the long run, there is a lot of gratification when you present somebody with something and they say, oh my god, that was the best thing of every eaten.
That makes you feel like, you know, wow, I’ve really accomplished things. It’s just, you got to get through the daily mundane stuff. And then you get those highlights that make it all worth it, you know? Yeah, our, our members are very kind and they always, you know, are very grateful, you know, especially on big holidays and functions where, you know, you’ve worked like 14 hours a day before and got in at six o’clock in the morning and worked until four o’clock in the afternoon. And then you have got to go home and do family stuff. That’s rough. But you know, it’s all makes it worth it. Like when somebody says something kind and you’re like, Wow. I just got a card the other day from a member, and it was just really nice. It made me feel good and all the hard work seemed worth it.
Sara Sabota 13:55
Well, that’s everything I wanted to ask.
Tina Spaltro 13:57
Awesome. Sara, thank you so much. Thanks for including me. I appreciate it.
Sara Sabota 14:01
Thank you for spending time with me. It’s been great.
“Take time to celebrate every achievement, because it’s huge. And your creativity is a gift. You’ve got to keep stewarding that gift.”
Ronda Taylor is a poet, writer, storyteller, and program director of Youth Empowerment Services, a non-profit organization in Charleston. Taylor earned a B.A. in English with a minor in creative writing, as well as a Master of Arts in Writing, both from Coastal Carolina University. She published a children’s book titled Radiant Girl: Daughter of the King (2024), and her work appears in two poetry anthologies: This is the Honey (2023), edited by Kwame Alexander, and Ukweli: Searching for Healing Truth (2022) Taylor is the founder of Seen Heard Loved Publishing, LLC.
Interview
Transcript
Ronda Taylor
My name is Rhonda Taylor. I am a poet and author. I’m also a program director for a nonprofit organization called Youth Empowerment Services. So we were middle and high school girls, and I live in Charleston, South Carolina.
Emma Plutnicki
Perfect. And how long have you been working there?
Ronda Taylor
The nonprofit?
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah.
Ronda Taylor
The nonprofit, was technically at the beginning of last year, so January, but I have been working in my different capacities since 2020. I actually was introduced to them because of my poetry. I did a poetry event at their annual Dream Girls Conference that brings in about 1,200 to 1,500 girls from across South Carolina. And then I just started serving and volunteering, and then I ended up loving it so much, that I ended up becoming program director. So.
Emma Plutnicki
Amazing. So, would you say that that conference really helped spark your career? Without that conference, do you think you would have ended up where you are now?
Ronda Taylor
I think it was a big turning point. But, I think it was always there.
Emma Plutnicki
Like, yeah.
Ronda Taylor
happens for…creativity was always there. That’s what I went to school for. So, I was always pursuing that. And then that conference just kind of solidified, is what I would kind of say. It solidified what I already knew was kind of my passion, and then being able to work with young people. It just all aligned, with what I was looking for.
Emma Plutnicki
That’s Amazing. So, what background did you have that specifically helped you learn that role? I know you said that you’ve had some interest in creative fields before, but what specifically in that role within your background helped you land that?
Ronda Taylor
So, of course, I’m alumni from Coastal Carolina University. So, I’ve always wanted to write, I’ve always kind of been creative and artsy, so I knew if I went to school, it would be for writing. And so I went to Coastal. I got my bachelor’s in English with a minor in Creative Writing. And then, I went on to get my Master’s in writing. And so I think I got introduced to the Athenaeum Press in undergrad. And I loved it so much, I continued to stay with it even in my graduate program. And so all of those things were very helpful to like, set the foundation. And then, during my college career and being a part of things like the Athenaeum Press, it just helped me refine more and more what I enjoyed about writing and what I enjoyed about my creativity. So with the Athenaeum Press, cultural things that that the press highlights, different communities, that was always important, because it felt like it was creative storytelling with a purpose. And that’s what I love. Is creative storytelling with a purpose.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, amazing. So, can you please walk us through a typical workday? What your process looks like? what’s expected of you on a daily basis, is every day the same? Does it change?
Ronda Taylor
Every day is not the same, which is hard to… It’s so hard to answer. Because I don’t have like a specific structure, like I go into the office, I do what I need to do, and then I leave every day. So, like, vastly different. It just depends on what each project or thing requires. And I think the Athenaeum Press kind of set me up for that too, because you could be doing a bunch of research on a computer or in a library at a research center. Or you could be in the field, visiting St. Helena Island, talking to different people in the community, like, it just depends on on what’s needed at that time. And so, like I said, I work with a nonprofit. And so we do a lot of mentoring. And so, it could look like going into schools and group homes and talking to students. We have different Summer programs and Fall programs. Sometimes, we take the kids on cultural events. The students on cultural events. And so, yes, not just one thing, it looks very different.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah.
Ronda Taylor
Each time, depending on where my creative will is, I’ll make space to write. I’m also working on a book right now. I’m coming out with a children’s book called Radiant Girl, Daughter of the King. And so, there’s also the business entrepreneurship side of creativity. Of just figuring out, okay, how do I get this book out there? How do I market it? How do I, how do I fund this? Invest in this? Invest in my creativity. And so, when I graduated from school, one of the biggest things that I did was, I was like, I really want to pursue writing children’s books. I really want to pursue poetry. And so what I did was, I would go to different writing and author events to connect with people. And that was the big thing, is for me to network. I would go to conferences and retreats, and I created, like, some of the best networking experiences I have, like, I’m on personal levels with, with authors and illustrators that I was inspired by and I look up to. And so, that was a lot, but, I’m saying that because not every day is the same, but it’s also very exciting because you never know what the day will bring.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, and no, I love that. And so, you mentioned some projects. So, how many projects at a time do you typically work on? Are there set projects? Or is it more just whatever pops up? Or are you working on long-term projects? Short-term projects? All at the same time? And how do you juggle those?
Ronda Taylor
Yeah, great question. I would say, naturally, I would prefer to work on one thing at a time. But as I stepped more into this world, it’s kind of multiple things at once. So, like I said, I’m coming out with this book project. And I have to learn a lot about watching the book and getting it into libraries and getting it into stores and making sure that it’s online. And all of those parts are a lot of things that lead to kind of one. But also, within that I have a publishing company that I published through. And, the goal for that is not just to publish myself but eventually to publish future authors, to partner with illustrators, and just different people in the publishing world. And so, I have a long-term goal, which is, I really want to have a solid and successful publishing company that, you know, produces diverse. Which is really important. Diverse work, for children and for future generations. And so, I would say multiple projects, even though that’s not how I’m naturally built, it’s, it’s just a learning curve for me, and it stretches my capacity or stretches me outside of my comfort zone, but that’s, that’s also how you learn.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, I love that. And can you describe a defining moment in your creative journey? You were just talking about the book, that might be it, but, maybe a particular project that has made a significant impact on you, or something that you produced that really just was the pinnacle of your creativity.
Ronda Taylor
Oh, I think it’s a lot of little things, honestly, that makes it kind of grand. Because when I really look and reflect, I’ve been able to accomplish some really great things in a short amount of time. And if I don’t take the time to reflect on those little things, I’ll just be so focused on going forward that I won’t even realize my successful moment. So there’s a few I think, honestly being published, this is a big deal. I’m publishing two Anthologies, as a contributing poet. So, one of them is Ukweil: Searching For Healing Truth. And then the other one is a big one, which is. This is the Honey, edited by Kwame Alexander. Those are really two beautiful moments, especially with This is the Honey, because I’m in a work of art with, literally, poets, black poets that I grew up on and who I’m inspired by. Some who are personal friends, and also people that I’m learning about, I’m within that, that community. And that’s really awesome. And then on top of that, I’m releasing my first personal project, which is a really huge step. It’s something like if you’re a kid, and like the goal, and your dream was always to be published and have your own book, like, this is the moment where I can say, I’m going to be able to hold my own book in my hand, and other people will be able to read it, I’ll be able to share it with young girls, I’ll be able to share with children and their families, and they get to take that book home and read it and enjoy it. That’s very exciting.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that’s amazing. That’s gonna be great. Do you think it was, has been challenging in this field? This is a very difficult field, for sure. But how have you been able to kind of face the challenges that you’ve found along the way? And conquer them?
Ronda Taylor
For sure. Specifically, with the writing. When I came home, I took a really big step to pursue this. And so, you never know what that road looks like, and how much it takes to get through that. And so, you do have disappointing moments where things didn’t work out exactly how you saw it in your head, but you have to take those disappointments and the rejection and just redirect.
Ronda Taylor
And so, that’s what I had to learn in this process is just, you had this destination, and you weren’t able to go this route, but you’re able to redirect, and you’re still getting there. And so, still, persevere, still endure. Try a different way, and know that it’s okay, and what’s for you is for you. And so that’s what I had to learn, is, I had to shift and make that change. And so, I’m still in a beautiful place, even though it took me a different route to get here.
Emma Plutnicki
Perfect. I love that. And can you recommend any specific skills that someone should have to increase their chances of you know, making it in this field? Are there any specific skills that you use on a daily basis that you find are particularly important in your work?
Ronda Taylor
I would say networking has been really important. Finding those spaces where there’s just opportunity for community has been important. So, that’s looked different in different ways. Sometimes, that looks like specific memberships, being a part of a children’s membership. Being a part of even social media, Facebook groups. You can find really great communities and opportunities for networking and mentorship. When I don’t have the answers. I ask questions. I find someone who I admire, and I see what they’re doing, and I want to do something similar, and I just shoot them an email or shoot them a message, and I don’t get a response from everybody, but when I do get a response, people take the time to pour into me, share with me their insight, and those things have been really huge. I’ve also made time just to invest in myself. That might look like a workshop or a class just learning more about whatever field I’m interested in and passionate about. And so, that’s how I pursued that. And a really helpful thing for me, because you mentioned the South Carolina Arts Commission. I received a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Artists Business Initiative Grant, and that was really huge to help me launch a publishing company. And to invest in an illustrator, invest in a website, and be able to make that dream of publishing a children’s book come true. So, that was a very helpful thing as well.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, amazing. So, for networking that you mentioned, are there any specific programs or organizations or events within South Carolina that you find particularly important for networking, or things that you’ve gone to?
Ronda Taylor
Yes, for me with writing, I think about independent bookstores that we have. Which are really important. So Best in Books has been a great community partnership. That’s where we did a poetry reading with This is the Honey, and that’s a great community partnership. There’s Turning Page Bookshop, which is an independent Black-Owned, Black Woman-owned bookstore in South Carolina, which is very rare. So, those independent bookstores are great communities; the Charleston Libraries, of course, are just great for me. And then different people like our Charleston poet Laureate. Formerly, was Marcus Am . He’s doing great things in the community. And now in Asia, Asian man, she’s really great as well. And so I just tried to find specific events and conferences, and people to connect to.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, perfect. So, as we’re wrapping this up. Do you have any advice for current college students or young adults who are about to enter the workforce and looking to make a start in a creative field of work?
Ronda Taylor
Don’t get discouraged. Definitely keep going. Definitely surround yourself with a community that will support you and encourage you. And yeah, just just keep, keep going, keep moving forward, because it will happen even if it doesn’t happen in a certain way. And take, take the time to celebrate every achievement because it’s really huge. And your creativity is important, and it’s a gift. So you just got to keep stewarding that gift.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that’s great. Well, thank you so much.
Emma Plutnicki
I’ll be reaching out to you for a few more things. Thank you for sending over the headshot. That’s great. And would you be open to speaking to our team again, if anything comes up?
“I sold everything, packed my dogs, and moved to Charleston because I refused to let fear of the unknown stop me. I had to stay creative and find a way to help my community at the same time.”
Tonya Gore, Director of Enhancement and Design, Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance. From artist to urban designer: Tonya Gore’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and rootedness. After a devastating flood hit her hometown, Tonya left behind a two-decade career in graphic design to pursue a new path in Resilient Urban Design. Now serving as Director of Enhancement and Design at the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, she fuses her artistic background with a deep commitment to community-building, proving that creativity can shape not just art, but entire cities.
Interview
Transcript
Tonya Gore 0:00
My name is Tonya Gore. I was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Sara Sobota 0:04
Okay, great. And who do you work for? And from where?
Tonya Gore 0:08
I have worked for Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, located in Downtown Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Sara Sobota 0:13
Okay, and how long have you been working there? And what is your official job title?
Tonya Gore 0:18
Almost two years. And my official job title is Director of Enhancement and Design.
Sara Sobota 0:24
Okay. How did you end up in this field? And how did you hear about it? Long story, I guess.
Tonya Gore 0:30
It’s a long story because my creative field actually started after I left Coastal Carolina University. And I did an internship, I do not know if you knew this, Sara, but my degree is actually in fine arts.
Sara Sobota 0:46
Oh, I didn’t know that.
Tonya Gore 0:47
So, I went to Coastal, graduated in 2000, in Fine Art. And the program just sorts of introduced graphic design to the program. They had one computer lab, and Max just started.
And so, it was suggested that we go and get internships if we want to make a career out of graphics. So, I found an internship with a local, local small advertising agency working on the beach ball class.
Sara Sobota 1:12
I did not know any of that, that is awesome.
Tonya Gore 1:15
That is so mild in the fine artists, I just have not done a lot of fine art. A lot of my background that I have done, or fine art pieces with some watercolor and some oils. So, their position is all throughout my family’s house. I worked at the fish that did an internship, I finished that she hired me full time. I stayed there for a few years.
So, my full career for almost 20 years was in graphic design. And I simultaneously I worked as a adjunct in digital arts at Horry Georgetown.
Sara Sobota 1:49
Oh, I didn’t know that either.
Tonya Gore 1:50
I did that for almost 10 years, like eight years, to be exact. And I also worked in the community a lot. I wanted to find a career that can work because I’ve always wanted to stay creative. I’ve always said I would never get out of a creative field. I wanted to do something that had some creativity in it.
So, I did soul searching, I wanted to do something with the community that combined my creative field as well. And I found the program and went back to school, to Clemson in the master’s program for urban design degree.
Sara Sobota 2:20
Okay.
Tonya Gore 2:21
So, it’s a Resilient Urban Design degree because of my family, my family’s from Nichols, and my mom’s family from Nichols, South Carolina. And a few years ago, Nichols was one of the areas that went through a 100-year flood. And my family lost everything. And then two years later, the same thing happened. I had an eighty-something-year-old aunt that lost everything that could not be rebuilt. She was too old, she, you know, and it was the most devastating thing to me.
So, I said, well, let me see what I can do, still wanting to be creative, but also wanting to go back into the community as well. So, I found out what had happened. So, Clemson just started a program called Resilient Urban Resilience and Urban Design that focuses on being resilient communities. And I did that, I quit all my jobs, almost 20 years.
Sara Sobota 3:10
Wow.
Tonya Gore 3:11
And I went back to college to do this, again, still wanting to stay creative, because I knew I could not do anything that is not creative, because that will drive me crazy. And I did that. finish that up. It was a yearlong accelerated program for one year. And I found my first job designing streets urban design or for an engineering firm.
Sara Sobota 3:34
Okay.
Tonya Gore 3:35
So, while I was there, I used to attend an institute they had every once a month, they had a coffee with ULI [Urban Land Institute], and they did speakers, and the President of the ULI was Amy Barrett.
Sara Sobota 3:51
Okay, I’m sorry. Well, ULI is urban…
Tonya Gore 3:53
Urban Land Institute.
Sara Sobota 3:54
Land Institute, okay.
Tonya Gore 3:54
Urban Land Institute.
Sara Sobota 3:57
And that was here, or was that in Clemson?
Tonya Gore 3:58
It was in Charleston when I was in school.
Sara Sobota 4:01
Okay.
Tonya Gore 4:01
It was in Charleston and Amy was the, Amy was the president. So, one of my classmates’ texts, and she texts all of us and let us know that Amy took a job with Myrtle Beach, downtown Lyons. And she knew I was local. She knows I have my creative career. And she also knew I had my design background. So, she offered me a job here to combine them all. So that’s how I get with the title and with this job is a long circle, but it is full circle,
Sara Sobota 4:32
Wow, and so many accomplishments along the way, and so many ways. Yeah, that’s amazing. Now, the resiliency in urban design, I thought you said it was Clemson, but it was in Charleston?
Tonya Gore 4:46
Charleston, Clemson has a study of full remotes, what do you call it, a remote branch or class, and most branches. It is on East Bay Street, and it’s at the cigar factory. The full Second floor to Cigar Factory is three different programs as architecture, they have a choice to go to Charleston or go to Italy, the historical preservation. They are for two years, and the Urban Design Program share the second floor at the cigar factory floor Clemson. Okay. And it is a one-year program. So, that’s how I ended up in a job.
Sara Sobota 5:23
That’s amazing. Okay, great. The next question is, what background did you have that helped you land that role? I think you kind of walked through that a little bit, right? Yeah. Motivation and your background? Can you walk us through a typical workday? Is there one?
Tonya Gore 5:41
Okay, we sit all over the place with this because right now, if I had my interns on a Monday, my interns come in. Okay, it’s three interns, digital arts, and we are. My project is the brand in the wayfinding element for downtown. Okay, so we start at nine, I meet with them, we go over their previous week’s work to make sure they are on the path of what I’m asking them to do.
Sara Sobota 6:08
Yeah.
Tonya Gore 6:08
And that’s until 10 o’clock, we have staff, from 10 to 11:30. Most of the time, our staff through our weekly projects, we have one on at about 11:30, then I go make sure the interns, okay, and I start, you know, what’s the easiest first, sorry, because I do plan events as well. So, right now we’re planning all of our events for Nights of Nance. So, I had to get all the bands lined up there.
And then when I finished that, then I’ll go back to my pendant and wayfinding and make sure that I give them something to do, or make sure all my input meeting and they need Pantone colors, and making sure their Pantone colors is exactly correct what they need to use it. When they send in vows.
I double check and make sure all their files, because I work in Adobe programs, make sure their files are situated. Then, once I finish that, I’ll go check and see if any of the businesses, like a couple of businesses, have an event this weekend. There is a Pride event this weekend. I’m making sure he’s okay. He has all of his elements to make sure. Then I finished that. Now, I’m working on a schedule because we’re going to activate the space in the pocket park.
So, I want to make sure you know we have to have a schedule for the whole year, in trying to come up with ideas for the whole year. So today, I was researching other people’s websites to see some ideas. So far, we went to yoga and went to a farmers’ market. One, trying to get Jason about our bench, but it’s not. We wanted it with Bistro lights, so, two functions. So, and now today, we had to walk from downtown.
Sara Sobota 5:42
Okay.
Tonya Gore 5:58
So, that usually stops around 5:00 or 5:30. But I normally do not finish all my lifts throughout the day. As long as I’m finished, because I go back and forth doing multiple things and things like that.
Sara Sobota 8:05
Yeah. Well, let’s talk. A big picture of your job. You are ah, I mean you are in a way of building. You are building a city. I mean, you are crafting. It is kind of an upgrade, but not really. I mean, your kind of building from the ground up. Right?
Tonya Gore 8:23
Right, right, right. I, I call it my, my version of it, is an empty canvas.
Sara Sobota 8:23
Okay, yeah.
Tonya Gore 8:31
That is what I may have done when I first started out, so we had an empty canvas to play with. Just, I don’t because I am in such a love of historical buildings. I don’t like tearing down, I like building on what you have already.
Sara Sobota 8:45
Tell me, just in your words, although I know the mission statement of MBDA, what is it? What is it doing?
Tonya Gore 8:51
From my perspective or just…
Sara Sobota 8:51
The whole organization, the whole organization.
Tonya Gore 8:52
We’re pretty much a place management organization.
Sara Sobota 8:59
Okay.
Tonya Gore 8:59
So, our task is to help with redevelopment, partnering with the city of Myrtle Beach redevelopment, activate spaces, bring people downtown, host events, sponsoring events, make sure people are coming downtown, and to help it revitalize, to make it a walkable community for all.
Sara Sobota 9:17
Okay, okay, awesome. Can you describe a defining moment in your creative journey? Could it be a project that made an impact on you or something you produced? You know, in my opinion, it could even be a decision you made but a defining moment in your creative journey.
Tonya Gore 9:35
The entire time?
Sara Sobota 9:36
You’re defining yourself.
Tonya Gore 9:37
I think, my defining moment is when, I was talking about with my family, the impact and the impact that had on my family and my community because of Vietnam. I was born and raised here. Let me think of a specific one outside of the flood. It was 2017, or something like that. Yeah, I think that is what was close to the research on that with that.
Sara Sobota 9:59
Was it Mathew?
Tonya Gore 10:01
I’m not sure, probably, it was two back-to-back.
Sara Sobota 10:01
Yep, yep.
Tonya Gore 10:04
Matthew, maybe Floyd, Matthew, maybe Floyd, back-to-back. It’s two years apart.
Sara Sobota 10:08
Okay.
Tonya Gore 10:09
Let me think, what was the defining moment in my career? That made me think about my career in a different way? or just…
Sara Sobota 10:18
Or that when you, when you produced it, you went, wow, look at what I can do.
Tonya Gore 10:22
Let me think. My last job, I did a lot of mentoring for cities.
Sara Sobota 10:22
Okay.
Tonya Gore 10:29
For a street, that, when it’s revitalized, the street with it was more of a street design, not buildings. So, add bike lanes, to add types of parking, some medians, some roundabouts, and you will take a picture of the street the way it is. And then I would add all the elements to the street, and sometimes even now when I look back, I’m like, Whoa, wow. Like, who did this? I amazed myself with that, because I took something that didn’t look like anything.
And I produce something that looks, you know, a rendering that people can associate with how they want the community to vote. So, I hope to take that skill and pass it on to what I’m doing now. Where I am working with that.
Sara Sobota 11:20
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And when you know about your job, you can go see what you’ve done. I mean, it’s their people who use it. Oh, that’s amazing.
Tonya Gore 11:30
Yeah, yeah.
Sara Sobota 11:32
Was it challenging for you to find this career path? Or what are some challenges that you faced, or even every day, your challenges now, whatever.
Tonya Gore 11:40
What challenge made me stop 20 years of graphic design that, when I was teaching, I saw a lot of talented young artists coming through, and I realized that they are also there, the market value for them increased. Even though I had more experience, I did not keep up with my, my skill, my craft. Meaning they knew how to write programs; they kept up with developing websites. And I did not keep up with that element.
So, that was a real challenge for me. Because I felt like, okay, if I want to be more marketable, the kids coming out of high school know a little bit more than I do right now. So, I need to think about, that was the hardest challenge about my career, that I’ve still found, I don’t find it as challenging now, as I did then.
So that was another reason why I felt like I needed to gain more just saying, and, again, every time I say I’m utilizing this to go back into my community as well.
Sara Sobota 11:40
Yeah.
Tonya Gore 12:15
So, so that was a challenge, that was like an eye-opening experience for me because, younger generation is so much more technically advanced than I was.
Sara Sobota 13:03
Yeah, yep. I think a lot of people agree with that. Can you recommend any specific skills that an aspiring applicant should have to increase their chances of landing a role in your field? Specific skills.
Tonya Gore 13:18
Specific skill in my career, when I’m doing now. It helps that I have graphic skills, but I think my knowledge base might be a little bit more valuable than my…. The skill is valuable, but it also could be taught. Knowledge from my experience over the years cannot be taught. So, I think that when you enter a career, value those around you will have the experience.
Sara Sobota 13:48
That’s smart. That’s absolutely true. Yeah. Okay. Great. Are there any local organizations programs or events that you recommend for aspiring creatives?
Tonya Gore 14:00
Art is so subjective when it comes to creating, so I don’t think that there’s any kind of like event or any kind of like program that, that can teach you that because, I don’t feel like art can be bad, because it’s subjective, but I would I would if I had to think of a skill that you would learn, I think technology is changing so much that it will be in your best interests if you took some classes to enhance your skill level.
Tonya Gore 14:29
Rather it be the Adobe programs, or if you want it to because this career, finding that, you know, when I was doing my, not graphics, but doing my urban design portion, my graphics laid so heavily, but I also gained knowledge in more skills as well like architectural skills far as AutoCAD, 3D programs.
So I would think that if you had to learn, I would brush up on this skill level when it comes to technology and take as many classes, or go to any seminars or any type of podcast that you can, to brush up on that and stay up to date with it. I never let my; even though I don’t technically, I’m not technically a graphic designer anymore.
I always keep my skills up to date. I have never gotten rid of my programs. I always kept my programs and stayed in them. I made sure I brought laptops that I could use to program because I’m from the old school generation, but my father taught me if you always have a skill, you’ll always have a job. So, I kept my skills, and I always kept my skills up.
Sara Sobota 15:37
Yeah, and that is important and hard right now, I think.
Okay, do you have advice for current college students or pre-professional young adults who are pursuing a career in the creative world?
Tonya Gore 15:51
You don’t know everything. Just because you have an education does not mean you know everything. You do not know everything. Sometimes, people who do not hold a career, the degree, have more knowledge than you do. Listen, willing to learn and be patient. It will come.
