excellence! Yep, I was the girl balling up her homework and redoing it because she didn't like the way it looked in elementary school! That girl would later be labeled as "bougie" a "miss goody two-shoes" and even a "workaholic" later in life.
When I walked into the doors of Latham Entertainment in January 2004, I entered with that, "give it your all, Yulonda" mentality, I'd always had. It wasn't the job I wanted at that stage of my life though. I was a graduate of two great NC universities with several years of HR experience under my belt. I felt like I was above being a receptionist but I needed a job in Greensboro. I had just bought a house with my husband a few months earlier and had a mother and sister dealing health issues. I desperately wanted to leave my job in Durham to be with my family here in Greensboro so I accepted a job at a company I'd never even heard of until I was offered the position. For the first few weeks, I cried every evening when I got home because I felt I should be doing something else, something bigger. When my husband reminded me one evening, "you can't quit" I remembered who I was! I was not just some woman answering phones and filing papers; I was a woman who pursued excellence and who was a child of God. So the next day, I started finding projects to do... reorganizing files, creating notebooks for tours, creating a filing system for videos and working on a policy manual. I started improving processes. I started giving the job my all. I got to work early. I stayed late. I worked on weekends. I wanted to know everything about the company. People thought I was crazy. I can't lie, sometimes, I almost agreed with them but I was listening to God!
Fast forward... after working as receptionist, then Executive Assistant to the President, then Operations Manager, then Head of Digital, last August, I became COO and partner.
As I approach my 12 year anniversary with the company, I am in awe of what God has done. I have met studio heads, childhood celebrity crushes, award winning musicians and actors and worked alongside the greatest living comedy producer. Not to mention, I have had the opportunity to minister to people from all walks of life! God has opened doors that no man can shut and all because I remembered to do what He had always led me to do... be excellent and be authentic!
So how do I sum up this long story? I have been knocked down, ridiculed, challenged on every side and unsure of my next step but I can say without a doubt that #MyBougieIsGood and I'm still balling up anything that's not excellent :)
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