From couch surfing to VP: Miami alumna Kierra Williams offers career advice
Miami graduate is head of human resources at Atlas Energy Solutions
•
Published
Kierra Williams '11, left, recently spoke with Miami University students. Williams is vice president and head of human resources at Atlas Energy Solutions.
From couch surfing to VP: Miami alumna Kierra Williams offers career advice
Miami graduate is head of human resources at Atlas Energy Solutions
•
Published
For many students, the pressure of finding internships is daunting, especially in fields where they seem mandatory. Kierra Williams ’11 made it clear that working hard is critical, no matter your career goals.
“If you want to move up in your career, you have to go where the hard work is,” Williams said. “Generally, you’re going to have to take the jobs no one else wants to take. But, if you do that, you will accelerate really fast.”
Williams engaged in an informal conversation with Miami University students on April 22 through an event organized by the Student Success Center, the alumni association, and ASPIRE. She told her unique story and gave participants valuable career advice based on her experience going from couch surfing to the vice president and head of human resources at Atlas Energy Solutions.
Before arriving at Miami University, Williams lived with her high school volleyball coach in Dayton, Ohio. Wright State University was local so she considered renting an apartment and working full-time as a student. Her volleyball coach, a Miami alumna, insisted that she stay at Miami and offered her a place to spend the summers and winters, as long as she maintained solid grades.
“I was really fortunate to come to Miami and get a degree here because it’s the reason why I have the career that I have,” Williams said. “A Miami alumna took me in. That Miami degree goes a long way, but one of the things that I wanted to do always was to make sure that I could give back.”
Upon completing her bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Black World Studies, she worked for notable brands such as Amazon, Cardinal Health, Goodyear, and Shearer’s Snacks. Her career success has given her the opportunity to give back. Williams, who grew up in and out of foster care, is the founder of the Risner-Leedy Scholarship Fund, which provides support for students who have either been a ward of the state, independent student, or an orphan.
Williams’ path to her first career destination, Cardinal Health, wasn’t what most students would expect. She didn’t demonstrate her internship experience; in fact, she had none.
“When people tell you ‘Your network is your net worth,’ I had a very limited network,” Williams told attendees. “I didn’t come from pedigree.”
Williams connected with the CEO of Cardinal Health, the neighbor of her then boyfriend’s father. She walked her resume to his house and shared her research, saying she loved what Cardinal Health was doing and would be interested in working for the organization in any capacity.
Later, the CEO gave her resume to the Chief Human Resources Officer, and she was offered an interview, and then later a job. Once she got her foot in the door, Williams seized any and every opportunity that would help her continue to rise in the ranks.
“Career progression means that I can see that you’ve taken on accelerated roles, expanding agreements, and you write that on your resume,” Williams said. “You can see when I led a team of one and I had smaller projects, to when I was leading a team of 15, then 200, and then leading a team of 300 people at Amazon, and then leading a department. There’s progression that people like.”
Williams also shared how she developed skills that weren’t gained during her college experience. Many of her roles required knowledge of how a business operates, and she would exercise entrepreneurship skills to maintain her position.
“I wasn’t exposed to business,” Williams said. “Everything that I learned in business, I’ve learned in the last 15 years by being thrown into it. I learned a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, especially growing up in Dayton and seeing the hustler in me. That’s the story you’ll see in a lot of people.”
Williams also spoke on a career panel in a more formal setting the next day, offering a wider audience of students her experience in many different roles and careers.
“If you want to move up in your career, you have to go where the hard work is,” Williams said. “Generally, you’re going to have to take the jobs no one else wants to take. But, if you do that, you will accelerate really fast.”
Williams engaged in an informal conversation with Miami University students on April 22 through an event organized by the Student Success Center, the alumni association, and ASPIRE. She told her unique story and gave participants valuable career advice based on her experience going from couch surfing to the vice president and head of human resources at Atlas Energy Solutions.
Before arriving at Miami University, Williams lived with her high school volleyball coach in Dayton, Ohio. Wright State University was local so she considered renting an apartment and working full-time as a student. Her volleyball coach, a Miami alumna, insisted that she stay at Miami and offered her a place to spend the summers and winters, as long as she maintained solid grades.
“I was really fortunate to come to Miami and get a degree here because it’s the reason why I have the career that I have,” Williams said. “A Miami alumna took me in. That Miami degree goes a long way, but one of the things that I wanted to do always was to make sure that I could give back.”
Upon completing her bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Black World Studies, she worked for notable brands such as Amazon, Cardinal Health, Goodyear, and Shearer’s Snacks. Her career success has given her the opportunity to give back. Williams, who grew up in and out of foster care, is the founder of the Risner-Leedy Scholarship Fund, which provides support for students who have either been a ward of the state, independent student, or an orphan.
Williams’ path to her first career destination, Cardinal Health, wasn’t what most students would expect. She didn’t demonstrate her internship experience; in fact, she had none.
“When people tell you ‘Your network is your net worth,’ I had a very limited network,” Williams told attendees. “I didn’t come from pedigree.”
Williams connected with the CEO of Cardinal Health, the neighbor of her then boyfriend’s father. She walked her resume to his house and shared her research, saying she loved what Cardinal Health was doing and would be interested in working for the organization in any capacity.
Later, the CEO gave her resume to the Chief Human Resources Officer, and she was offered an interview, and then later a job. Once she got her foot in the door, Williams seized any and every opportunity that would help her continue to rise in the ranks.
“Career progression means that I can see that you’ve taken on accelerated roles, expanding agreements, and you write that on your resume,” Williams said. “You can see when I led a team of one and I had smaller projects, to when I was leading a team of 15, then 200, and then leading a team of 300 people at Amazon, and then leading a department. There’s progression that people like.”
Williams also shared how she developed skills that weren’t gained during her college experience. Many of her roles required knowledge of how a business operates, and she would exercise entrepreneurship skills to maintain her position.
“I wasn’t exposed to business,” Williams said. “Everything that I learned in business, I’ve learned in the last 15 years by being thrown into it. I learned a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, especially growing up in Dayton and seeing the hustler in me. That’s the story you’ll see in a lot of people.”
Williams also spoke on a career panel in a more formal setting the next day, offering a wider audience of students her experience in many different roles and careers.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg.