AEO is proud to congratulate the graduates of The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) Emerging Leaders Program and is celebrating our associates – Miguelina, Tami and Shana – who were part of the cohort. The Emerging Leaders Program prepares rising Black leaders for professional success and meaningful advancement in both corporate and community roles and is presented by TALI in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, and in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, Robert Morris University, and Duquesne University.
Miguelina, Tami and Shana share their insights into the program, including their most meaningful takeaways and what’s NEXT for their career journey at AEO.
What is the most meaningful take away from your time in The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) Emerging Leaders Program? Any favorite learning to share?
The course program was very well rounded and a great reminder that we should never stop learning. I can see myself continuing to take personal development classes sporadically throughout my life. My favorite class was Accounting 101. The module was the most challenging, but it taught me patience and persistence.
How do you see yourself applying your learnings from the program to your role at AEO?
In my opinion, TALI was a great representation of AEO’s values – people, passion, innovation, integrity and teamwork. During the time I attended the program, it enhanced my natural skills, taught me new concepts, and how to successfully navigate challenges I may face as a new leader.
What are you most excited about in your career journey?
I am most excited about applying my newly acquired skills in my current role.
What do you hope is NEXT for you at AEO?
I would love to venture into new leadership roles that enable me to expand my career.
What is the most meaningful take away from your time in The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) Emerging Leaders Program? Any favorite learning to share?
My most meaningful takeaway is all of the strategic planning I’ve been able to do for my career. It seems to be common knowledge to regularly reflect and plan strategically, but sitting down to actually do it is easier said than done (at least for me). Using the module time each month for learning, planning and implementation was hugely impactful for me.
How do you see yourself applying your learnings from the program to your role at AEO?
I’ve already been able to! One of my favorite things about TALI is that every session comes with several different pieces of actionable advice, and usually fairly bite-sized, so you can choose which pieces are most fitting for your needs and begin implementing almost immediately.
What are you most excited about in your career journey?
Continued engagement in the TALI program and with the TALI community. I can’t say enough good things about the community that the TALI organization has built and continues to build – it’s been very meaningful to me both personally and professionally.
What do you hope is NEXT for you at AEO?
Continued growth! Learning other segments of the AEO business, revisiting my TALI learnings on a semi-regular basis to keep me on track for the growth and career development I want to see.
What is the most meaningful take away from your time in The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) Emerging Leaders Program? Any favorite learning to share?
We learned so many important things while at TALI, but I would say having a vision and being intentional about how I show up as a leader was one of the most meaningful takeaways I got from the program. I personally experienced clarity for my future at TALI and tactics on how to get there. More importantly, now I have a vast network of classmates, mentors, professors, and executives rooting for me every step of the way.
How do you see yourself applying your learnings from the program to your role at AEO?
I started applying things that I learned as I was going through the program. A lot of the teachings were structured in a way that you can immediately implement them into your role.
For example our first assignment we were asked to gather feedback from those we see as role models and who have leadership qualities that we think highly of. It was scary at first, but gave us the ability to see how we’re perceived by others and to look outside of ourselves. The feedback that I received resulted in me being more intentional about how I show up and pushed me to exude leadership qualities others saw in me that I didn’t realize I possessed.
What are you most excited about in your career journey?
I’m most excited about one day becoming a design leader and to give back what’s been and (is still being) taught to me. I work within a supportive team and I admire how our managers and senior designers at AEO advocate for our customers and are at the cutting edge of innovation. I know that there will be a time in the future when I can do the same and help grow the next generation of designers.
What do you hope is NEXT for you at AEO?
I hope that I can elevate within the team and continue to create and design innovative and exciting experiences for our customers while also advocating for diversity in the design community as a whole.