By Mikala McCurry
Servant Leadership is one of the most important components of being an influential leader. Carissa Crayton serves her community by being involved in numerous organizations around the city of Montgomery, including: Mayoral Council, Junior League, the Board of Directors for Leadership Montgomery, Torchbearers Class 7, Emerge Montgomery, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and a Member at Large for the River Region Young Democrats.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF. I’m from Sylacauga, AL, and I graduated from Sylacauga High School in 2008. I attended Alabama State University and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Legal Studies. In my spare time I like to try different wine tastings, play kickball, and cook.
DESCRIBE YOUR CAREER AS A COMPLIANCE SUPPORT SPECIALIST. In this role, I accumulated even more formatting and proofing skills. I worked with different types of policies each day ranging from legal, healthcare and employee rights. With these policies, I mostly used Microsoft Word. I assisted with day to day administrative support like: answering phones, scheduling appointments/meetings, creating groups, and sending out reminders. This position consisted of a lot of data entry and transcribing policy and procedure meeting minutes. During this time, I gained experience in Policy Manager and K-checks.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUTH ASPIRING TO BECOME A PART OF THIS CAREER FIELD? Do work you care about. Have a vision, have faith, and learn from your mistakes.
HOW HAS LEADERSHIP MONTGOMERY POSITIVELY IMPACTED YOUR LIFE? I currently sit on the Board of Directors for Leadership Montgomery, and I graduated from Torchbearers Class 7 (the Best TB Class Ever). This organization impacted my life in so many ways. I was introduced to so many great people that I would have not met on an everyday bases. The networking opportunities were amazing and still are. The learning experience was astonishing. We learned so much about ourselves, each other, and the City of Montgomery. Torchbearer was an incredible learning experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. It expanded my perception, built on my relationships, and enhanced my awareness.
HOW CAN YOU USE YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY? I can spread the knowledge that I have learned from others to the community and uplift others as they soar. I can also help the community as a whole become even more passionate about their city using my abilities and experience to create something enlightening, where people would love to come visit the city, want to stay in the city, and never want to leave.
WHAT WOULD MAKE MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA MORE ATTRACTIVE TO YOUNG PROFESSIONALS? Better Career Opportunities and growth would make Montgomery more attractive.
Carissa has 1 brother and 1 baby sister. Her family means the world to her and keeps her determined to succeed in life.
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