2013 was a learning year for me. I learned a lot about marketing, social media, content and myself. I try to learn and absorb as much as I can from those around me. For better or worse, I feel there is always knowledge to be gained, nobody who you come in contact with. But there are a two people who, without their guidance or influence, this year wouldn’t have taught me so much.

Susie Hall– The President of Vitamin T

I’ve worked under Susie in some capacity for the last 4.5 years. The last 2.5 years I’ve reported to her directly (until my recent role change.) I can honestly say I’ve never learned more from one individual, professionally, than I have from her. Besides being wicked smart, she has a way of continually inspiring our entire staff. Her knowledge of the staffing industry, marketing and career development has helped me grow into a completely new profession. Years ago, she believed in me when I came to her with 9 years of recruiting experience saying I wanted to make the move to the marketing side. I wanted run social media for the new brand we were launching, Vitamin T. Not only did she believe in me, she helped me every step along the way. I learned so much about myself, the way I interact with people, process, organization, self assessment and picking my battles. I have a completely different career path now. I don’t believe I would have had this chance many other places. I’m still awfully stubborn, but I’m so proud of who I’ve become and the knowledge I’ve gained, over the last few years. I owe so much of the direction to Susie. I’m sad to no longer be directly reporting to her, but I believe she’ll continue to be a mentor for me.

Nicole Guinther– Event Manager at Aquent

Over the last couple years we’ve worked very closely and traveled the world together. She’s turned into a good friend and a true inspiration. Nicole took on the daunting task of weight loss and living a healthier life in 2013. Down 50 lbs, she didn’t follow a fad diet. She worked out. Hard. And she changed her eating habits. She introduced me to paleo. At my heaviest in years, I decided I would give it a shot. Holy amazing! My skin is better, my sleep is better, I just FEEL better everyday. Paleo coupled with a more active lifestyle has been an incredible change for me. Physically I’m capable of more than I had ever imagined. I don’t see a trainer every week, like she does and I’m pretty sure she is far more regimented than I am. But without Nicole’s determination to do things the right way, the healthy way, I may have never discovered the paleo lifestyle. Or at least not’ve been so inspired to try it out for myself.

Overall, I feel like my career and my health are headed in the right direction. In 2014, one of my many goals, is to continue to seek out professional and personal mentors. I know it’s really my own choices that make these things a reality. But the help of those I admire and trust helping lead the way is more appreciated than I can express. I feel lucky and thankful to have Susie and Nicole in my life!