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Black Girl College Prep is dedicated to enhancing the academic prowess, leadership development, and overall life and career preparedness of young women from underserved communities in middle school and up.
As the founder of Black Girl College Prep, I couldn't think of a better time than Women's History Month to highlight a variety of local trailblazers, pioneers, extraordinary changemakers, and professional women in my own network, giving our girls tangible examples of something to strive for. Spring has sprung; now is the perfect time to hand out fresh flowers.
I mean, of course, I believe in giving people their flowers when they are still able to smell them.
There is power in storytelling and opportunity in transparency, vulnerability, and humble learning and unlearning. Many of these incredible stories are filled with just that—learning, unlearning, transparency, vulnerability, fearlessness, and charting new paths—which, in my opinion, sums up what Women's History Month is all about. It is through tenacity and authenticity that we create stories that will inspire, guide, and lead the way for a future generation of women. From discussing college majors, career choices, and the highs and lows of growing into womanhood, these women's shared experiences are designed to inspire our network of young girls by amplifying the diversity of their voices and adding to the collective narrative of women's empowerment. These stories contribute to building a more prepared generation of middle school, high school, and college students.
Without further ado, today, we pay homage to Talia Taylor. Talia has attended various colleges and universities, including San Francisco State University, California State East Bay, the University of East Anglia, Harvard Extension, Los Angeles Community College, and Contra Costa College. She has a rich passion for creativity, design, instruction, the arts, and culture. Talia is an instructional designer by profession, an artistic genius, and a creative visionary who is building Ice Cream Paints, a therapeutic art boutique offering custom paintings and graphic art for licensing, packaging, and home decor in her spare time.
Let's check out some of Talia's career paths and the journey that got her where she is today.
So, Talia, tell us, what was your major in college, and are you working in that field? If not, why not?
For undergrad, I was a double major, majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing and in Africana Studies with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences. For graduate school, I studied business and global innovation. My profession allows me to leverage skills and knowledge acquired in undergrad and graduate school.
What is the best piece of career advice that you've ever gotten, and why?
The best career advice that I’ve gotten is to be prepared. For example, being prepared for meetings makes the best use of everyone’s time and contributes to the genius design of a product or idea. I still use this advice today, and when possible, I review agendas ahead of time to see if there is anything I can contribute to support robust discussions during the team’s time spent together.
What message would you offer your 18-year-old self?
Hmm, I’d tell the 18-year-old me to commit to a Bible study group and pay close attention to what those who don’t study the Bible are doing. Compare their outcomes to those who are studying the Bible. Do your best to refrain from judging. Just observe while deepening relationships with those who study and apply scripture to their lives.
Tell us about your career journey, including both major successes and disappointments.
Let me begin by sharing a significant achievement. As the Chair of our company’s Black ERG, I successfully secured a meeting with Sephora’s CEO. It was certainly a noteworthy accomplishment, given the busy schedules of most CEOs. Nonetheless, I was able to represent our ERG and facilitate this meeting.
A disappointment on my career journey has been realizing that I could have taken advantage of internships each summer of undergrad at a point when it was too late.
My overall career journey, whew! I may not have enough time to share it on this platform, but for brevity, I started my career in nonprofit, believing that I would change the world. I was an effective change agent serving as a program coordinator and was soon promoted to program manager. At this level, I became increasingly fond of systems and processes designed to support results-driven initiatives.
My interest in systems and processes redirected my attention to the mechanisms of the corporate sector. So, halfway through my career, I went to graduate school for business and earned a Master’s in Business Administration.
This degree helped me to secure roles as an instructional designer and instructional design consultant. My first role out of graduate school was as an intern at a private physician’s practice group. I was eight weeks pregnant with my first child, mentioned it during the interview, and landed the role. The hiring manager confided in me and said she took me on because she, too, was pregnant.
During this time, I led the redesign of educational assets associated with the company’s Scribe program. While on staff, these assets were licensed to Case Western Reserve University Medical School. Given that this was my first role related to Instructional Design out of grad school, the partnership with a medical school gave me the confidence needed to continue with my pursuits as an ID in corporate.
Later, I was contracted with Northern California’s leading utility company as an ID consultant and, after that, moved on to work with a team of designers at Sephora, USA, where I currently steer the development of training for all company employees.
What advice would you give a middle schooler, high schooler, or college girl about life?
My advice to middle schoolers is to consider why you spend time with the people you hang out with. Is it because they are popular, intelligent, rebellious, studious, entertaining, or funny? Really take time to consider your social network. Like many people say, birds of a feather flock together. So, what habits are your crew engaging in? Are these the habits that you believe will make them or you successful in life? If so, how? If not, then do you think this is the social circle best suited for you?
For high schoolers, take your time with everything. This is a time when, if people are moving fast, you should slow down and take time to feel the breeze. Let people pass by you. Be wary of joining cliques so soon. Why? Well, because you can get caught up in behaviors that lead to decisions and outcomes that can impact your entire life. Also, casual sex can result in an STD. What seems like harmless vaping can make way for an addiction. A prank that you might think is funny can result in a misdemeanor. If you take time to slow down and observe the actions of your peers, it won’t be long before you realize the consequences. Watch and learn from them instead of being so quick to be like your peers.
To college girls, Girl, be serious about positioning yourself to be found as a wife! When young men express interest in you, don’t take it lightly. College is where you can find the man of your dreams if you don’t fumble it. Believe that you are something special for the young men to court! Whatever you focus on is where you will attract suitors. You focus on the parties, and that is where you will attract your suitors. You focus on your studies, and the places where you study are where you will encounter suitors. Think about your goals. Would you rather attract a consistent partygoer, someone who waits until the last minute to study because they are attending every social during the week and weekends, or someone who is focused on their career objective?
Plan backward. Where do you see yourself after graduation? What do you need to do to get there? If you are unsure, ask someone in that position and take copious notes. Associate yourself with like-minded peers, deepening their knowledge and developing skills and work experience. Do not leave God out of the equation.
Look for an internship each winter semester so that you can spend your summers interning and developing your professional network and interests. This will help you narrow down and hone in on a career objective. Study abroad.
To all girls: To mitigate the risks of getting into any kind of “trouble,” girls and young women should be:
• Actively looking for a mentor or contributing to a relationship with a mentor
• Developing work experience
• Being of service to their community or family
What does Women's History Month mean to you, as a Black woman?
For me, Women’s History Month is an opportunity to especially consider my role in society as a woman. With so many events this month, I can have fellowship and foster relationships with other like-minded women.
I sincerely hope that you enjoyed Talia's story and gleaned something valuable from it. Be sure to share your top takeaways with your learners or the students in your sphere of influence.
Again, it is by sharing our experiences that we can educate, motivate, and empower the next generation of lady leaders.
Happy Women's History Month! Make sure to tune in at the same time next week.
Connect with Talia Taylor on linkedin here or social media @icecreampaints
Xo,
Coach Rahk
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