Fortuitous moments happen all of the time, and when we are lucky, we recognize them.
My career has been a balanced equation of hard work, vision, and luck. I've taken risks when it felt expedient to do so and so far, each one has offered real experience and growth which has exposed the next turn in the road. Sometimes as educators, we get started on a path and stay the course for a lot of different reasons. I stayed in the classroom for 16 years and then moved to leadership and then to consulting and publishing and now to the biggest and most exciting shift yet - Chief Operating Officer and Partner at EdTech StartUp Mastery Portfolio.
A few weeks ago, Constance Borro, CEO of Mastery Portfolio randomly reached out to me on Facebook messenger sharing about the work that they do and wondering if and how we chat and possibly join forces. I'm always enthusiastic about speaking with other like-minded assessment people - there's a synergy there that I appreciate and revel in. From that short instant message, we started emailing until our first official call.
Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect - I do get contacted by EdTech companies from time to time to review their software or offer feedback in an advisory capacity. But this one felt different. Ahead of our first call, I did some research - went to their website, looked at their social media, watched their youtube videos, etc.
Constance and I hit it off right away. We have a lot in common and there was a good vibe, the right one, and conversations began. She told me about the company and the plans they had to build it. She shared reading materials with me and eventually, she sent me the job description that literally felt like it was written for me. There wasn't a single facet of the position that I didn't feel I could excel at if given the right opportunity and support while I learned. This company would provide me some critical and dynamic tools to offer my current portfolio of schools, and it would allow me to expand and scale the work I’d been doing solo to have an even greater impact.
And so the hiring process began. Despite knowing that I was the right person for the job, they have a hiring process in place that I both respect and enjoyed. It was different from any place I've worked in before. First, we had conversations and I had to submit my interest in a formal letter and resume, then we played an interactive strategic game, and then I had to collaboratively complete an authentic work task. Not only did I connect with the work, but collaborating with Constance and Ben was easy. There was a natural synergy between the three of us where all of our strengths worked together to make us a great team.
Our last and final conversation before the offer came was a natural one. Many tough questions were asked and at the end of the day, I wanted them to be successful and frankly, if I wasn't the best fit, then I didn't want them to offer me the job. Although I don't have much business experience yet, I am a fast and eager learner, and my passion for the content is unmatched by many and that's just what I told them.
Fortunately, the way I felt wasn't one-sided and they offered me the position. This new and exciting journey will be one I hope to document as I always have and I'm hoping to have the opportunity to continue to work with the schools I already work with and many more who are invested in doing this important assessment work. I will continue to consult and work with teacher teams and now I have a tool that makes the work (communicating it and doing it) that much easier.
To see if working with the Mastery Portfolio team is the right move for you and your school, or to get a demo on our inaugural app, The MasteryBook, schedule a free discovery call at masteryportfolio.com