My journey to Backcountry

My journey to Backcountry .

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be working in a warehouse, I would have called you CRAZY. You see, I started broadcasting at the young age of 16. I specialized in action sports. I was just a junior in high school when I started traveling. I would go to school during the week and often spent my weekends traveling to various events such as Dew Tour and X Games. Fast forward to age 19. I was beyond blessed and was able to travel to 20 countries that summer with broadcasting. At age 21 I decided to switch things up and started working for ESPN locally in Utah. I switched to traditional sports and would produce games such as Real Salt Lake, attend NBA games and write recaps for the web, handle social media, help with remotes, etc. I thought broadcasting was my forever career.

When I turned 24, I decided to randomly apply to be a flight attendant. Within 48 hours I was on a plane to Chicago. I spent over 16 hours that day in Chicago going through a brutal interview process. Out of over 500 individuals, I was selected as one of very few to get my “conditional job offer.” I then flew and lived in a hotel in Florida for over a month during intense training. Once I passed my training, and had earned my “wings,” I then had 3 days to move to Las Vegas, NV where I was based. I now thought flight attending was going to be my next forever career.

I learned quickly that flight attending was very lonely and more stressful than the public eye sees. I ended up moving back home to Utah. I was stuck. I thought I knew what my forever career was going to be, not once, but twice. It was stressful not knowing what I wanted to do for work. I remember my oldest sister (who has worked for Backcountry for going on 12 years now) told me to apply at Backcountry. I laughed. I said out loud “a warehouse?” She kept telling me how amazing it was to work at Backcountry. The perks, the benefits, the people, etc. I remember her telling me “Just apply, it’s at least a job until you find what you want to do next!” I also looked back and thought to myself how well they have treated my sister over all the years. I finally applied.

I remember I was in North Carolina visiting a friend at the time when I got a call saying I had gotten the job at Backcountry. I was now a seasonal employee for the warehouse in West Valley City. I flew home and started that following Monday. I remember my orientation class like it was yesterday. I never expected to be in a warehouse, let alone LOVE it! I became one of the top performers and was awarded employee of the month my second month. I was seasonal but I enjoyed my job. I begged and begged that they would hire me full-time. After what felt like forever (5 months), I got called to come to the manager's office. I was hired full-time right then and there. This was over 3 years ago, and I am still here. Since then, I have moved my way up and am a training specialist. I now run orientation classes for new hires, just like the one I went through when I got hired on. I love what I do! I love being the first-person new hires meet when they come to Backcountry. I love spreading the stoke and sharing my passion for not only the outdoors but my place of employment as well.

If you were to ask me now where I see myself in another 5 years, I will tell you that I HOPE it is in this warehouse!