LAMP Alum Melissa Thornley - Consultant in Leadership Development, Emotional Intelligence, and Women's Leadership
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Meet Melissa Thornley - (1993, Spanish BA). When Melissa came to IU from Park Ridge, IL, she was a journalism major. However, her love for Spanish artists and desire to live outside the U.S. led her to pursue Spanish with a focus on culture, language, and the arts instead. Melissa joined LAMP because she wanted business experience to work in international business, but also wanted a wide range of study.
After graduating, Melissa worked for a tech company, and throughout three years worked in its technical services, technical writing, and sales materials departments. Now, she is an independent consultant that focuses on leadership development training with a focus on emotional intelligence and women’s leadership. She works with corporate clients, creating programming that supports their leaders and drives results. Melissa also uses her background in film and advertising to produce and direct content for events.
In her professional career, Melissa hasn’t relied on her Spanish degree as much as she thought she would. Although, she uses the principles she learned in LAMP to solve problems every day. She explained that “our world has many challenges. If we want to meet these challenges, we need to look at things from many different perspectives. LAMP started my now life-long inquiry of how organizations and people can successfully make a positive impact on the world.”
Melissa’s advice to LAMP students is, “look at where your skills and interests intersect. Find ways to grow in those disciplines. Once you find a place to start, just start. Next steps will appear soon enough. Focus on growing a diverse network across multiple industries. You never know where your skills and interests might be applied. Don't take yourself too seriously. Number one piece of advice...ask lots of questions.”Thank you for sharing with us, Melissa! It’s great to hear from alumni and their unique experiences. We invite LAMP alumni of all ages to fill out our Stay in Touch form on the LAMP website.
Feature compiled by LAMP Alumni Relations intern Makynsie Bancroft; edited by LAMP staff Laresa Lund
