Reposted from Technical.ly Pittsburgh
How a former acting major became a tech sector VP led by curiosity
Retiring Innovation Works exec Terri Glueck says critical thinking and communication skills helped her build a career. Here's the advice she'd give her college-age self.
Terri Glueck remembers being upset when she was cut from Carnegie Mellon University’s acting program when she was 19 years old.
But nearly 45 years later, as she prepares to step away from public relations and the org she’s worked at for 20 years, state-backed seed investor and startup booster Innovation Works, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
The way the retiring VP of community development and communications sees it, although she didn’t have the career on stage she dreamed of when she first set foot on CMU’s Oakland campus, she learned to think critically thanks to joining the Tepper Business School. This skill, Glueck said, along with the ability to communicate ideas clearly, is what most of her career has been built around.
Plus, by choosing to become a PR practitioner, Glueck got a front-row seat to the Pittsburgh tech ecosystem’s evolution. Despite not being a technologist, Glueck told Technical.ly that she believes her curiosity has taken her a long way.
In this edition of Technical.ly’s How I Got Here series, Glueck, now 61, reflects on the lessons she’s learned and why a liberal arts education can serve you well in the long run. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.