“You Don’t Need a Perfect Plan” - Ashley Sosa & Craig Schmidt

Ashley Sosa, a Project and Program Management Consultant with Allstate, knows how to “make it work.” Ashley was working in the non-profit sector and knew she wanted more, but wasn’t sure what more was. After getting an email about an apprenticeship opportunity with Allstate, she took a leap of faith and transitioned to Allstate—but she didn’t stop there. Ashley decided to get her bachelor’s and soon her master’s at the same time, balancing a full-time job with a full load of classes. 

Craig Schmidt is the Assistant Vice President in the School of Extended Learning at Governors State University and the co-chair of the Apprentice Ambassador workgroup. Craig didn’t know much about apprenticeship until midway in his career. Now, he works with businesses to implement apprenticeship programs in areas such as healthcare, CDL, and information technology and more. 

Ashley and Craig talk about balancing work and school, making sacrifices to achieve your goals, and how to raise apprenticeship awareness in underserved communities. 

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to ApprenticeshipIL.com and follow Apprenticeship Illinois on LinkedIn. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

The Apprentice Ambassador Program selects an annual cohort of star, current, or former apprentices to represent a wide variety of industries throughout Illinois. During their year in the cohort, Apprentice Ambassadors serve as guest speakers at business events to showcase the impact apprenticeship has had on them, their families, and their companies. The Apprentice Perspective brings their stories to you, our listeners.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Hello, and welcome to today's episode of The Apprentice Perspective. My name is Craig Schmidt, and I am the Assistant Vice President in the School of Extended Learning at Governor State University. I will be your host for this episode, and I'm joined by our Apprentice Ambassador, Ashley Sosa, today.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Hello, my name is Ashley Sosa, and I am a project and program management consultant at Allstate. I am based out of Chicago, Illinois.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Let's start from the beginning. Tell us how you came to start your apprenticeship.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Honestly, I was at a point in my life where I wanted more for myself, but I wasn't exactly sure what that looked like. So at the moment I was working for a nonprofit focused on doing taxes. So I was an operation specialist, and that's where my intrigue came for the computer science track. And because I was enrolled in that track, that's how that email or that opportunity from Allstate came in my inbox, which was like, hey, we're looking for people specifically majoring in computer science. I was looking at it, and at the moment I was like, well, I already have a job. Do I really want to transition? It was honestly taking a risk. I guess a lot of people that come in through Allstate as well, they're like, it sounds like a scam. Like it's it's one of those opportunities that it's like it's too good to be true. Um, so it definitely took a lot of research and it definitely took a leap of faith for sure because, like I said, I already had a job. So for me to like go ahead and like put my two weeks' notice, like, hey, I'm actually going to go to Allstate and see what this does for me was a huge thing to do. I didn't grow up with a lot of connections or people showing me the different career paths that existed. A lot of what I knew came from figuring out things on my own and hoping I was making the right decisions. Um, I'm a risk taker, I will say that. I'm not afraid of like a different environment. And I was looking at the long run, like the end goal. I was like, this is going to be an opportunity that definitely is going to benefit me at the end. And then it's a job working in corporate from a very young age. And I was like, well, if I have this opportunity at this age, um I might as well take that risk.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Take us inside your apprenticeship journey. What did that program include and how, you know, your work hours, your school hours, how did that all come together?

SPEAKER_02 2:58

I got to work on real projects, support teams, and contribute in ways that actually mattered. I wasn't sitting on the sidelines watching other people do the work. I was actively involved in learning through experience, but there was also a huge professional development component. I had opportunities to network with leaders, connect with mentors, learn from experienced professionals and gain exposure to the parts of the business I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Craig, I while we're also here, I would like to learn more from your background. Like how did you get to where you are at today?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Well, I grew up in a small uh farming community, and the word apprenticeship was obsolete. I've never even heard of that until my midway in my career when I moved up here near Chicago and started at a community college. And about that same time, this was in 20, well, I was in 2014, and at about that same time, the uh state of Illinois started the initiatives around apprenticeships. And that's really when I started really understanding them that there's more to apprenticeships outside of the construction trades. And so working at the community college, working with businesses, we implemented uh apprenticeship programs in CDL transportation, we did manufacturing and we did information technology. And then that just when I first heard about apprenticeships, I'm like, this is so complicated. But it it really isn't once you start, you know, kind of ironing out what you need as an employer. It's like you need someone to work and you need someone to have the knowledge. And that's really what an apprenticeship is. And then so going from the community college, I went to an industry association, focused mostly on manufacturing, created more apprenticeships with them. And then when I came to Governor State University, I started supply chain apprenticeships. We also have community health worker apprenticeship and um teacher, special education teacher apprenticeship now, too. So apprenticeships has changed the way we're operating in the the non-credit world, I'll say, but apprenticeships can also be focused on credit-bearing classes as well. But it's just been an opportunity to see individuals really flourish in a in a career. And it's just really been kind of been a passion of mine ever since I've started this. It's just been a lot of fun. You know, one of the things that apprenticeships bring is they're come they come in many different forms in terms of working hours, going to school hours. I'd like to hear a little bit about your journey in that process.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

So I was working full-time and I was enrolled in school as well full-time. My end goal was like, yes, I want to work, but I also don't want to disregard like the school component from it. And I like to overachieve. At some point, I was working 40 hours and taking five courses in the afternoon because I was enrolled in school full-time. No way. And honestly, it was a very big challenge, but I I had the will. I really had the will, and I had my mindset that I wanted to get this degree done. So that kept me busy a lot of my afternoons after work. I pretty much had no social life, but that was something that I was willing to take on. I didn't care necessarily to miss out on things because I knew what my end goal was.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Wow, that is um quite incredible, Ashley. Working full-time and going to school full-time. That while I really commend you in those efforts there. You know, a lot of the apprenticeships that we set up here, a lot of them are working full-time, but then going to school part-time. And, you know, and one of talking about that, you know, a lot of the individuals when you're graduating high school and they say, Oh, you're not college material, you should go to the trades, right? Well, people don't understand when you're going to the trades, you're still going to school too. And so, you know, we need to stay away from that uh phrase of that, because you know, just like your apprenticeship, yours learning, you're going to school, you're learning on the job, the work-based learning, and then you also have the related training instructions. So, while I just um want to clap for you on that. That's that's just that's truly amazing. So, let's talk about, you know, what were some of you, you know, you school full-time or working full-time. How did that impact your family? What support did you have in terms of assistance in that area?

SPEAKER_02 7:04

As my afternoons were pretty busy uh with school, it was pretty much like get home, have a meal, go straight to class, and then by then, like your night routine, you're going to bed. So pretty much no like family time within the week. Um, so that's when my weekends came. And I'm like, hey, like I'm excited for the weekend, but it was also catching up on everything that I did not do through the week. So it did affect like my, I guess my the amount of time that I spended with my family. That was definitely like something that was a challenge. Um, I'm very family oriented, so that one was definitely hard. I would try to join whatever like we would have going on on the weekends, but other than that, it was like I am absolutely not available during the week. So anything that you guys want to do, please make sure that it's on the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Right. And when you um told your family and friends you were joining an apprenticeship program, what what were the the reaction to that?

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Nobody knew what it was. I I come from a low-income neighborhood and Chicago public schools. Our opportunities are very limited, and it's very much like if you're not looking or putting yourself in these spaces, these opportunities are not coming your way whatsoever. So it's very much like if you want to make it, you have to do the work. But it was also an opportunity for me to share that once I found out about apprentice programs, I started telling my network. I'm like, hey, like you don't know what path you want to take after high school. I'm like, hey, this is a great route. This is something that would still align. Um, so that's definitely how I took the opportunity. I'm like, hey, well, you don't know about it, but now I know about it. So now let's start telling other people about it, is how I took it.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Oh, that's great. And as an apprentice ambassador that you are, spreading the word is uh very uh we really appreciate that. Was there a moment during your apprenticeship when it like really clicked for you that you know this is working and this is the right path for me?

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Yes, I we have monthly connections. They're called cohort connections. We literally connect with two cohorts of apprentices. You just see the impact that you make, you see the connections that are being made, you see how we really lean on each other for support, even if now we haven't even met in person, like because this is completely remote. But you see how strong the connection is. We all come from different backgrounds, right? I think like all of our end goal is to be successful, and that's something that will forever connect you with somebody. And that's what kept me going. That's what made it click. Just seeing how much of an impact we were making on people from various ages. Craig, what would you say to middle school or high school students who are thinking about what careers to pick?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah, I would tell young individuals today to look at all options. You know, not only when you're looking for employment at employers, you you want to see are they offering an apprenticeship? I would look at your local community colleges, your local universities to see what apprenticeships that they offer. Because many of the colleges and universities have relationships with employers. And um, and you know, whether they're doing upskilling of training or whether they're implementing apprenticeships, there's a lot of collaboration going on. And so I would just recommend any individual to talk to an apprentice ambassador, talk to, you know, do their research and seeing really what opportunities are going to be best for them. Because there's so many out there that uh, you know, so you don't end up with a 60, 70,000, $80,000 student loan at the end of at the end of college. Because the apprenticeships can really, you know, put you on a track to a nice income and also no debt. So Ashley, you've had quite a run of working and and going to school. And so what what are the next steps for you?

SPEAKER_02 11:01

Yes, so I'm currently in the process of finishing up my bachelor's degree in psychology. So that will hopefully June of 2027 is my graduation time. Um, and as I'm wrapping up this bachelor's degree, I also decided to pursue my master's degree. My school currently has a pathway, so it's an accelerated pathway to get that master's degree. After my bachelor's, that would be my focus.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

And please don't tell me you're taking a full load of classes at the same time, are you still?

SPEAKER_02 11:32

I will still be enrolled in in school full-time and working full-time, but I will make it work.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Wow. Wow. Quite incredible. And congratulations and and kudos to you, Ashley. Job well done. Final question here. What do you want listeners to walk away with?

SPEAKER_02 11:50

I would encourage people to not be so focused on having everything figured out before taking the next step. For a long time, I thought I needed a perfect plan. I switched majors throughout my journey. And if you asked me years ago where I'd end up, I probably wouldn't have guessed. I'd be working in early careers and helping create programs and opportunities for others. My path definitely wasn't a straight line. And I think a lot of people can relate to that.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

That's great advice, Ashley. I truly appreciate that. And I and I would agree with you. You know, um, there's so many opportunities out there, and and um I would uh, you know, ask individuals to one, if you're currently working with an employer and you want to look at advancement to talk to that employer about implementing an apprenticeship there to see how you can, you know, get into that that new role. I would uh also ask um employers to look at their the way they are hiring and the way um they are upskilling their employees to see if an apprenticeship, if apprenticeship programs would be most beneficial for them because there's just so many opportunities with return on an investment. Uh when you're investing in your employees, you you have a loyal employee, and um it just can create a whole different dynamic work environment. Talk to apprentice ambassadors, talk to the local trades, do your research, because there's so many opportunities that can really put you on a career path for a livable, sustainable wage.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

To learn more about apprenticeships, go to apprenticeshipillinois.com. Thank you for joining us for this episode, and we look forward to seeing you next time on the apprentice perspective.