Above: Corey Robertson, a Moondance leader, traveling with students in Chamonix.
Corey Robertson is a University of Alabama graduate who has worked internationally at Deloitte and Wise. She has recently been accepted into a prestigious MBA programme in France. Corey writes about how focusing on experiences rather than internships, and even jobs, has propelled her professional and academic career and personal confidence.
September 30, 2024
by Corey Robertson
Take a chance, and then take another… perpetually.
I feel fairly confident that everyone will experience at least one curveball that life throws at us. I also feel confident saying that these curveballs will come at a time when you least expect them, hence the name curveball, yet they will be timed perfectly.
I started working for Moondance as a leader from 2013 – 2015 while I was still in college/grad school and while getting my Masters. It was the perfect summer job and after my first summer with Moondance, choosing to return the following summer was never a difficult decision.
As I continued to work for Moondance, something I noticed in myself was a shift in my confidence. I was confident in the person and professional I was becoming. Moondance pushed me to be a better multi-tasker, a better listener and a generally more aware person. It was with Moondance that I learned about conflict resolution, professionalism with parents and coworkers, and working with 3rd party providers that may have a different goal or way of working with people. I also learned to take chances, leave both my ego and anything that happened in the past at the door, and I learned how to show up for those who deserve it most. These experiences were far more beneficial in an office environment than learning about v lookups in excel or how to read new tax legislation. Those skills can be taught and learned in the office but the people skills you glean as a Moondance leader aren’t always so easy to come by.
Back to the curveball life threw my way this past year: the secure role with the company I had been with for over 4 years was moving to another country. I wasn’t quite willing to give up my life in London and so I parted ways with an amazing company in search of something else. I applied to a business school in France on a whim, knowing that if I was to get into the school, it wouldn’t start until January 2025, leaving me with plenty of free time in 2024. I sent Hayes a quick text over Christmas asking if he’d be interested in having a 32-year-old come back to lead for one more summer. The professional curveball in my life left me feeling a bit lost and dejected and I knew that if I got into the MBA programme, I’d want to go in as my best self; and Moondance summers have consistently left me feeling like that. Unplugging, pouring into and learning from amazing kids, pushing myself and my team physically, developing co-leader dynamics – I was ready for it all.
Somehow I got into that MBA programme; I’m still wondering what they were thinking! But in looking back at my application, it is easy to see that I am different from a typical MBA applicant. Perhaps it was my work experience, but I like to think the excerpt below from one of my essays also had something to do with it.
From a small, conservative southern Alabama town to a naturalized British citizen, my chosen path demonstrates a commitment to live life in ALL CAPS.
My formative years in the rural South were happily punctuated with family trips home and abroad, each leaving me less connected to the confines of my environment than the last. When I was 15 I embarked on my first endeavor with Moondance Adventures, an outdoor travel company elevating the notion of a summer camp. Spending weeks at a time in the backcountry of Washington, Alaska, and Peru sans technology and creature comforts shaped the person I am today. I excelled in these environments, finding deep comfort in the uncomfortable. These experiences were the most formative of all, laying the foundation of a life rich in adventure, risk, and radical self-reliance.
So if I can leave you with any guidance, from a veteran leader still working my life out: take the chance, do something different next summer and lead again if your heart’s in it. You have the rest of your life to work, especially in a corporate environment. These companies are built on high turnover and a spot will be available for you. You could have a story about trekking to Machu Picchu or summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, keeping 12 kids safe, navigating illness, injury, crisis management, etc. So set yourself up to tell a different story in some of the coolest places on earth while leaving a lasting impact on the best kids around.
