The choices Jennie Tranter ’96 made in her early career days had a feeling of randomness. But after getting coaching and learning to look for the underlying values, she realized he had always been seeking beauty and ways to help and connect deeply with others. Find out how making that realization and grounding decisions in values can lead to where you need to be, at least for the moment.
Shared with permission from Lesley Rowley and the Roads Taken podcast.
Click below to listen to Tranter’s episode.
EPISODE NOTES
Guest Jennie Tranter decided to try on a new persona in college and be more outgoing and social than she’d been previously. Academically, having desired to be a doctor, she loaded on the science classes. She took a religion course to fill a distributive requirement and was completely taken by the idea that, unlike in science, there may not be just one right answer and she may have to become more comfortable with uncertainty. She became a religion major and, after a study abroad program in Europe, doubled down on her German studies with her eye on getting back to Europe after graduation. Despite a heap of uncertainty, she ultimately found a way to do that, but kept coming back to the U.S. and trying new things.
Eventually, she leaned into the international lifestyle and worked at the intersection of finance and international relations—where she thought she’d be happy. While elements of her life were fulfilling, she sought something different and ultimately worked with a coach to bring more clarity to things. She uncovered that the values that she prized were beauty—particularly being out and about in nature—and excellence. When she took some time to figure out what that meant, she took on a volunteer opportunity that made her remember her early desires to help people. Combining the elements she knew were vital to her transformation, she began coaching others in liminal circumstances and pursued a career in psychotherapy.
In this episode, find out from Jennie how uncovering the many elements of who you are and grounding decisions in values can lead you to where you need to be…on ROADS TAKEN…with Leslie Jennings Rowley.
