Today marks my 5th work anniversary at Wheels Up Collective. In 2021, Amy hired me for the position of marketing associate and I've been serving the team ever since. 

While this milestone once felt like a distant idea, it has suddenly become very real. As I reflect on the past five years, I’m hit with a wave of emotions: nostalgia, gratitude, and fulfillment most of all.

My fiancé recently asked me about this milestone. Coming from a background in big agency America, he pointed out how rare it is to see such strong loyalty to a company. He’s right. But for me, it’s more than that.

This isn’t just a place I work, it’s where my marketing career began. It’s where I was given the opportunity to learn, to try, to fail, and to grow. It’s where I developed not just skills, but confidence in myself and in the work I’m capable of producing.

When I first started, I remember being the “newbie”, taking everything in, learning systems, processes, and terminology that were all entirely new to me. Like any new role, there was a learning curve. But what stood out early on wasn’t the work itself, it was the environment. The willingness my teammates had to teach, support, and invest in one another made a lasting impression.

I’m grateful to be part of an agency where people genuinely care about one another. That kind of culture isn’t something you can manufacture, it’s something that grows in the day-to-day. It’s had a lasting impact on how I’ve grown, and it’s a big part of the loyalty I feel.

I’m especially grateful for the people who shaped that journey. Amy Winner and Elise Oras—your mentorship and belief in me made all the difference. The time, patience, and guidance you both gave me had an immeasurable impact, and it’s something I’ll always carry with me. Those early conversations, feedback sessions, and moments of encouragement helped lay the foundation for how I approach my work today.

Looking back, each year has brought its own lesson:

Year 1: Stay open—there is always more to learn than you think This was a year of trying everything. I was figuring out what I was good at, what I enjoyed, and how much I still had to learn.

Year 2: Move quickly, but stay thoughtful in your decisions Somewhere along the way, I shifted from asking most of the questions to being the one others came to for answers.

Year 3: Growth often comes from stepping outside your comfort zone When a cofounder stepped away due to a family emergency, I stepped into responsibilities I wasn’t fully prepared for and grew because of it.

Year 4: Relationships are everything and how you show up matters As our team grew, I learned that how I support, communicate, and show up for people matters just as much as the work itself.

Year 5: Trust your instincts and have confidence in how far you’ve come Stepping into a leadership role has pushed me to stop second-guessing and start trusting the experience I’d already built.

What’s interesting is that none of these lessons exist in isolation, they build on one another. 

Five years into this work, I can see how much has changed. Not just in my role, but in how I think, work, and approach problems. And while the work continues to evolve, the foundation remains the same: Stay curious, stay open, and keep showing up.

I’m grateful for the journey so far, the people who have been part of it, and the lessons that continue to shape what comes next. Cheers to the next five years!

Want to work with Wheels Up Collective? Let us know. We’d love to hear what we could help with.