ANDREA PREGO

Looking back, what is one experience, relationship or lesson from the program that continues to influence your life or career today?

ANDREA PREGO: I think it all ties back to one person, and that’s Dr. [Kim] Allen. She has been one of the most influential figures during my entire time at UNC. From the very beginning when I met her during my interview process for Luther Hodges Scholars, she became a very steady figure of support and guidance in an incredibly overwhelming time from college to after college and everything since then. She’s always made time to discuss my career, to contact me with relevant opportunities, to check in on me occasionally and offer really thoughtful, supportive advice. I thought that after graduating, that relationship would look different, but it has never really faltered. She has always been one call or one email away.

How has your understanding of leadership evolved since graduating from the program?

ANDREA PREGO: Leadership, at least my definition of it, is ultimately about leaving people, places, communities better than how you found them. Looking back, I think that’s exactly what the Luther Hodges Scholars program prepared me to do. I think one thing that I’ve learned about leadership is that it’s not defined by the title that you hold or by your ability to manage people. It’s about creating clarity, building trust with a group of people that maybe you’re not super familiar with or super close to and helping bring those people together toward a shared purpose. This program really emphasized the idea of bringing together people, business, policy, economics and all these different facets to solve really complex problems. And that’s exactly how I continue to lead today. I think the idea of tying together all these unique people and unique backgrounds is exactly what the real world is like.

In what ways has the program shaped how you approach challenges, opportunities or decision-making in your professional life?

ANDREA PREGO: One of the biggest things that the program has given me is the confidence to be comfortable with the unknown. As a student, I was presented with a lot of opportunities that pushed me outside of my comfort zone as a part of this program. The biggest one that I can think of was interning in Thailand and working with people from completely different academic and cultural backgrounds. That experience was obviously something that I never expected I would have the opportunity to do, and it ended up being one of my favorite experiences in both my time at UNC and in my professional career as a whole.

I feel like I have accepted that my career path and most career paths are not perfectly linear, and I’ve been willing to take opportunities that let me learn something new, even if they look unconventional on paper or even if they are “a step back.” I’ve worked in marketing, I’ve worked in product management, consumer experience, economic development because each role has offered something unique, and I felt like it was going somewhere that I didn’t know or put me outside of my comfort zone. I think looking back, those experiences all complement each other more than I ever thought they would.

If you could share one message with current and future scholars, what would it be?

ANDREA PREGO: Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to have everything figured out. One of the biggest surprises that I had after graduating was that very few careers are linear, and the job that you think you want today may not even exist in a couple years from now, and sometimes the experiences that feel unrelated actually are the ones that become the most uniquely valuable thing on your resume. So take advantage of every opportunity that the program gives you, and just never lose sight of why you joined in the first place. Allow it to continue to ground you.

In one sentence, complete this statement: “Because of this program, I …”

ANDREA PREGO: Because of this program, I became a more confident version of myself and learned how to help others.

Interviewed by Phil Hardy. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.