Some people let life’s obstacles get them down – but not Senior Retail Recruiter Audrey Howard. She turns them into success.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Audrey is the oldest of four. At 10 years old, her father received a scholarship to pursue his Ph.D. at Emory University in Atlanta. The single father, whose wife had recently passed away, decided to move his family of four to the U.S. “in hopes of achieving the ‘American dream,’” Audrey says. “As the oldest child, I naturally developed a go-getter mentality and learned to take on multiple responsibilities.” While her father pursued his doctorate and worked two jobs to provide for his family, Audrey took on many responsibilities her mother would have handled, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for her young siblings.
“My father is my hero,” she says. “He paved the way for me to be where I am today and taught me everything I know.”
Apart from her responsibilities at home, Audrey also had to find her place as a foreign student in an unfamiliar country. With Swahili as her primary language and English as her second, she struggled to fit in and adjust to a new culture…with different music, different fashion, and different food, to name a few. But, wanting to set an example for her younger siblings, Audrey was up for the challenge and consistently maintained honor roll-level grades. She went on to receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, graduating with honors.
Audrey learned that MarketSource was opening an office in Jacksonville, FL, and was hired as a recruiter trainee. True to form, she didn’t settle for “average” in her career. Three months later, Audrey was promoted to recruiter after being awarded the Golden Phone Award for highest production in the Jacksonville office that year. A year later, she was promoted again to her current position of senior recruiter and received the 2020 MVP Award for overall performance. “I always say never settle—always strive to elevate to whatever the next best thing is because there’s always room for improvement.”
And settle she does not!
“I have learned a lot during my time at MarketSource and my journey has been very rewarding,” Audrey said. “I’m excited to see what else my future holds here.”