Today we’d like to introduce you to Leigha Hughes.
Hi Leigha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In need of a creative outlet for myself, while building my corporate communications career, I created A Southern Compass Blog. It’s a workwear and lifestyle blog aimed at sharing effortless office-ready outfits for the modern working woman. Additionally, readers will find bits of the everyday life of a young professional, from beauty to career tips, inspiration, and motivation.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a storyteller. The medium in which I am telling stories has shifted throughout my career, but the passion for sharing stories and writing remains at the core of my career selections and progression. My career started in broadcast journalism, where I spend 3.5 years as an on-air broadcast news reporter in Nebraska and East Texas. As I grew as a professional, the opportunities to tell stories transitioned to the digital media space and roles in the non-profit, higher education, and oil & gas sectors.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With all things in life, there have been challenges along the way. The most notable is the realization that my ambition to continue my broadcast news career was shifting. The industry is notoriously hard to break into in the first place, so any young journalist jumps at any opportunity to get your foot in the door. After busting my butt and paying my dues, lugging heavy equipment, and living with little to no work-life balance for nearly four years… I started to think about changing careers. It seems like that wouldn’t be such a big deal but when you only had a Plan A for what your career would be like, looking at a blank slate is a really challenging and humbling experience.
At points when I was applying for new role after role in different industries trying to make my next career move, I felt like a failure. That I was giving up my dream that I had worked so hard for or that I wasn’t giving it enough time. I cannot even tell you how many times I went back and forth about the decision to change career paths but ultimately found the right opportunity that led to the next phase of my life and career. But the doubt and feeling that I had made a mistake didn’t leave me for some time, even though I was thriving in my new role and beginning the three-year journey to earning my MBA. It wasn’t until I saw a LinkedIn post from a friend from college that had a line in it that said, “Some dreams aren’t meant to last forever” – did I really realize that I had achieved my dream of becoming a reporter. I hadn’t failed. I hadn’t given up. I just needed to realize that for me, that dream wasn’t meant to last forever and it was time for to think and dream bigger for what was next.
Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to continue learning and growing in my career as a Marketing & Communications Professional in the corporate arena. I’m still young in my career and have so much to learn from mentors and leaders in the field.
For A Southern Compass Blog, the future is bright. Every day I’m working with my team to strategize new ways to deliver content that adds real value for my readers and followers on my platforms. My channels originally were skewed more towards lifestyle, but I’ve recently reevaluated my brand and see that my true passion is for helping women succeed in their careers. So the content on my blog, social media, and YouTube (coming soon) will be geared towards that subject matter. I’ll be sharing more career tips, motivation, ready-to-wear office outfit inspiration and more in the coming months.
Contact Info:
- Email: asoutherncompass@gmail.com
- Website: https://asoutherncompass.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asoutherncompass/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asoutherncompass
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXEz1DopVVAa1ah1rnc-vSQ
