Melinda B. Lewis has been nominated for two Hacker Noon awards this year, and we’re really excited to have her onboard. In this interview: saying no to working for free, millennial experiences of student loans, and digital detoxes.
1. Which 2020 Noonie/s have you been nominated for?
Contributor of the Year - Women in Tech, and
_Editor’s Note: _shoutout to Skillsoft_ for sponsoring the Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year Award for our Women in Tech tag category._
The winner of this award will receive a 1-Year FREE Access pass to Skillsoft’s Percipio, with 6 months Free Access to the runners-up. The Winner will also receive a 5 year standard registration for a .tech domain, and a custom Hacker Noon t-shirt! The 1st and 2nd runner-ups get a standard .TECH domains_ for 3-yrs and 1-yr, respectively._
2. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a writer and marketer with a passion for culture. I’ve been called “disruptive” and “creative” for my work that spans over ten years. My second novel about student loan debt got to #12 on Amazon and I’ve also been sponsored by Airbnb, Industrious, and Wayra for book events.
In addition, I’ve worked with many startups and brands like Kaiser Permanente, Waze and Tony Robbins to develop marketing, branding and acquire new users. I used my professional experience to help build curricula for digital marketing classes at Academy X and business and intercultural communications classes at the Sorbonne.
3. Tell us about the things you make / write / manage / build.
I write about modern culture and have covered topics such as diversity, office politics, ageism, corporate culture and millennial life.
I self-published A Modern Trilogy about a millennial’s journey to pay off student loans and my second book got to #12 on Amazon. I am presently working on two new books.
In June, I did a digital detox to explore my goals for the future. It’s was then that I started the Wisherie.co, a remote, skills sharing network. It’s rooted in the passion economy and improving mental health. My goal is to provide 20 professionals new work-trade projects that help small businesses by the end of 2020.
4. What are you most excited about right now?
There’s a lot of creativity right now! I’m excited for more! I like having access to virtual events to exchange ideas and meet new people from all over the world.
The pandemic has given us more opportunity to celebrate diversity, create new opportunities and build our networks.
5. What are you worried about right now?
Improving mental health and new solutions to do so needs to be a priority and continue into the future.
6. What’s the worst tech career advice you’ve ever received?
I didn’t take the advice of a former manager who suggested I do free work for a large tech company, and I absolutely don’t regret that decision.
I’m also happy I didn’t listen to a tech recruiter who recommended I work at a bar to do alcohol promotions in order to get more experience in marketing.
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