Grow Your Occupancy

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, chats with Larry Williams, Senior Director of Market Strategy & Growth at Unlock Health, for a candid and highly practical conversation about what’s actually working in senior living marketing today. From the very first search a prospect makes to the final move-in decision, Larry breaks down how communities can better understand and influence the modern customer journey, including how search behavior differs between prospects and their adult children, why industry jargon often misses the mark with prospects, and how local data should drive every marketing decision. The conversation goes deeper than tactics. Larry shares how to prioritize marketing investments when budgets are tight, why paid media (search, social, and programmatic) often delivers the fastest impact, and how communities can avoid the “shotgun approach” by focusing on what truly drives results. Julie and Larry also tackle one of the biggest challenges in senior living today: aligning marketing and sales. They emphasize that leads alone don’t drive occupancy; conversion, follow-up, and a seamless handoff between teams are what ultimately create success. And perhaps most importantly, they highlight a powerful shift happening across the industry: authenticity is winning. Today’s prospects aren’t looking for perfectly polished messaging, they want real stories, real residents, and a genuine sense of community. If you’re looking to sharpen your marketing strategy, improve lead quality, and ultimately drive more move-ins, this episode delivers actionable insights you can put into practice immediately.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Bradley Scoggins, Senior Director of Sales and Owner Relations at Charter Senior Living, about what really drives occupancy in today's senior living landscape. Bradley shares how Charter has grown from fewer than 20 communities to more than 70 in just a few years, and why that growth is rooted not in amenities, but in culture, connection, and consistency in sales. Together, Julie and Bradley dig into what goes into sales team success, including culture, hiring, onboarding, leadership, and collaboration. If you're leading a sales team, building one, or working to improve occupancy in a competitive market, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world strategies you can put into action immediately.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz talks with Katharine Ross, President of Seniors Guide, to explore how today’s senior living consumers research communities, what information matters most to them, and how operators can better connect with both prospects and adult children. Katharine shares what Seniors Guide is seeing firsthand: more self-led research from older adults, longer digital buying journeys, greater demand for transparency around pricing, and a growing appetite for authentic content that shows what life is really like inside a community. She and Julie also discuss the power of testimonials, resident and family voices, executive director involvement, and why storytelling may be one of the most effective ways to build trust and close the perception gap around senior living. This conversation is packed with practical insight for senior living operators, sales leaders, and marketers who want to strengthen their digital presence, improve engagement, and create more meaningful connections with future residents and their families.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Tom Bahrman, Principal of Tenfold Senior Living, to explore what it really takes to achieve and sustain exceptional communities and high occupancy in senior living. Tom shares how Tenfold has built a strong culture centered on community, resident experience, team engagement, and operational clarity—resulting in one community exceeding 96% occupancy and another reaching 100% occupancy. Together, Julie and Tom discuss the importance of delivering an outstanding resident experience, creating clear distinctions between marketing and sales roles, establishing benchmarks, coaching sales teams consistently, and leading with both accountability and appreciation. This conversation is packed with insights for senior living leaders who want to improve occupancy by strengthening their people, processes, culture, and sales systems. It is a thoughtful look at how curiosity, collaboration, and commitment can help communities move from good results to great ones.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, host Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Patrick Leonard, Chief Revenue Officer at The Gatesworth Communities, to explore what it really takes to build and sustain exceptional occupancy in senior living. Patrick shares the story behind The Gatesworth’s journey from post-COVID occupancy challenges to operating at or nearly full capacity. Julie and Patrick discuss the power of people, process, and plan, the importance of breaking large goals into realistic milestones, how daily sales discipline and leading indicators create momentum, and why executive leadership involvement is critical to sales success. They also dig into the role of thoughtful planning, meaningful follow-up, resident ambassadors, transparent pricing, and selling with confidence and clarity. Whether you are new to senior living sales or looking to reset and level up your approach, this conversation offers practical insight, encouragement, and proven strategies from a leader who has helped drive remarkable results.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder, is joined by Austin Blilie, COO, and Tommy Tyler, Director of Sales, Marketing & Development at American Baptist Homes of the Midwest—an organization with nearly a century of service in senior living. Austin and Tommy unpack how a mission-driven, nonprofit provider is successfully navigating today’s rapidly evolving senior living landscape. From shifting prospect behaviors and rising acuity levels to the lasting impact of COVID-19, they share what today’s residents and families expect—and how communities must adapt to meet them where they are. You’ll learn: - How digital transformation has reshaped the buyer journey (and why prospects are more informed than ever) - Why speed to the lead is now a non-negotiable competitive advantage - The shift from traditional tours to needs-based, consultative selling - How occupancy gains in 2025 were achieved through intentional sales training and process improvements - The evolving role of technology, home care, and aging-in-place strategies - How nonprofit, faith-based organizations can differentiate through mission, reinvestment, and trust This episode is packed with practical insights for sales directors, executive directors, and marketing leaders looking to increase occupancy, improve conversion, and stay competitive in a changing market. If you’re still relying on outdated sales approaches—or responding to leads “when you get to it”—this conversation is your wake-up call.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, and Lori Vernier, Senior Sales Strategist, continue their conversation about the real-world sales behaviors that drive occupancy growth in senior living communities. Building on insights from the previous episode, Julie and Lori explore the common gaps they see when analyzing sales data across communities—from follow-up timelines that stretch too long, to missed opportunities to invite prospects to tour. Lori shares practical coaching insights from her work with sales directors, including a recent case where small adjustments in the sales process and and database management helped a community dramatically increase move-ins. They also discuss how sales teams can better analyze lead sources, protect their “selling zone” time, and turn their CRM database into their most valuable asset. Along the way, Lori shares simple but powerful habits that every sales professional can implement immediately—like asking more questions, closing to the next step, and tightening the timeline between prospect interactions. If you’re a senior living sales director, executive director, or regional sales leader, this episode offers practical strategies you can implement right away to increase tours, strengthen relationships, and convert more prospects into residents.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, host Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, sits down with Lori Vernier, Senior Sales Strategist at Grow Your Occupancy, for an in-depth conversation about what the data inside your CRM is really telling you about your senior living sales process. Lori is a master of strategy based on data analytics. She spends time in all areas of senior living sales and brings a unique perspective into the common gaps and how best to fill them. She works closely with communities across the country through market analyses, mystery shops, coaching, and sales strategy development. Drawing from her experience evaluating hundreds of sales teams and databases, she shares how to identify the most important indicators of sales performance—and where many communities unknowingly lose opportunities. Together, Julie and Lori unpack the key metrics that tell the story of your sales funnel, including connections, tours, and conversions. Lori explains why tours are the backbone of the senior living sales process, how weak connection rates can stall momentum before it even begins, and why the tour experience itself is often the biggest missed opportunity. They also discuss common CRM pitfalls, including gaps in follow-up, failure to close to the next step, and missed discovery insights that can derail the customer journey. Lori shares real examples from recent community visits and mystery shops, highlighting how small changes in engagement, planning, and team communication can dramatically improve outcomes. This episode is packed with practical insights for sales leaders and operators who want to better understand their data, strengthen their sales process, and ultimately create more opportunities for move-ins. Stay tuned for Part 2, where Julie and Lori continue the conversation and dive deeper into what mystery shops reveal about competitive positioning, sales skills, and market opportunities.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Tiffany Cooey, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at QSL Management, about the strong focus on the customer experience at their senior living communities. From the moment a prospect walks into one of their communities, the emphasis is on not only a luxury senior living experience, but also on creating a feeling of home. Listen to find out how, through training and reinforcement, the entire team at each QSLM community delivers on the resident experience.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, welcomes Tiffany Cobern, President of Paragon Senior Living, for an insightful conversation about launching a senior living management company rooted in authenticity, relationships, and operational excellence. Tiffany shares the story behind Paragon Senior Living, crediting building trust with residents, team members, and the local market for Paragon’s early wins, and how the organization is positioning itself for strategic growth across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Julie and Tiffany explore the non-negotiables of successful senior living sales, including authentic human connection, leadership-driven outreach, and the critical role every department plays in supporting occupancy and revenue. Tiffany also discusses why sales directors must think like business leaders—not just tacticians—and how technology and AI are reshaping the future of senior living sales. This episode is a must-listen for senior living operators, sales leaders, and executives who want to build a culture where relationships come first, leadership is visible, and growth is built on trust, authenticity, and operational alignment.

Grow Your Occupancy is privy to a lot of data focused on senior living sales. After close analysis, we have some insights and conclusions that you'll find enlightening and helpful. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, shares her conclusions about the senior living sales stats and data collected throughout the course of 2025.

In a special "sales intervention" episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, shares 4 senior living sales DON'Ts! These simple best practices and practical tips from the sales specialists at Grow Your Occupancycan lead to much better outcomes. Thanks Lori Vernier, Senior Sales Strategist, for compiling this helpful list.

In the latest in our popular Senior Living Sales Speak! series, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with some of the top performing sales directors from Primrose Retirement Communities. Robert Brown, Megan Frazer, Samantha Marshall, and Stephanie Walton share their secrets to achieving and exceeding sales and occupancy goals, best practices, what they're doing that gets results (hint: they're spending a large portion of their time doing outreach), and more.

Grow Your Occupancy is pleased to welcome Nick Begane to our team as Director of Business Development! Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder, talks with Nick about his senior living industry journey from sales director up through regional sales director, what he's learned in his career, and what led him to join the Grow team.

In this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, dives more deeply into the topic of closing from her book "(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle: A Senior Living Regional, Sales & Executive Director Playbook." Closing is a skill set that requires frequent review and practice. Whether you're working on your own closing skills or coaching others on closing, Julie covers questions to ask prospects for better discussions, addressing objections, and responding to those not ready yet. Thank you Yardi for generously sponsoring this episode.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Jesse Tillman Pitts. Jesse is not only a Regional Director at Angels Senior Living, but is also Founder of Aravine Consulting, author of "Living With Purpose: The TILLMAN Framework for Activities in Senior Living", and a two-time Latin Grammy nominated drummer and producer. Jesse talks about the impact of resident engagement programs on occupancy, and shares some data about this area of opportunity in senior living. You can find Jesse's book in paperback on Amazon: https://a.co/d/8VlVXMi Thank you Yardi for sponsoring this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Russ Papia, President of Prosper Life Care. Russ shares his passion for making a positive impact on the lives of his residents and team members and what he did to support a new sales director and leadership team to grow occupancy more than 20 basis points in a year! Thank you Yardi for sponsoring this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talked with Justin Harden, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Phoenix Senior Living, and Kristine Schrudder, Senior Consultant at Yardi, about using a tech stack in senior living sales and marketing. Justin and Kristine explain what a tech stack is, the efficiencies of using one system for all platforms from a tech perspective, and how much time it saves senior living operators. Justin talks specifically about how much added sales time their teams have by using a tech stack, the simplicity of reporting, and Kristine shares her insights into the data that can be accessed to inform decision-making. Thank you Yardi for sponsoring this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Heather Dampier, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Advena Living. Heather started her position at the beginning of this summer and since then has traveled 800 miles on the road visiting all of her communities. She shares her first impressions, what she learned from her time on the road, and gives some great advice about outreach. This episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast is sponsored by Yardi.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Paula Rathgaber-Gomez, Chief Experience Officer of Sequoia Living, about not only the resident experience, but the prospect experience too. Sequoia Living continuously seeks to learn what their residents and prospects want to craft and enhance their experience at Sequoia's communities. The result? At any given time, the portfolio is at or near 100% occupancy. Thank you Yardi for generously sponsoring this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 7: what to do when you have enough leads, but your conversions are low. Order your copy today on Amazon!

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Kevin Yax, Sales & Marketing Director at Brookdale Garden Grove, an assisted living and memory care community in Orange County, California. Kevin is relatively new to senior living, but he has achieved remarkable success in a short amount of time. In just a little over a year in his position he netted 47 units to reach 100% occupancy. That is an average of right around a net of four a month! What is he doing to get these outcomes? Watch and find out! This episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast is sponsored by Yardi.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Kjersten Joachim, Executive Director of Sales & Marketing of Dow Rummel Village. Dow Rummel Village is a very large senior living community in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, offering an entry fee model for independent living and a rental model for assisted living and memory care. The community consistently meets and exceeds 95% occupancy - with a long waitlist - and has been like this for over eight years. So how do they do it? Check out this episode of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast to find out! Thank you Yardi for generously sponsoring the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Joshua Bentley, Senior Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing at The Aspenwood Company. The Aspenwood Company is a client of Grow Your Occupancy and their Remote Sales Specialist (RSS) service. Joshua shares his initial skepticism that RSS would be a robotic technology that fails to capture the essence of the human touch needed in the industry, and how he was ultimately sold on the professionalism and sales mastery of the specialists that provide this unique service. Thank you Yardi for sponsoring this episode of The Grow Your Occupancy Podcast.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Mike Miller, President and CEO of Primo Solutions, LLC, about his insights into the senior living industry. Since founding Primo Solutions 18 years ago, Mike and his team have conducted over 100,000 mystery shops and counting, giving him a unique perspective on what the industry can do better.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Jessi Barton, Community Relations Director at The Lodge at Stephens Lake in Jasper, Georgia. Jessi not only diligently worked her way through the Grow Your Occupancy Selling Senior Living Workbook, she also shared her progress with Julie – and the impact it made on her success. Thank you to our sponsor Yardi for making this podcast possible.

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite.   In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 6: what to do when there's not enough sales activity.   Order your copy today on Amazon!   4bcb9d8233ad006196978b98bee397e9cb6e215f

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 5: what to do when you're not getting enough QUALITY leads.   Order your copy today on Amazon!

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 4: what to do when you're not getting enough leads. Order your copy today on Amazon!

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 3: the 10 "puzzle piece" solutions to occupancy challenges. Order your copy today on Amazon!

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 2: the regional planner. Order your copy today on Amazon!

(Re)Solving the Occupancy Puzzle - A Senior Living Regional, Sales, & Executive Director Playbook is the fully revised and updated 3rd edition of the industry favorite. In this special edition of the Grow Your Occupancy Podcast, author Julie Podewitz takes a deep dive into chapter 1. Order your copy today on Amazon!

Do you really need another strategic plan for driving sales in your senior living organization? In this episode, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Kevin Colley, Corporate Head of Sales at Bridge Senior Living, about working the plan you already have. It's important to keep things simple and focus on the fundamentals – or in Kevin's words, on the blocking and tackling. Before you get stressed out about the move outs, work on the leading measures. The results will come but you've got to stay consistent.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Erin Thompson, Founder of Aspire for More With Erin, and Aaron Fish, Founder & CEO of Trestle Hospitality Concepts. Together, Erin and Aaron co-founded The Mentoring Company to help train the next generation of senior living leaders to succeed. Erin and Aaron are the educators behind The New EDs Playbook: Creating an Impactful Community Culture, an online learning course available now in the Grow Your Occupancy Online Learning Library.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with longtime senior living marketing expert Lola Rain. Lola shares her advice around budgets, knowing your cost per lead and your cost per move in to know best ways to allocate funds: where are the best places to put your marketing dollars and where maybe to pull those dollars from? Lola is unique in that she works in a variety of different senior living spaces for different levels of care, with a focus on higher end CCRCs and rental communities. It's important to note that when she talks about one or two move-ins in a month, she's talking about the high end model of senior living with big dollar entry fees.

The initial connection with a senior living lead can make or break the sale. That's why it's so important to make the first connection a human connection with all new leads, and to track the metrics associated with those connections. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Christa Daniello, Vice President of Sales at The Osborn, and Mona Hilton, CEO of Advantage Anywhere, about making a human connection with new leads, and how automation enables the sales team to focus on the human connection – i.e. picking up the phone – instead of babysitting lead nurturing activities.

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Erin Hennessey, CEO of Health Dimensions Group. Erin shares her insights on her leadership journey to CEO, leading by values, hiring the right people, and the impact a strong executive director and strong sales director working together has in the success of a senior living community.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy talked with Karen Foley, Senior Vice President of Sales at LCB Senior Living, about their strategy for occupancy success. Karen shares her philosophy that occupancy is the result of an entire team, not just the sales staff. Because a lot goes into maintaining occupancy, it's key that the sales directors are focused on what they're there to do – educating prospects to help them make a buying decision – and not distracted by other aspects of the operation.

For the first time in the history of the Grow Your Occupancy podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder, is the guest! Dresden Cincurak, VP of Business Development, turns the tables and takes the role of host as she interviews Julie about senior living sales and marketing and so much more!

Grow Your Occupancy's Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder, and Dresden Cincurak, VP of Business Development, are back to share what's on their minds, what they're hearing from people in the senior living industry, and the sales and marketing challenges facing senior living providers and communities.

Has the Daylight Savings Time change got you feeling out of whack in your workday? Time management is a topic on the minds of almost everyone this time of year, when we're feeling just a little off of our entire day's schedule. In this solo podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, shares her tips for better time optimization.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with the sales leadership team at The Arbors and The Ivy Assisted Living Communities about their experience with the sales coaching they began over 3 years ago. Emily Quinn, Co-Owner and RDSM, Sondra Jones, RDSM, and Stephanie Zelazo, Regional Sales Specialist, look back on the coaching sessions, the things that had the quickest impact and the things that had a longer lasting impact on not only their sales team but their organization as a whole.

In part 1, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talked with Kristin Ward, President of Austera Group, about positioning senior living communities to maximize their potential. Julie and Kristin are back for part 2 to dive deeper into the top 3 operational fixes that senior living operators can do to stay competitive and grow occupancy.

In this first of a two part conversation, Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Kristin Ward, President of Austera Group, about positioning senior living communities to maximize their potential. Kristin, a 30 year veteran of the senior living industry, shares the top 3 operational fixes that senior living operators can do to stay competitive and grow occupancy.

For senior living providers with a diverse portfolio of communities in varied markets, is there really such a thing as a universal approach to sales and marketing? Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Francine Bass, Vice President of Sales at United Group of Communities, about the secret weapon that is working to transform their occupancy outcomes.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, welcomes back Christy Van Der Westhuizen, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Legend Senior Living, to the Grow Your Occupancy podcast. Christy recently took a 3 week vacation to South Africa, and not only did her sales teams not fall apart in her absence, they actually grew occupancy! Find out her leadership skills that made it happen.

We're back with part 7 of our most popular topic – senior living sales specialists share what they're doing to get occupancy growth results in their senior living communities! Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, is joined by Jessi Barton from The Lodge at Stephens Lake in Jasper, GA, and a panel of Grow Your Occupancy's Senior Sales Specialists: Susan Braley, Heidi Benard, Jennifer Ptacek, Melinda Haney, and Lori Vernier. They share the greatest areas of opportunity they found that helped them to grow senior living occupancy in 2024.

Is your senior living community situated in a very competitive market? What can you do to make your community stand out from the competition? Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Sasha Davis, COO of Model55, and Allison Page, VP of Sales and Marketing at Thrive Senior Living, about making the most of your community's differentiating factors – and how custom-furnished spaces and model apartments can set your community apart from the competition.

We're back with part 6 of our most popular topic – senior living sales specialists share what they're doing to get occupancy growth results in their senior living communities! Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, is joined by Jessi Barton from The Lodge at Stephens Lake in Jasper, GA, and a panel of Grow Your Occupancy's Senior Sales Specialists: Susan Braley, Heidi Benard, Jennifer Ptacek, Melinda Haney, and Lori Vernier. They share what worked to grow senior living occupancy in 2024.

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, takes a look back at 2024 – both personally and professionally – and shares her mindset to learn and grow, from not only the highlights but also the mistakes and challenges.