{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Susanna Coleman, Administrative Assistant","description":"In the latest episode of the WGI Unleashed Podcast, hosts Dan and Katie head back to South Florida to sit down with Susanna Coleman, an Administrative Assistant in WGI\u2019s Fort Lauderdale office! Susanna\u2019s story is one of curiosity, reinvention, and an unshakable love of learning. From the south side of Chicago to the shipyards of Scandinavia, Susanna has lived what she jokingly calls \u201cseveral lives\u201d \u2014 and each one has shaped the curious, people-loving teammate she is today. This is one conversation you won\u2019t want to miss. From the South Side of Chicago to South Florida Born and raised in a tight-knit, blue-collar suburb just south of Chicago, Susanna grew up as a self-described \u201ctotal \u201980s kid.\u201d She and her sister walked to school, rode bikes around the neighborhood, and stayed out until their mom called them in. Family and culture were at the heart of it all. Her father immigrated from central Mexico in his twenties, and with both sides of her family rooted in Mexican heritage, Susanna grew up immersed in the culture, the language, and the food. Each year, the family made the epic three-day drive from Chicago to Celaya, Guanajuato \u2014 armed with coloring books, crayons, and a lasting appreciation for the great state of Texas, which never seemed to end. Even as a kid, Susanna sensed that Chicago wasn\u2019t her forever home. Standing at a bus stop in negative-degree weather, she remembers thinking, \u201cThere has to be something better.\u201d That instinct would eventually carry her south. Several Lives, One Common Thread After heading to Southern Illinois University, Susanna earned a degree in photo production technology, the technical, chemistry-driven side of photography. A professor\u2019s recommendation led to her first career with Noritsu, a company that manufactured one-hour photo lab equipment. For the next nine years, she traveled the world installing and balancing photo equipment, covering Central and South America and even outfitting brand-new cruise ships in the shipyards of Finland and Sweden. She filled two passports and visited nearly every country in Central America along the way. When the photo industry went digital, Susanna took a leap. A lifelong lover of teaching and the outdoors, she found her place at Camp Live Oak, operating out of Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale. What began as an on-site director role grew into 18 years as associate director. She did a little of everything, from canoeing and archery to art and science, and shepherded the camp through its rigorous American Camp Association accreditation every three years. Ready for a change after nearly two decades outdoors, Susanna spent three years as a clinic manager at a health and wellness practice, sharpening her operations and HR skills before realizing healthcare wasn\u2019t her long-term fit. Finding Her Place at WGI The throughline in every chapter of Susanna\u2019s career is simple: she loves to learn. \u201cIf the subject interests me, I will dive in headfirst,\u201d she says \u2014 reading, asking questions, and digging into the \u201cwhy\u201d behind everything. That same curiosity is exactly what she brought to WGI. This August will mark three years with the firm, and Susanna says she\u2019s finally fluent in the acronyms and the surprising amount of work that goes into building a road (IYKYK). No two days look the same. Susanna keeps the office running while managing events and conferences across WGI's Customer Support Manager, supporting HR initiatives, helping plan Engineers\u2019 Week, and lending a hand wherever her teammates need her. As one of WGI\u2019s busiest hosting offices, Fort Lauderdale always has something happening, and Susanna is often the person behind the scenes making sure it all runs smoothly. Life Outside the Office These days, much of Susanna\u2019s time is happily spent at the ballfield, cheering on her daughter\u2019s softball games and her son\u2019s travel baseball. When she carves out time for herself, she returns to her first love: photography. She\u2019s an active member of 52 Clicks, an Instagram community of photographers who shoot a new themed prompt each week and trade feedback. Her medium of choice is black-and-white portraiture, and she\u2019s planning a portrait series of her book club friends, complete with a small gallery opening at the end of the year! At home, she\u2019s joined by Lupita, a 12-year-old boxer mix affectionately known as \u201cLupita La Loca.\u201d And her hidden talent? Susanna is a gifted party host \u2014 a skill she credits to her mother. She has a knack for making everyone feel welcome, connecting guests who might never have met otherwise, and bringing the energy the moment the party starts. A Few Fun Surprises True to WGI Unleashed form, the episode is packed with games and a few great reveals. Susanna is fully confident she\u2019d survive a zombie apocalypse (camp-director skills, a trusty sword, and all), and she nearly stumped Dan and Katie with a round of Two Truths and a Lie. Did she go to high school with a young Kanye West? You\u2019ll have to listen to hear the rest. Tune In Susanna\u2019s journey is a reminder that there\u2019s no single path to a meaningful career. Sometimes it\u2019s the curiosity to keep learning and the courage to reinvent yourself that lead you exactly where you\u2019re meant to be. Listen to this episode of WGI Unleashed on your favorite podcast platform and stay tuned for more conversations with the people, projects, and culture that define WGI.  Subscribe to\u202fWGI Unleashed to receive alerts every time a new episode drops. You can find us on Spotify,\u202fApple Podcasts,\u202fiHeart Radio,\u202for wherever you find your favorite podcasts. ","author_name":"WGI Unleashed","author_url":"https:\/\/wginc.com","html":"