DFSA Dialogues: Harolyn Collins
“I went into the offices that Saturday to get the clothes... and it just changed my life.”
“Oh, she’s the speaker,” Collins offers with a smile as her eyes fix on Whitney Otstott, owner of Girl Power Fitness and the keynote speaker for tonight’s Professional Women’s Group (PWG) meeting. It took those of us working at the time a moment to place Otstott. Harolyn Collins, currently an accounting tech at Northeast Early College high-school, recognized her immediately. “I saw her recently in the PWG update letter,” she said, as if her recollection was any less impressive with this added information.
Sitting in front of the DFSA styling studio, Collins radiates joy and enthusiasm for the work that the organization does. Collins has participated in the Path to Employment program, PWG, and many other programs at DFSA. In our interview, we discussed how Collins started with DFSA, what worked for her on her path to a happy career, and why she loves this community so much she’d never miss a letter! Our conversation has been edited and condensed.
Q: I watched a video of you speaking at the 2021 annual Little Black Dress DFSA event. I know you came into contact with DFSA through the BACK TO WORK 50+ program. I’m interested in knowing how you got into that program.
A: Well, here’s how I found out about BACK TO WORK 50+: there was an invitation that was sent out through Facebook, and they were advertising this program that would help people if they wanted to change careers or do something different. BTW 50+ could help you do this, so I signed up for it and at first, I thought, “Oh my God… I’m not going to get into it.” But, they invited me to come and join the group. The program takes you through everything from resume writing to how to job hunt.
Q: Wow, that sounds like a great organization! How did they lead you to Dress for Success Austin?
A: We had a mock interview for one of the last two classes, and they said, “You have to dress professionally.” I had been working all the time, and I wasn’t really taking care of myself and didn’t have anything to wear. I asked one of the instructors if she could help me find something to wear.
She said, “Let me give you a card, and you call this lady and she’ll be able to help you.” It was Dress for Success. I called, and they set me up for an appointment. I went into the office that Saturday to get the clothes because the meeting was on Monday, and it just changed my life. From that moment, it changed my life. Everybody was just so kind and generous, and it made you want to hang around with people like that. Then they told us about other benefits including PWG, the Professional Women’s Group, and ath to Employment and career counseling. So, now I’m here!
Q: You fell in love with it!
A: Yes I did, I really did. I love this place!
Q: That’s awesome! What would you say your first steps were to further your career, following your first interaction with DFSA?
A: When I first joined, one of the things I did was take a life coach class with a lady here. She told me,: “Work on writing things down: what you’re grateful for, what you want to achieve.” So, I started working on what she was telling me at home, and it started changing my life.
The changes were gradual, but then they started to come quickly and I could see the growth in me. I wasn’t putting up with things I didn’t need to put up with with or dating people I didn’t need to be with. She helped me start thinking more clearly, and that was the first thing I needed to get on the right path.
Then, I started with a career coach, and she gave me good career advice. She told me: “If you like this job, why don’t you see what classes they offer that are related to your interests?” So, I started looking for specific classes I could take, and then I leveled up my skills consistently to get to where I am now.
Q: Wow, so it seems like it all started with your mindset shift?
A: Yes, it was a mindset shift, that’s what it was. I started thinking, “Am I helping myself or what am I doing? Am I wasting my time? What am I doing?What do I want to get out of DFSA?”
And what I wanted to get out of DFSA was to be the better me. So, once I did that, I started accepting that the path would be difficult at times, but I needed things to shift for me, and they did. And like I said, I’ve been here ever since.
Q: You seem like you’re really happy!
A: I am, I really am! This place makes me happy because you see people that work in the best shape ever or even worse than you. When you see all of them move forward, you want to say “Yeah, I can go forward too!”
Q: Is it a team effort?
A: Yes, it is a team effort.
Q: Is that what influenced you to become a DFSA ambassador?
A: Well about six months before COVID, I went to a program about grieving. It wasn’t just for somebody that had someone that died recently; it was grieving over anyone you’d lost at any point in life. It was myself and Mia and a group of other women. We went to this meeting and started talking about different parts of the grieving process, and through this, we all became kind of close. So, Mia asked me if I wanted to be part of the ambassador program, and I said, “Sure! What does it mean?” She explained it to me, and I said, “If it's a part of representing Dress for Success, I’m all in!”
Q: So what would you say, aside from how everyone treated each other, made you the most optimistic about your future career and your different prospects?
A: The different speakers that they had in PWG. I met so many interesting women – I mean, women doing so much – there were women who were traveling, women who were doing tech, there were women with so many talents who could do so many things that it gave me hope that in life you can do whatever you want! You can go off the beaten path and then down another and another and still succeed. And these are people that I met through DFSA. I even tell my coworkers about the organization all the time.
Q: What is the main thing you communicate to them about the organization?
A: I tell them how nice the people are here, and I say, “If you want to learn – but you don’t want to go to school for it – but you WANT to learn, come to DFSA. They'll teach you how to do your resume, how to speak in interviews, really anything about careers or finances you want to know.”
I tell them if they come here, they can get mentors who will help them, step-by-step, through the path to employment program and just everything they have here at DFSA.
Q: When you were a teenager, what did you have planned for your future career?
A: When I was a teenager, I thought I was going to grow up to be a teacher, I really did. I was going to be this social studies teacher, and I was going to change everybody’s life. You know? Because I had a really good social studies teacher. She was really nice, and she made learning fun. I enjoyed that, and so I said, “Okay, I can do what she does!”
Life just got in the way, and I didn’t go to school or become a teacher. But, I’ve learned so much over the years -- I’ve gone back to school to try to learn, and I’m trying to get back into school now. You learn so much from life itself and the things that are thrown at you, so I feel like I have a college degree already.
Q: Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I want to ask– do you enjoy your job now and the coworkers and experience you’re having now?
A: That’s a good question. I love my job now, I really do, but I was offered a better opportunity. My last day at the Austin Independent School District (AISD) is on July 15th, and because the new job fits everything I want and need, I’m moving forward.
Q: Congratulations! I saw that moving forward you want to be a consultant for customer services. Is this job in that same field?
A: Thank you! I want to do that, yes. And yes, it is! I like helping people, and I would love to be an undercover source who goes in and tells a company how to make their business better because customer service can make or break a business 100%. And if you have somebody that can go in there and show them how you can change an attitude or behavior to improve relations, then you improve business.
Q: That’s a great point!
A: Yes, yes I always say that businesses want my money but they feel like they can treat me any way they want. I don’t think it should be that way. If you want someone’s money, you should start appreciating them and they’ll give you more money.
Q: Wow, yeah, I agree. I just want to ask, for good measure, if there is anything you wish you or DFSA had done differently along the way?
A: No. DFSA came for me at the right time. Everything they did was right, so I don’t have anything negative to say. What they’ve done for me – I can only speak for myself, but what they have done for me -- they have helped me come a long way, and I’m very grateful for that.
Q: That’s what we love to hear. Well, Harolyn, thank you so much for speaking with me! Is there anything you wanted to share before we end?
A: Just two things: First, I want people to know that even if you’re down and out, you can still pull yourself up. And second, if you have something on your mind that you want to do, just go forth and do it. Try it, at least set aside a little time to try it out. Live your life, and do whatever you want to do and you get the rewards from that.
Q: Like living for your happiness?
A: Yes, live for your happiness.