I am super excited to introduce our newest team member at Foster Made, Jamara Haymore-Carr, Digital Project Manager. She is soooo cool with an amazing background ranging from Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Creative Writing, Journalism, and Digital Marketing.
A: What I love about Hampton Roads is that it has a beach! I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina so being landlocked in Tennessee was quite an adjustment. Getting back to my beachy roots has been great. Hampton-Roads is also in close proximity to a lot of great cities, which makes day trips easy and diverse. On the other hand, Memphis has this down-home authenticity that I haven’t seen anywhere else. There are pockets of history, art, great food, and tons of breweries. It’s an easy place to settle in and find your fit. I have to give the advantage to Memphis despite not having a beach. Does the Mississippi River bluff count?
A: I started out in Biochemistry with the intention of going to medical school. My curiosities led me to research and the opportunity to present our studies at an international conference in Canada. My favorite part about research was distilling the information we gathered down to biteable pieces of content and sharing it in a way that was visually pleasing and easily comprehended. So, I got an idea about science literacy, and journalism and communications seemed to be the vehicle to bridge the two worlds. As I progressed in grad school other interests began to arise and my curiosities evolved. I think journalism and creative media are always going to underpin everything I do simply because of how mutable each discipline is.
A: Oh! This question. My answer always changes! Today my answer is, I would eat three meals with Anthony Bourdain.
A: Digital Project Management, to me, is the culmination of all of my past experiences. It incorporates some technical competencies and soft skills like communications. The most inspiring thing about Digital Project Management is the ability to influence coworkers positively by just being there to help—as a partner in strategy, as a sounding board for issues, and as a problem solver. It’s work that constantly changes, that requires nimbleness and level of empathy that most roles don’t.
A: I read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison in high school. It was probably the first book I’d read by a Black author and it was a disorienting trip into the life of a Black man in the early 20th century. Lots of twists and turns and very thought-provoking.
Fun fact: Whether you liked the movie or not Jamie Foxx’s Electro in the Amazing Spiderman 2 references the work.
The most poignant quote from the book: “I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe: Nor am I one of your Hollywood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me.”
A: I’ll admit, it was a bit difficult being one of the very few people in my department that looked like me. I went to a small, private, liberal arts college with a total population smaller than my high school senior class. The study groups were very close-knit and integral to success and people tend to group themselves with what feels familiar. Luckily, I found a subject that interested me and was able to succeed with the help of an amazing professor and research team. My experience as one of the few Black women in the department was also something that drove me to want to increase science literacy. I didn’t realize it was abnormal for me to love science and math until people made it clear that I was an anomaly. The pool of science and math experts doesn’t have to be homogenous if everyone has access to the tools and the right people to help them along.
A: Mauritius; Nairobi; Lagos; Bali; Singapore
A: I learned a lot while at the National Civil Rights Museum. As a mission-driven non-profit everything we did was through the lens of social justice and improving the human condition. Beyond learning how to empathetically deal with the tough subject matter, I think what I took away from my time at the National Civil Rights Museum is the idea that all the work I do is in service of the greater good.
A: I currently have zero but I’d like no more than 2.
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