Show Notes

What happens when the tool you use in your classroom ends up defining your next career? That's exactly what happened to Ivery Harrison. A former college administrator and counselor, Ivery discovered the game-changing power of YouScience, an aptitude-based career guidance platform, while working with her students. The impact it had—giving students hope and uncovering hidden talents—aligned so perfectly with her personal mission that it sparked a new journey. In this episode, Ivery shares her winding path from education to edtech, including the 'gap year' that led her to realize her true calling. She offers a heartfelt perspective on what it *really* means to transition into a corporate role, the challenges of sales, and why 'the grass is green where you fertilize it.'

• The Science of You: Ivery explains how YouScience's game-based platform moves beyond simple interest inventories to uncover a student's true *aptitudes*, giving them (and their parents) hope and a new way to see their strengths.
• A Winding Path to edtech: Ivery details her "gap year" after leaving administration, where she explored independent consulting and even clinical thermography before realizing her core passion was with YouScience.
• From User to Advocate: Discover how Ivery's experience as a college counselor *using* the platform gave her the credibility and passion to move into her role as a Senior Territory Manager.
• The "Fish Out of Water" Moments: Ivery gets real about the challenges of moving from a school system to a remote corporate job, from learning new acronyms to missing the "break room" camaraderie.
• Advice for Transitioning Teachers: Ivery shares a powerful piece of advice: "The grass is not always greener." She encourages educators to be realistic about the challenges of a new industry and to find fulfillment by "watering the grass where you are."

Episode Article

Ivery Harrison’s mission is "to help everyone remember who they were before the world got in the way." It’s a powerful statement, and one that perfectly captures her journey from college administration to her current role as a Senior Territory Manager at YouScience. Ivery’s story is a fantastic example of a mission-driven career change—one that wasn’t planned, but felt completely intuitive.

As a college counselor, Ivery worked daily with students trying to figure out their future. She was frustrated by the limits of traditional interest inventories and saw firsthand the anxiety students felt about their next steps. Then, she found YouScience, a game-based platform that assesses natural aptitudes, not just interests. The tool was transformative. "It changed the way that I saw my kids," she told me. She saw students who struggled academically discover they were natural problem-solvers or had other hidden talents, giving them a hope and a language to advocate for themselves that they never had before.

Ivery’s path out of education wasn’t a direct leap into edtech. Feeling a strong pull to move back to Greenville, SC, she bravely left her job without another one lined up. She took what she calls her "gap year," doing independent college consulting and even becoming a certified clinical thermographer. But during this time of exploration, she had an "existential crisis." While driving to a board meeting, she had a moment of clarity: "All I want is to talk about YouScience." She believed in its mission so deeply that she was already informally "selling" it, referring other counselors to the platform.

Following her intuition, Ivery reached out to her contact at the company. Her passion was so evident that they essentially hired her on the spot. She found a place where her personal mission and the company's mission—"empowering, intentional, individual success"—were in perfect alignment. She transitioned from being an educator *using* a tool to an educator *advocating* for it, helping schools implement a platform she genuinely believes in.

When I asked for her advice for teachers considering a similar move, her answer was refreshingly honest. "The grass is not always greener," she cautioned. While she loves her remote role, she admits to missing the camaraderie of a school and dislikes parts of sales, like cold calling. Her advice is to explore your options, but to be realistic about the new challenges you'll face. "The grass is green where you fertilize it," she said. It’s a powerful reminder to find joy and purpose where you are, whether that’s in the classroom or in a new field entirely.