Today we’d like to introduce you to Courteney Morris.
Courteney, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Riverdale, MD. PG COUNTY STAND UP! My parents were vital in my upbringing as well as my two siblings. My father was very techy and creative. Since I had a lot of energy as a child, my mother decided to put into sports. Basketball was my go-to sport, playing for Parkdale High School (Lady Panthers) to getting a full-ride to Wake Forest University (Demon Deacons). I quickly fell into the IT field in college, but I also had a passion for the arts. So much so that my degree is in Art. I always loved photography, mainly because of my father, there was always some type of camera no matter the occasion. Photography to me is capturing the moments that will live on long after the moment is gone. Photography allows me to express myself when words fail. Allows me to show my perspective on the ordinary things around me. The IT side of me loves trying to resolve any and all solutions as efficient as possible. After college, I drove across the country to Los Angeles, California. I arrived in LA July 2010 and have been here ever since. There was a ton of doubts about where I would be in the next ten years of this journey, but one thing was for sure was that I was going to make it work. I was going to achieve my goal of being able to live in both worlds, Tech and Photography. The two go hand and hand but to make it work took focus and discipline.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not always been a smooth road. After college was challenging for sure due to not only the recession but deciding to pick up everything and move across the country. Sleeping out of a car, working at jobs that never cared about you as a person but just about their bottom line, relationships that were not built to last, having no job for three months twice, and a host of other things.
Having to reset my expectations of what I expected my journey and what I wanted my journey to be. It’s not easy, it’s hard to be out of your comfort zone for long periods. However, that is where you learn and grow the most. The challenges I faced many have faced before me, some have failed and some have succeeded. I have seen it within my circle, and my circle is the most important thing to me. My circle has changed from what it was and that shows the growth of me as I continue to navigate my path.
My advice for young women is take that chance. Take a chance on yourself and when you fail, keep going. No matter what I do or where I am or who I am with, I am confident in my ability to keep moving forward. I have come to the understanding that it is ok not to know everything and accepting I never will but never give up when trying to finding the answer. Not being afraid to ask for help or guidance when you are unsure. And when you do fail, take a moment to reflect on why it happened and you will quickly see how to improve for the next time.
The other key advice would be to be patient with yourself. Nothing happens overnight, as much as we want it too. Everyone you see has been working on their craft for years, it just happen to all fall into place when it should be. I think this age of social media has everyone speeding up the timeline of their life which is causing a lot of wear and tear on their mental health. Remember, self-care is important. Find something that has nothing to do with your main focus, for me that is photography. With photography, I can tune the world out and focus on simply creating.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about LocallyUnknwn Photography – what should we know?
I currently work at Netflix. This is hands down one of the best jobs I have had in a long time. My role is currently in the IT department. The best part is I get to craft solutions to help keep everything going. I am part of a team and we have to consistently work together globally to provide solutions day in and day out. Working here has opened my mind up to way more opportunities than I have ever had before. It gives me the work-life balance that is so important, which allows me to be able to create most often. Because of this job, it has allowed me to work events like Agenda, ComplexCon, do some brand work, and most importantly travel the world to experience other cultures.
The one thing I am most proud of in my current role is helping people. I love solving problems and resolving issues. After working in IT for the past 10+ years, you think you have seen every issue and then here comes someone that has somehow created a new problem. This forces me to not only continue learning but keeps me on my toes. Seeing people light up because you solved a tech problem never gets old to me. People are so appreciative even though I may not get it right the first time. Since technology evolves so quickly, I am blessed to have this opportunity to use the latest and greatest products and get a better understanding for the new products that are emerging.
I am equally proud of my growth as a photographer. They say in order to have success in something, you have to put in 10,000 hours. I have been putting in the work and it is finally starting to show. Even though I am my own toughest critic, I can see the improvement each time I take a photo. The photos that I take a differ but each one is equally special. Being able to have this as my other profession is a blessing and helps me express myself where my words may fail. It is also important to me because I get to capture moments of my family and friends that will be able to live on well after I am gone.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
My current books of choice are The Intelligent Investor and Algorithm to Live By. My current audiobooks are The Compound Effect and Sprint.
I actually have a podcast with my co-host Nyla Wissa called, Goin’ Thru It w/ Courteney and NY, we recap the week of entertainment news and our lives. This is also another fun project that we have been doing for sometime. We had to take a break from it due to some personal things happening in our lives but 2020 will back in full swing. If you want to tune in on past episodes, we are on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.locallyunknwn.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @locallyunknwn
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/gointhruit
Image Credit:
Portrait of Me – Jazzmyne Robbins
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