My Story: Krystian Davis

Smiling woman seated at a desk in a bright office with a window behind her.

Krystian Davis has been working for nearly 20 years, but it wasn’t until recently that she uncovered her true passion.

Her mom was taking an IT bootcamp, and “as her nerdiest daughter” (her words, not ours) Krystian would talk with her mom about coding and IT. She started doing some research and discovered that data scientists were among the happiest workers in the nation, and she read about projects that use data science to identify counterfeit prescriptions in Kenya or flag messages to get help to people who may be considering suicide. Her passions for the industry grew, but it was hard to break into something new on her own, and trying to teach herself was becoming frustrating. Then, her job search was further upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When she heard Goodwill offered IT classes free of charge, and with hands-on experience, she quickly signed up for the SQL Server course, hoping it would help her land a role in her new dream career… and it did! She’s now getting ready to move to Washington D.C. where she’s accepted a position as a Federal Analytics Consultant for a firm. Her first project is dealing with uncovering tax fraud, and she’s elated to have finally found work she’s passionate about 24/7, not just 9 to 5.

This article originally appeared in the Goodwill of Southern Piedmont blog. Watch Krystian’s video to hear her share more about when her job search finally turned around and what it means to have uncovered her life’s passion.


When you donate and shop at your local Goodwill, you help individuals like Krystian reach their full potential through the power of work. In fact, 87 cents of every dollar you spend in our retail stores and through shopgoodwill.com and other ecommerce platforms is reinvested in your community to create employment placement, job training and career support services. Find the location closest to you or make a monetary donation to show your support.

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