Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude

Growing up in Pittsburgh provided Leah Staats with a lot of opportunities to enjoy her passion for sports, both as a participant and as a spectator.

After receiving her degree in sports management from Liberty University, and eventually receiving a master’s degree in sports administration, Staats just assumed she would end up working in the sports industry, but things didn’t turn out that way.

“I moved back home to Dillsburg and thus began my adventure of job searching,” she said.

She was offered a position with Bob Ruth Ford as the director of media relations, and even though it wasn’t in her field of study, it was an opportunity she didn’t want to pass it up.

Although she admits that she never imagined herself in the auto industry, Staats said she has come to the realization that there are similarities in both fields, and so for now, she’s enjoying where she is.

In her position with Bob Ruth Ford, her main responsibility is keeping their social media sites up to date.

“I try to post pictures, inventory, deals, events, and anything else we have going on at least eight to 10 times a day,” Staats said. “I want to be able to drive traffic to our showroom, and I truly believe social media platforms can do this for any business.”

The wide use of social media is sometimes thought of as something that the millennial generation, commonly defined as those born between 1981 and 1997, has had a great effect on.

Staats, who falls into that category, is no exception. But although she agrees with some of the traits that are often associated with the millennial generation, she is quick to point out that “this group of people can make a positive difference in the future,” she said.

“One of the quotes I found in a recent article states that workplace satisfaction matters more to millennials than monetary compensation, and work-life balance is often considered essential,” said Staats.

The article, she said, went on to say that millennials are less likely than previous generations to put up with “an unpleasant work environment and much more likely to use social networking to broadcast their concerns. On behalf of some of my friends, we would agree with this. I think we would rather be happy in a job we love and have fun with than to be in a position that we hate but make a lot more money,” Staats explained.

An excellent example of doing something that enhances her work-life balance is the volunteer work that Staats does as the social media coordinator/director of media relations for International HELP.

According to their website, International HELP is an organization that “envisions the end of preventable diseases in underprivileged areas globally through educating and empowering local people to be healthcare leaders whose impact will change the course of their community.”

“I got involved with International HELP about a year ago. My good friend is the founder and knows how much I love helping others, ministry, traveling, and social media, and therefore, she asked me to partner with them,” Staats said. “I love what I do for International HELP. I believe in this nonprofit 110 percent, as I am able to see what we have done already in just a year.”

Several members of the International HELP team have already been able to travel internationally, working for the organization, and Staats hopes to join them in the future “and do social media in action,” she said.

“I am happy to be a part of an organization that wants to help and train community health workers to be world changers and life givers in their own communities. We can only go up from here, and it’s exciting to see this thing take off.”

Even though her life so far has taken a different path than the one she envisioned when she was a student, Staats is happy right where she is.

“One of the things I’ve learned just within the last few years is learning to be content wherever I am,” she said. “It’s a long, hard process, but once you learn how to be content in every situation, it makes even the hardest situations a bit easier. Your attitude determines your altitude.”

As far as where she might be five years from now, Staats readily admits that she has no clue. But she’s just fine with that.

“It’s important to be open with every opportunity that comes your way,” she said. “It’s exciting and it’s an adventure that I never want to end!” BW