Find out how Cherri's winding career path became her greatest asset.
Cherri’s career path has never followed a straight line, and that’s exactly what makes her story so powerful. Today, she works for the State of Colorado in Benefits and Leave Administration, helping employees navigate some of life’s most difficult moments, from illness and injury to caregiving and recovery. But the skills she brings to that role were built long before her current title. Through years in bookkeeping, esthetics, entrepreneurship, and human resources, Cherri developed the judgment, empathy, resilience, and problem-solving skills that define her work today.
Early in her career, Cherri worked in bookkeeping and administrative roles before making a bold pivot into esthetics. She became the first employee at a growing company, Waxing the City, and later built and operated her own solo business for eight years. Running that business meant managing every detail of her finances, operations, client relationships, scheduling, and marketing while earning trust through the quality of her work. When she eventually closed her business, she stepped into HR through an opportunity at Denver Rescue Mission, where someone recognized strengths in her that didn’t necessarily show up on paper. There, she supported recruiting, onboarding, payroll, and employee services, often advocating for people who had been overlooked by traditional hiring systems.
After later experiencing her own season of being overlooked during a difficult job search, Cherri remained persistent, applying for more than 100 roles before finding her place with the State of Colorado. Today, she uses every skill she gained through her nontraditional journey to support others with compassion and care. Her story is a reminder that valuable skills are built in many places, through work, entrepreneurship, life experience, and perseverance, and that when employers recognize talent beyond a degree, STARs are ready to excel.
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