60 Years of Stories! Tamara Minley-Clinton

“If not for St. Louis Community College, I never would have gone back to school. At STLCC, I was bitten by the education bug. After that, I went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and two master's degrees. STLCC was my first step toward improving my salary, life and my career. STLCC-Meramec changed my outlook on what I wanted out of life. I don't know where I would be if I wasn’t given that opportunity.” 

~Tamara Minley-Clinton, St. Louis Community College at Meramec, employee and student, 2001-2008

 

Today Tamara Minley-Clinton is a successful business executive and entrepreneur. Fifteen years ago, she wasn’t sure where her career would take her. Tamara started off as an artist for National grocery store before short stints working in a law firm and as an administrator for a child services agency. Then she found her career and life at a crossroads. “An opportunity arose with STLCC and I decided to interview for it. As fate would have it, that interview changed my life. I met Mr. Bob Bottger. He gave me the opportunity when others didn’t and became my boss and mentor.”

At STLCC-Meramec, Tamara worked in the physical education and athletic departments. After three years, she applied for and was offered a position in the dean’s office. While there, she decided to go back to school. “I figured if I'm going to work in education, I may as well take advantage of the opportunity. So, I started classes to complete my elective courses through STLCC. As an employee, Tamara attended STLCC at a discounted rate.

After seven years, she took an opportunity with Webster University to work in academic affairs. Importantly, she was able to transfer her STLCC credits toward a bachelor’s degree. “I didn't want to leave STLCC, but I knew I needed to progress forward with my education. Being able to transfer my credits was a big bonus for me.” She graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and management before going on to earn master’s degrees in marketing and communications and human resource organizational training and development.

Now, Tamara wears several professional hats. She is the administrative manager and human resources partner for a local pharmaceutical company. She is a successful entrepreneur who has owned and sold several businesses. One project she is particularly excited about is Prestige Vendor Marketplace. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Tamara and two partners started PVM, an online marketplace for local small businesses, to incubate local businesses by providing entrepreneurs with an online presence, as well as mentorship, professional development tools, and resources to help develop and grow the businesses. Additionally, she serves as president of the Springboard to Learning Arts and Education board and served as the director of technology and co-chair of programming for the St. Louis chapter of Public Relations Society of America.

Years later, Tamara still treasures her experience at STLCC, especially the relationships she formed with her co-workers.

“I made a lot of friends working at STLCC. I am still close with many of them. Working at STLCC was like working with family. Everybody helped one another and occasionally we would get together outside of work. As a staff, we would attend STLCC functions together, whether it was a work event, a play, or going out to lunch. Some of my colleagues and I even attended STLCC classes together. We had a lot of fun.”