December 7, 2019
A go-getter, actress, athlete, and musician, Lateefa Reid-Ayers stayed involved throughout her time in high school. “[High school] was an amazing experience,” she said. From her involvement with acting and sports to her saxophone and drum major role in the band, Lateefa observed that being active in her high school helped teach her how to manage her time and prepared her for the future.
Born and raised in Irving, Texas, Lateefa wanted to be an actress. But, INROADS helped her discover her love for accounting and numbers. When she first learned about INROADS, it was at a presentation at her high school. She believed that INROADS would create so many opportunities for her. However, when she first applied for the program, she was not selected, but that did not deter her desire to succeed. She became involved in other opportunities that led to her being featured in an article in the local newspaper. It was through this exposure that she received a new opportunity to become an INROADS intern. An INROADS managing director saw the article and contacted her for an interview. This time, Lateefa succeeded.
Her first internship after her senior year of high school was with Marsh and McLennan in the underwriting department of insurance — that’s where she discovered her passion for accounting. After that, Lateefa spent three summers at Deloitte and Touche. She attended Northwood University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
“[I] had a blast [during my INROADS experience, and] tried to take advantage of everything INROADS had to offer,” said Lateefa. Of the many INROADS things she participated in, community service and interacting with other interns were her two favorite activities.
INROADS taught her the skills she needed to interact with professionals. “[I learned] how to be present and show up,” she said. Lateefa believes she would not have gained these qualities without her INROADS experience. “The biggest impact INROADS had on my life is that it set me apart because a person can tell the difference between someone who has been in INROADS and someone who has not,” she said.
Today, Lateefa is a general liability claim representative for Traveler’s Insurance. She credits her INROADS connections for aiding her when she was laid off from her previous job. She knows that she loves her company and that INROADS has helped her get there. Lateefa has held various positions and titles, and she can’t say what’s next for her professionally until her children are older. One of her lifelong mantras is “don’t gage your success by anyone else’s success.”
Lateefa wants current INROADS interns to know, “[It’s] okay to make mistakes … be encouraged that your path is your path [and] keep going.”