When Aiesha Little lost her job in December 2019, she was unsure what she would do next, but she knew it was a good time to reevaluate her career options. “Sometimes losing a job can be a blessing in disguise,” Aiesha says. “It gives you the kick in the pants you need to make changes that move you forward.”  

Having previous volunteer social media/marketing experience with organizations like Melodic Connections, the Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance and the multicultural steampunk group Airship Ashanti, she decided to turn her attention to content creation and strategy as she worked on landing freelance writing assignments. 

When the coronavirus made its way to Ohio in mid-March, causing the governor to issue a “shelter-in-place” order, the world went topsy turvy for Aiesha for the second time in three months. “I was just getting used to freelancing full time and here comes COVID-19,” she notes. “Projects started getting put on hold and some were cancelled completely.” 

That’s when she saw the Facebook post about Super Heroines Etc.’s SHE Fellows program, which is designed for women and non-binary folks who want to redirect their career paths and get some experience in areas outside of their expertise, some of whom may have been affected by pandemic-related layoffs. 

“I just gave it a shot,” Aiesha says. “I didn’t think that I was going to be the one they chose.” 

For the month of June, she will receive a stipend to help the organization beef up its content on social media platforms as well as its website. The organization hopes that this program will give her active experience to support her in building her dream career.

“Aiesha’s career goals and her desire to support and expand SHE’s mission really stood out,” says SHE President Whitney Risner. “As for us, we hope that with Aiesha’s help we can continue to build a bigger, safer and better geek community.”

You can read Little’s work at www.aieshadlittle.com

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