In early 2006, after earning a degree in advertising from Alabama, Ashley Miles Greig was in the midst of a dilemma. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do next.
Gymnastics had been her whole life from the time she was six years old. Multiple years of classes, elite competitions, and camps had culminated in a remarkable NCAA career in Tuscaloosa. She had been living independently for a number of years, so returning home wasn’t an option. Then an opportunity appeared at the local Toyota dealership through her former head coach, Sarah Patterson. Greig went to have a conversation, no resume in hand, and left with a job.
“It was totally out of necessity [because] I needed a job,” Greig recalled.
The job Greig got out of need ended up leading to a career shift that now finds her as the head coach of Iowa State. Under Greig’s leadership, the Cyclones experienced a tremendous turnaround, not only in overall rankings but also in team culture.
Greig was initially hired to be in the sales department of the car dealership, but she never sold a single car. Instead, she found herself in the finance office after a previous employee quit. “They said, ‘why don’t you go sit in there with the finance director and see what you can pick up?’” she explained. Three…
