Priya, talent operations specialist at Textron Corporate, traded her usual view from Textron’s headquarters in Providence for one that was much harder to describe.

“It’s a level of beauty that screensavers and the most professional photographer in the world could not capture,” she said about her trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

At Textron, we’re used to making wild ideas work, and sometimes our people have a few wild ideas of their own outside the office. Priya is known around her team for her weekend adventures. So, when she told them she was planning a seven-day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain and one of the Seven Summits, it was not exactly out of character.

One of the biggest benefits of working at Textron, she said, is the flexibility to make room for the things that matter outside of work.

MAKING A BUCKET-LIST GOAL HAPPEN

Priya likes having something to look forward to outside of work. More often than not, that means being above sea level on a hike or below it scuba diving.

Her hiking bucket list started closer to home. She has visited more than 30 national parks across the U.S., including Yosemite, where she hiked Half Dome. Eventually, she started looking for a different kind of challenge and came across the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each continent.

She found her next adventure with Kilimanjaro. Once the trip was booked, Priya had six months to prepare.

Finding time to train around work was easier with a gym one floor below her office. Textron Corporate’s 9/80 schedule also gave her longer weekends to head north and get more time on the trails.

“The convenience of having a facility in the office made it that much easier to stick to the plan,” she said.

Priya shared her plans with her leaders early, saved her vacation time and worked with her team to make sure things were covered while she was away.

“It’s nice that they can say, ‘Go enjoy your trip. Nothing’s going to be hindered in your absence.’”

“I am proud to be at a place where people I work with see me as more than an employee ID number with a job description,” she said. “They see you as a person and they care about what you value.”

Priya, Talent Operations Specialist, Textron Corporate

SEVEN DAYS ON MOUNT KILIMANJARO

When Priya arrived in Tanzania, she started the seven-day Lemosho route alongside 11 people she had never met. Over the next week, they spent hours hiking together each day, adjusting to the altitude, cold and constantly changing terrain.

“You go up this mountain and you share this life-changing experience together,” Priya said. “In that one week, you get closer to them than some friends that you’ve known for years.”

The summit attempt started at 11 p.m. after barely any sleep. The group hiked through the night in the dark and the cold. The final stretch was the hardest part.

“It’s going to be worth it,” Priya remembers telling herself. “This trip has already been everything I could have imagined it and more.”

Around 6:30 the next morning, she reached the summit and watched the sun rise above the clouds.

“You quite literally keep blinking just to say, ‘I want to take a mental picture and remember this moment,’” she said.

BRINGING POLE POLE HOME

Pole pole. In Swahili, it means slowly or gradually. It was something Priya’s guides repeated throughout the trek: Keep moving, one step at a time.

“To hear ‘pole pole’ for a week straight, I actually brought it back with me,” Priya said. “Sometimes, take a moment. Slow down. Be in the moment.”

That mindset doesn’t always come naturally to Priya, who describes herself as someone who’s constantly in motion.

“I’m always like, go, go, go, go,” she said. “I talk fast. I process things fast.”

Since returning to Providence, pole pole has become more than something she heard on a mountain. Priya has found herself applying the same mindset at work: slowing down when she needs to and remembering that not everything needs to happen at once.

SUPPORT THAT GOES BEYOND THE JOB

Priya first found Textron at a career fair at Purdue University, where she was studying finance. Two internships led to Textron’s Finance Leadership Development Program, which took her across businesses and locations. Along the way, she realized she wanted to explore a career outside of finance. Her mentors encouraged her to follow that curiosity, eventually leading her to Talent Operations.

Since then, Priya has held six roles across the company. Through each transition, she says she has had leaders who supported her growth, encouraged her to pursue new opportunities and backed the goals that mattered to her both professionally and personally.

“I am proud to be at a place where people I work with see me as more than an employee ID number with a job description,” she said. “They see you as a person and they care about what you value.”

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