When you picture the moment your life changes, you often imagine something monumental.
The setting, the people and the feeling will let you know something unforgettable is about to happen.
However, life-changing moments can frequently happen in the most unassuming places.
For example, in an Enterprise Rent-A-Car stuck in heavy traffic on the Dallas North Tollway.
It’s in this exact location that John Brownlee’s career, and life, would take a decisive turn.
A Lubbock native, John graduated from Texas Tech University with his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business in 1994.
“I actually enjoyed going to classes, but it was just the whole experience,” John said. “I made a lot of lifelong friends here, and I think all of the things we always talk about when we talk about Texas Tech, about grit and determination, a lot of that came from the experiences I had here.”
Shortly after graduating, he started a job in the Enterprise Rent-A-Car management training program in Dallas.
Abiding by the company motto, “We’ll Pick You Up,” John found himself transporting a commercial real estate professional within the first two weeks of his new role.
The woman worked for Holliday Fenoglio, Dockerty and Gibson (later HFF), and during the drive, she began telling John about the company and opportunities that came with working there.
By the time they arrived at her office, John was sold on changing career paths.
“She had one of the principals come down and meet me on the curb, and that sounded a lot more fun than what I was doing, which was vacuuming cars in August with a full suit,” John said while laughing. “I ended up interviewing a week later, and they offered me a job, which was essentially a glorified copyboy position at the time, but it got my foot in the door. And from that, I fell in love with the company, fell in love with the industry and the rest is history, honestly.”