From Janitor to Director
A reflective journey about work, identity, resilience, and growth.
About the Book
From Janitor to Director is a reflective career memoir about what it means to build a professional life without a roadmap. Tracing Will Leon’s journey from cleaning restrooms at a bus station to leading teams in higher education advancement, the book explores the uncertainty, setbacks, and quiet growth that shape many first-generation careers. It offers an honest look at underemployment, depression after college, mentorship, and the long process of learning workplace norms and leadership.
Rather than presenting a polished success story, Leon focuses on the resilience and self-awareness required to keep moving forward when the path is unclear. Written for recent graduates, mid-career professionals, and anyone who has ever felt out of place at work, the memoir invites readers to reflect on their own evolving definition of success.
What You’ll Learn
- Navigating careers without a clear roadmap
- Turning setbacks into long-term professional growth
- Moving from self-doubt to professional clarity
- Building resilience through reinvention and change.
Who This Book Is For
- First-generation professionals seeking career direction
- Recent graduates facing uncertainty after college
- Mid-career workers feeling stuck or overlooked
- Leaders wanting empathy for employee journeys
Will Leon 