The Winding Road to Wisdom: Tanzania Scarborough's Journey to Becoming an Insights Strategist

Tanzania “Ana”  Scarborough always knew how to listen; she just had to learn it was a gift.

Lucky are few who know exactly who they are and what they want to be. Ana was off to a great start: she had always known who she was.

She was someone endlessly curious about people and driven by their stories. As a child, she devoured books, editorials, and magazines—anything rich in context that could scratch the “why.” At first, she read to find coupons from Pizza Hut—but it quickly became more than that. Stories, wherever she could find them, became her quiet way of listening to and learning about the world. 

She loved stories, people, and the worlds they carried—and her appreciation for human complexity led her to Clemson University, where she first pursued Political Science. That path eventually brought her to Engineering—until Calculus reminded her that not all roads are hers to take. Like many students, she tried to choose something “practical,” something that sounded like success.

She paused to ask herself a simple question—what made her happiest as a child? Reading. Listening. Reflecting. She returned to herself and her true center by focusing on a new major: English.

The English department felt more human and more exploratory. In her sophomore year, she became a Resident Assistant and was soon tapped to interview as a Peer Dialogue Facilitator. She had no idea what a facilitator was, but someone saw something in her. That moment sparked her first real encounter with research. Ana led conversations around identity, culture, and experience using tools like the Social Identity Wheel and learning how behavior is shaped by context, how language reveals belief, and how silence can sometimes say the most. Ana thrived and was named a top facilitator and worked as an intern in the campus Writing Center. 

When she graduated 2016 with a B.A. in English and Journalism and, like many who are gifted with inspiration and drive, but unsure where to go, headed straight into graduate school at Clemson for an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She needed space, time, and a buffer between knowing and becoming. She thought entrepreneurship might hold space for her curiosity and creativity. And in many ways, it did.

In business school, Ana learned something that changed her: companies that innovate well listen first. They ask questions before giving answers. They don’t guess at what people want—they pay attention. Throwing paint and hoping it sticks is expensive. Listening is smarter.  

After graduation, she was recommended by the Director of Undergraduate studies Lori Pindar for a project with a company in that would shift everything. There was no job title or instruction manual—just an opportunity to contribute. Ana reviewed in-depth-interview transcripts and  preliminary research, surfaced themes, and shared early patterns of what customers expected from health conscious brands. Then they flew her to Cincinnati to debrief alongside the founder and and present their findings in person.

It was the first time she got paid to do the kind of work that lit her up. It felt sacred. Like she had just been handed the name of something she’d always known. Divine alignment.

Ana left thinking, “This is it. This is what I’m meant to do.” In her five and a half years of college and business school, she didn’t know about the jobs in research because she had seen market research or consumer insights as a part of the innovation and entrepreneurial process, but not as a professional specialty or career direction. 

She searched entry level roles in consumer insight, strategy, innovation and applied to every company she could find, especially roles with Unilever, Procter & Gamble. No one called back and Ana was crushed.

How could she have found her calling and still be told, “No” with unfailing repetition?

She pivoted, taking a “meantime” job as a Customer Success Manager at Empire Today, the home improvement store with one of the best known and most often repeated jingles in the last 30 years. It was exactly what she needed. She learned about KPIs, systems, cross-department collaboration, and how to build real-time customer solutions. The pace was quick, but it sharpened her ability to connect dots, synthesize feedback, and problem-solve with empathy.

Eventually, she relocated and took another job—one that left her creatively and emotionally disconnected. More spreadsheets, fewer stories. She stayed longer than she should have. But still, the pull to return never left her.

In 2024, Ana finally listened to that nudge.

She reentered the world of research with clarity and conviction. She now consults independently as an Insights Strategist, while seeking the right long-term home for her gifts. She translates human texture into brand strategy. She helps clients amplify their consumers’ voices, uncover emotional drivers, and align with the lives they hope to serve. She doesn’t just report on behavior—she listens for what isn’t said.

As she quietly navigated her return to research, the universe whispered again—this time through a new connection named Annie Pettit.

Annie said, “You should apply to speak at IIEX.” Ana hesitated, then submitted a proposal.

She was selected.

Ana stepped onto the stage in Washington, D.C. as a featured keynote speaker at IIEX 2025, presenting “The Apple Never Falls: How Culture Drives Brand Loyalty.” She spoke about emotional inheritance, generational trust, and the subtle forces that shape our relationships with brands. She told the truth. She told her story. And she felt the audience listening.

That moment—like many others—felt written. Guided. Proof that the path had always been forming beneath her.

Today, Ana works as a qualitative researcher and strategist, specializing in cultural insight, behavioral segmentation, and storytelling that moves brands forward. She’s part researcher, part storyteller, part translator of human truth.

Her journey wasn’t linear, but it was full of alignment.

Every detour was a redirection. Every meantime job built a skill. Every quiet “yes” became a bridge to something bigger.

And she wouldn’t change a thing.