Finding Confidence

After her move to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon, Sammie Walker Herrera confirmed two things: She still loved psychology — an appreciation that began in high school — and she was good at finding jobs in the campus community.

The employment list was long. Sammie worked as a peer counselor in the Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC), as two different kinds of RAs — a research assistant and a resident assistant in a dorm — and as a teaching assistant. There was an off-campus position as well: an undergraduate psychology internship at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.

However, it was during Sammie’s time as a lead career peer mentor in the CPDC that led to her a lasting career path. In 2022, Sammie founded Speak Y’all, a coaching business that addresses public speaking, job interviewing and boosting professional confidence. In that capacity, she’s coached people from organizations like IBM, Amazon, Oracle, Snapchat, PNC, Hitachi, Microsoft and Interpol.

As a student worker, Sammie trained fellow students in the areas of resume reviews, interview questions and networking. She led workshops and helped her fellow students feel less intimidated by working alongside a peer career counselor.

“Even though I was their same age, I spoke to the Carnegie Mellon experience and showed them what it looks like to develop career skills over time,” Sammie says. “By the end of my time at CPDC, I was reviewing resumes for Ph.D. students in electrical and computer engineering.”

Sammie graduated from Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2016 with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Hispanic studies. After completing graduate school at Slippery Rock University, Sammie completed stints at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania; the University of Florida; and a private career-coaching company. She then landed back at CMU, serving as an assistant director and career consultant back in the university’s CPDC, where she stayed until the summer of 2025, when she left to focus on Speak Y’all full time.

Making order from disorder

Life threw Sammie a curveball and she turned it into an asset. At 26, she was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Receiving a diagnosis for a condition she struggled with for years became a key to her success. Once she realized she wasn’t alone in her feelings of being overwhelmed — and was able to leave the sense of shame behind — she was able to proceed, personally and professionally, with more efficiency.

In addition to leveraging her natural strengths, Sammie learned to redirect her weaknesses. Through feedback, for example, she realized she talked too fast and sometimes failed to tailor her diction to a particular audience to be an effective public speaker. Honing those skills transformed that shortcoming into an asset.

“Humans, due to our negativity bias, tend to have the natural inclination to focus on weaknesses rather than strengths,” Sammie says. “Once I understood this concept fully, suddenly there was this shift and I began to see with this new lens.”

That new lens, and possessing what she calls her “insider information” on ADHD, has proven exceptionally useful in working with ADHD clients, a recent addition to Speak Y’all’s portfolio of services

”ADHD clients tend to apologize a lot more,” Sammie says. “They overexplain their thought processes and send negative messages to themselves. I help clients overcome some of those obstacles and turn those soft skills into advantages so they can present as leaders.”

Out of all the services that Speak Y’all offers, Sammie says confidence coaching garners the most requests. Because learning how to present information with confidence is most in demand, Sammie strives to help her clients retain feelings of confidence for any future public speaking engagement.

“I wish I could capture their good feelings into a bottle, but since that’s not possible, I get excited for them and celebrate their victories with them,” she says.

During the mock interviews she conducted at CMU, Sammie would help students confront something they had never considered: small talk. It can catch an interviewee off guard, inadvertently setting an awkward tone and sabotaging the rest of an interaction. Years later, as a coach, Sammie finds that she addresses this same issue with some neurodivergent clients.

Proof is in the patrons

Sammie’s skills and years of experience are paying off. She says CEOs often point out how easy it is to work with her and frequently applaud her enthusiasm and positivity. And they highlight how Sammie uses structure and clarity to teach effectively.

Sammie values the times when she sees her coaching bleed into a client’s personal life in a positive way. She once coached a bank CEO, employing lighthearted improvisational exercises to help with his spontaneity. This client tried the exercises at home with his family, and reported back that they were both fun and meaningful.

“I just love when I can help someone ‘trip into their truth,’ meaning that together we figure out what works for an individual,” she says.“The key to good coaching is to evoke awareness. Once that is addressed, I personalize the coaching to fit each individual's own style of learning. After all, my main job is to move folks toward action.”