After high school or college, many young adults set out to find themselves before entering the work force. One can assume only a few are fortunate enough to do it. Libby Pratt can count herself among the lucky ones. Maybe it helped that she looked for herself in Australia.
While at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Pratt took legal studies and philosophy of law courses. But when she graduated, she wasn’t certain she wanted to continue along that path, so she set her sights overseas.
“I wanted to experience living outside the comforts of home in East Tennessee. My primary focus was to travel to as many countries as I could, work a bit in the corporate world, and see what I wanted to do with my life,” she says. Pratt contemplated France and Australia; however, her visa for France was slow in coming, while her visa for Australia was approved in a matter of hours. “Australia was meant to be,” she says.
Pratt arrived in the Land Down Under in August 2009. She was planning to stay six months. She wound up living there just over four years.
Although Pratt did travel up to the northern territory, she didn’t spend her years there combing through the outback. Rather, she found work with the legal team at Deutsche Bank in Sydney. For one year, Pratt did some drafting and dabbled in private wealth management, and generally got a feel for the legal profession. She then took a job with Allen & Overy, a multinational law firm headquartered in London. Pratt loved the work, which involved dealing with cross border financial regulations and global regulatory developments on behalf of clients around the world. Trips to the many Asian Pacific countries that pepper that part of the world were common.
Australia was not all work and no play. Pratt made many friends while she was there, and she cherished her time with them. “Australia, and in particular Sydney, is very cosmopolitan,” she says. “I’d throw a dinner party, and I’d have South African, Russian, Irish, English, and Australian friends sitting at my table. Becoming friends with people from around the world and learning about their different points of view was fascinating.”
Last December, Pratt was drawn back to Chattanooga. “Australia was never permanent,” she says. “I wanted to be able to come home and have dinner with my parents without having to fly from the other side of the world. I also have a twin brother [to whom] I’m very close. I’m excited to be starting a new chapter in my life.”
As Pratt looked down at Moccasin Bend on a sunset flight home from Australia, she realized she was bringing home more than memories; she’d gained the perspective she’d sought and picked up valuable skills that would serve her well in the work place. She even knew what she wanted to do: real estate.
“Being involved in cross border financial regulations on the back of the global financial crisis gave me an understanding of how the markets around the world work,” she says. “It also shaped my professional mentality. I knew both of these things would add value to my real estate practice.”
Pratt believed real estate would be a profession she’d enjoy and in which she’d succeed. Two weeks after landing at Chattanooga Airport, she was enrolled in TREES. Today, she’s a fully licensed, fully practicing agent listing, buying and selling properties with Real Estate Partners Chattanooga (REP).
Pratt says choosing to base her business at REP was easy. She returned home with a greater appreciation for her roots, so joining an independent, locally-owned brokerage made sense. “I’m excited to be back in Chattanooga, so I wanted my business to have a local feel. I didn’t want to go with a big franchise.”
Since joining REP, Pratt is pleased with the level of support she’s received. In addition to providing training and marketing, REP has given her several opportunities to connect with potential clients, including an open house event at Museum Bluffs Parkview Condos and Jefferson Commons in the Southside District downtown. Pratt has made the most of these opportunities, and things are going well.
“I got my first lead at the Home Builders Association Show at the Convention Center. That was exciting,” she says. “I’m showing houses in North Chattanooga to first time home buyers and am starting to look at properties for new and experienced investors. Things are rolling in the right direction.”
Adelia Mosley, marketing director at REP, is thrilled to have Pratt on board, as the 27-year-old agent typifies the young professional the company is hoping to attract. “This is an aging profession, so having young, vibrant professionals come in is important,” she says. “Our experienced agents are embracing our younger ones and mentoring them.”
Pratt is becoming involved in her community as well, not simply because it will help her to build her business but also because she cares about the city. Her immediate plans include becoming involved with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and YPAC (Young Professionals Association of Chattanooga).
“Putting myself out there is half the battle,” she says. “So I’m meeting people and becoming involved in the community. I’m trying to put myself in the middle of things.”
When Pratt isn’t working, she can be found “catching up on lost time” with family and friends or “walking around Coolidge Park on a pretty day and checking out the many new cafes and restaurants that are popping up.”
However, most of Pratt’s waking hours involve building her business. “Right now, it’s head down, pencil up,” she says. “I’m excited to be back, and am focused on providing professional real estate services and promoting our beautiful city.”
Pratt might be half a world away from the Land Down Under, but as she opens a new chapter in her life, the story of her time there is a big part of who she is. She went to Australia to find herself, and she did. She returned hard working, capable, confident, professional, and with a deep appreciation for the place she calls home.
“We live in a really beautiful part of the world,” she says. “Chattanooga is more vibrant than ever. It’s becoming more cosmopolitan, and there are a lot of exciting things going on. I’m proud to be a part of it.”