college – The Unconventional Millennial

Homework for the Holidays

December 14, 2016November 12, 2018Posted in College Years, MarketingTagged Christmas, college, future, homeworkLeave a comment

Christmas is indeed in the air and the last thing any college student wants to think about is school. After all, you’re probably still recovering from finals…it’s been a tough few weeks of cramming, living off ramen and trying holding your tongue at group project meetings. I get it. The good news is, you have about 4 weeks to recoup before it’s back to the mines. It’s time to do whatever you’ve been looking forward to doing. Woo-hoo!!! But somewhere between visions of sugar plums dancing in your head and finding the perfect ugly Christmas sweater, set aside time to create the best Christmas present you can give your future, create a personal website.

Seriously.

You’ve spent the last four years putting yourself in a position that makes you marketable, now you’ve got to find a way to market yourself!

Unfortunately, we’ve been taught to print our resume on ivory resume paper, use Times New Roman font, not be too text heavy, not to use colors or designs and to sum everything up on one 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.

Amiright?

The point is, unless the hiring manager truly reads your resume we all look the same at first glance.

This bothered me that after all that hard work I was one of a hundred in a stack of papers. Nowhere could I showcase my personality, work ethic or most importantly for marketing majors….my creative side! I wanted a way to highlight my talents and set myself apart from the rest.

I expressed these frustrations to a mentor who turned around and gave me the BEST.ADVICE.EVER. when it comes to job searching– build a personal website. What a thought!

My personal website included everything a typical resume would (job experience, education, skills, honors/awards, and leadership activities), but I was also able to include an introduction (which included a link to my blog…. another great selling point), links to projects I did in college from role plays, research papers, to 60-page marketing campaigns and I could elaborate on my work experience and leadership activities. Not to mention the fun and professional theme used to express it all!

Since I built the website myself, I was also able to highlight my creative side and learn a new skill…. web design! This gave the reader a good sense of who I was, long before I had the opportunity to meet them face-to-face. You wouldn’t believe the positive feedback I received from mentors, various individuals in my “network” and most importantly, future employers. It truly made a memorable impression.

But the real value in building a personal website for me was….

It didn’t help me land a job, it helped me communicate my passions and interests and land a job I LOVE!

Ironically, I work for a web/app development and digital marketing company. I do anything from content marketing, branding, marketing automation, social media marketing, to frameworks for webpages. Shoot, everything I enjoy!

So this Christmas season when you’re warming your toes by the fire and sipping on some hot chocolate, pull out a pen a paper and begin creating content for your personal website, before you know it you’ll be live on the interwebs and impressing hiring managers left and right!

Job searching isn’t easy, but it can be fun! Give recruiters something to talk about!

Merry Christmas!

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS

November 2, 2016January 31, 2017Posted in Childhood, College YearsTagged college, Dr. Seuss, real world, stress2 Comments

I grew up following my mom around the house with a mountain of books and reading to her every chance I got…which was ALL the time considering she worked from home. My book collection was the equivalent of what a public library would have, but I always seemed to pick the same five books to read. One of which was Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go…one of Mom’s favorites as well! While she listened to every book I read there was something special about this book that wasn’t evident until recently.

The theme is simple; it talks about the journey of life and its challenges. However, I can only imagine the feeling a mother has as they listen to their child read this book…anticipating their child’s future, how their child will change the world and the uncertainties their child will face along the way, all while having this deep, yet simple book narrated by an innocent, optimistic, worry-free, five-year-old.

Now fast forward 16 years and that future is today, the opportunity to impact the world is here and that mountain of books I once read is now a mountain of uncertainties. For 21 years, I followed a set and simple path…go to school and get an education! That’s ALL I’ve known.

I knew if I performed well by the tests I took, the papers I turned in and the report cards my parents had to sign. There was a set measurement of success and each accomplishment advanced me to the next grade, next school and eventually my next “home away from home” …college!

Now post-graduation, there are no grades to motivate me to perform well, I have to find my own motivation and what excites me, there are no advisors telling me to sign up for five specific classes, only mentors offering me advice that I can take or leave and there is no way for my parents to track my progress, only the trust they have in me that I’m working towards my future!

Don’t get me wrong this is all wonderful and what’s supposed to happen when you become a college graduate, but it’s interesting when all sudden you become that funny looking person wearing a yellow onesie and a yellow hat to compliment and realize “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who will decide where to go.”

Crazy!

But not to worry Dr. Seuss didn’t steer us wrong and there is a lot of truth in this witty rhyme. I would encourage anyone in college, nearing graduation or recently graduated and feeling the pressure of this grown-up thing to not overthink it, grab a cup of coffee (just don’t make it black because we’re not that grown up) and pull Oh, The Places You’ll Go off your Mom’s bookshelf and prepare to be inspired!

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Degree in Three!

January 10, 2016January 31, 2017Posted in College Years, Texas A&M UniversityTagged college, degree, real worldLeave a comment

During high school I was blessed with the opportunity to take numerous dual credit classes starting my junior year. I took advantage of every opportunity offered through the high school as well as taking summer classes. I mean why not? High schoolers aren’t busy (as much as we like to think we were), taking classes through the junior college is wayyy cheaper than the university, and you live at home! Anyways, I ended up starting A&M with 27 hours, which basically covered the majority of my basics. So my first semester at A&M I was able to dive right into business classes which sparked my interest a little more than the thought of sitting through basic English and History classes.

In the back of my mind I knew I would graduate college a semester early and possibly a year early. The farther I got in the more apparent it was that I would in fact be graduating a year early. Most people told me to ride out college for four years, enjoy it while you can, get a masters, the real world is tough, yada, yada….and all that may be true, but for me personally it wasn’t that I was in a rush to get out it was just the way everything worked out. I came in with a year worth of classes and took a normal full load each semester, so mathematically I would complete college in 3 years….there was no special trick to it.

So here I am wrapping up my last year of college and I could not be more excited. This excitement has overshadowed the fear of entering the “real world” and helped me transition my mindset from college to building my career. I may not know exactly what I’ll be doing in a few months and truth is, it most likely won’t be what I’ll do my entire life, but I know I will have a Marketing degree from one of the best business schools in nation, a drive to use it effectively, and a toolbox full of tools to be a valuable asset to my next employer.

So yes, on paper I got a degree in three years, but technically I’ve been attending college for five. (starting in highschool!)

Small Town Living

December 13, 2015November 12, 2018Posted in ChildhoodTagged college, networking, small town1 Comment

While I certainly do not see myself heading back to my hometown or moving to another small town post-graduation, I do think there is a lot to be said for growing up in a small town. Our population is 3,600 people and we live for Friday Night Football, wave to each other at our four stoplights, and you might as well plan on adding 30 minutes to your grocery shopping for visiting purposes.

Until I got to college I never realized the uniqueness of growing up in a small town. You were frequently featured in the newspaper starting when you were born with your birth announcement, to letters to Santa in elementary, to sports and organizations in junior high and high school. Not to mention headlining the front page with your first buck….

Outside of being a celebrity in the newspaper, you could also be a celebrity on the radio. The whole town knew when it was your birthday, how many points you scored at Friday night’s basketball game, and how much rainfall your land received from the recent downpour. I had the opportunity to be the voice of radio advertisements for school and every Wednesday morning you could catch the FFA Minute with Holly Melvin! I mean looking back that was all really cool!

Besides the newspaper and radio fame, it was truly unique to walk into to any business in town and automatically see a familiar face and strike up a conversation. We waved at everyone and if someone waved and you didn’t wave back the next time they saw you they wondered if you were okay “that one day I waved at you between the softball fields and high school about three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon when it was sprinkling rain”….I mean we have the time, location, and current weather condition down when referring to that “one time you didn’t wave back”. Additionally, teachers referred to you by your oldest sibling’s name and your parents knew about any misstep you took in school before you had the opportunity to tell them. Not to mention, my Dad’s office is right in the center of town at our main stoplight. His greatest joy was seeing where I was going, coming from, what my friends were doing, and smugly asking what I did after practice because he knew good and well what direction I was heading….just to keep me honest, but even more so just to give me a hard time.

So how does all this translate to where I’m at now and where I’ll soon be heading? Well I’ll admit I miss the small town media fame, but there is so much more to take away from how I grew up the first 18 years of my life:

1. All we hear these days is networking, networking, networking! And it’s true, we are college students and we should be networking. Looking back I’ve been networking my entire life! Growing up I would walk into a store and know someone who then introduced me to their friend and the next time I saw that friend they would introduce me to their friend, etc, etc. At 15 years old I just didn’t know there was an official name for it! Today I use the same practice of taking a conscious effort of remembering who I met, what they do, and keeping in contact. While it is a little more challenging since I’m no longer dealing with a pool of just 3,600 people, giving a casual wave at the stoplight doesn’t qualify as “keeping in contact”, and utilizing these contacts as conversation starters at the post office isn’t the best use….I at least have a foundation of how to go about networking. I’ve learned how to talk to people and trained myself to remember who I’m talking to, all to continue to add value to the relationships I’ve created and the network I’m continuing to build.

2. I don’t plan on having a career in radio, but having the confidence to grab the mic and have my voice broadcasted across three counties has really helped me be able to think on my feet and speak in a professional manner to potential employers. It was a great ice breaker to help take out the awkwardness of what I once considered uncomfortable situations. It’s difficult to talk on the radio if you’ve never done it, just like it’s difficult to talk to professionals if you’ve never done it. But once you do it, you gain a little more confidence, and every time there after you keep building your confidence until you are comfortable.

3. Everyone has different moral compasses, but a good way to measure where your morals are is by asking yourself if you would be comfortable with that action headlined on the front page of the newspaper. Now I mentioned all the good things you can get featured for in the small town newspaper, but rest assured we are a small town and like our small town gossip, so all the bad is in there as well. It puts things into perspective for me that before I act I ponder the thought of former teachers, local businessmen, and neighbors reading about it and if I’m comfortable with what is said. I’ll admit I haven’t been faced with an “ethical dilemma” thus far, but as my career fast approaches I feel sure questionable encounters will arise.

In conclusion, I believe small towns are like an introduction to a book. It gives you a summary of what to expect, but until you read further in you don’t quite know how you connect to the content and how it all comes together. In my 18 years of small town living I knew I would head off to college and then begin a career, but I didn’t quite know how talking on the radio, “networking” with the townspeople, or being featured in the newspaper was going to benefit my future. Now on my third and final year of college and my future right around the corner, it is all coming together. The introduction has started to make sense and while my book may never be completed I’m far enough in to see how it all fits together.

Speaking to the Moms

October 25, 2015January 31, 2017Posted in College Years, Texas A&M UniversityTagged Aggie Moms, college, internship, jobLeave a comment

Tri-County Aggie Moms Meeting- LaGrange, TX

The other night, I spoke at the Tri- County Aggie Moms Meeting. I was excited to have this opportunity as in high school I competed at numerous public speaking contests and ever since I got to college I have had no reason to speak besides the occasional project presentation (not even sure if that counts). Anyways, I prepared my speech, practiced, arrived at the meeting, and was greeted by the most receptive crowd…..a room full of moms, Aggie Moms to be more specific. I believe I could have stood up there and not said two words and they still would have clapped. Gotta love moms.

However, besides the typical adrenaline rush during the speech and the “feel good” emotion that follows a speech when you get a round of applause I came to the realization that I was no longer speaking for an award and telling people what they wanted to hear nor was it a script that someone else had prepared. I was telling these moms what they needed to hear and from firsthand experience.

The general theme of my speech was finding an internship and what I learned from it. However, I didn’t just jump into how great of an experience it was and how everyone should do an internship and how once you complete your internship that magically qualifies you as on your way to a “bright future”.

Instead I thought about who I would be speaking to, Moms, who whether they admit it or not think about their children away in college 24/7. So I began back at the first semester of college when I along with most other freshman thought that college just wasn’t for me, the struggle of adapting to a new “independently-dependent” lifestyle, and that I failed my first college test ever. I saw the nods the in the room from the “veteran” college moms and the face of relief from the “new-to-college” moms. I then progressed to talking about getting involved and how creating a network of peers is so valuable before diving into the actual internship. I wanted to stress how it is all a process and your child is not the only one that can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was there.

Then the fun part began. I was able to show that we all grow up, figure it out, and march towards building our future. It was the most rewarding feeling to have middle age women taking notes on what a twenty year old was saying. I shared the different avenues I went through when finding an internship and the value in doing an internship. My goal was not to make moms stop worrying about their children, but to reassure them that it’s all a process and they are not the only ones feeling the stress when their kids go off to college. My second goal was to inspire these moms to inspire their children to step out of their comfort zone and take a proactive approach in making the most of their time in college and laying a solid foundation for their future. Judging by the nods in the room and feedback after the meeting I feel like I met these two goals.

LETTERing in Writing

August 15, 2015November 12, 2018Posted in College Years, Lifestyle, Texas A&M UniversityTagged college, letters, writing1 Comment

I’ve had an interest in my family history for quite a few years now. Over the course of 3-5 years I have traced back our ancestry to our “home” country on all sides, did the whole DNA test, and reached out to distant relatives in the genealogy community that shared the same passion and common goal as myself. Through my research I found war heroes, newspaper headlines highlighting my family, and passenger lists from when my family sailed in to Ellis Island and began their life in America. I shared a new excitement with every record I found and the information was endless. However, one of the greatest discoveries I made was not through a census, passenger, or war draft record, but in an envelope that my family received after the passing of my great grandmother. In that envelope were farmledgers, WW2 ration books, and about 100 letters.

Those letters were addressed to my great grandfather from my great grandmother while she attended college at the University of Kentucky from 1928-1932. Wow! Best discovery ever. I was fortunate enough to know my great grandmother when I was a child, but it was the neatest thing to read about her college experience and have her personality shine through in those letters. Regardless of the 85 year difference from when her experiences took place to when I read about them I found myself drawing on many of the commonalities that I found we share. Our feelings about college are mutual, many college activities “back then” are still enjoyed today, and the struggles of adapting to a new “independently-dependent” lifestyle was prevalent in the 20th Century as it is in the 21st Century.

I found these letters the summer before I headed off to college and I pondered the thought of doing the same…..writing a letter home every week of college. Here I am, 75 letters in and I don’t regret it one bit. Some weeks writing a letter slips my mind and I tell myself I’ll just write “extra” next week. However this never holds true. Somewhere in the process of contemplating writing a letter home, I always find myself with a pen in hand and a stamp nearby.

I’ll admit I’m a little dramatic in my letters, but my parents look past it and find them quite humorous. Besides the joy it brings to my parent’s mailbox each week, it gives me the opportunity to reflect on my week. I think about everything positive that has happened, build on the negative, and assess what I’ve accomplished and what I need to accomplish in the week ahead.

It’s a priceless treasure for my parents today and treasure for me in the future. I’ll be able to open up 100+ letters and relive the emotions that I was feeling when various events occurred. So while writing letters is a lost art for many, it is alive and well for this college student!