Florida State University

I think your college years and experiences are as good as you make of them. I know this sounds really trite but it's true. I was very involved in extra curricular activities and that has played into my career success as much as classroom work. I was involved in a sorority, twirled with the Marching Chiefs and was a Golden Girl. These experiences afforded me opportunities to travel and represent FSU as well as make contacts with people that I do business with today. College teaches you discipline because unlike in high school--there is no one there to babysit you and make sure you go to class and do your homework. Your professors expect you to come to class and be prepared as an adult. If you flunk out--it's your own fault. What I tell high school as well as college kids--do you think your boss is going to let you work for "extra credit" because you screwed up a project that you blew off until the laast minute?? Your college years prepare you in the classroom with skills you are going to need to be able to land the job but as much as technical ability you have to be able to work with people--individually or as a team. And then if you are promoted and go into management-- you need to be a cheerleader, coach, motivator, and everything in between. I think this is where a lot of my extra curricular activities came into play.

FSU being a big school helps you to get a glimpse of what it is going to be like in the real world. Everyone played football in high, or was a cheerleader or was a big fish in a small pond. If you can handle the competition in college and win--it gives you a tremendous amount of confidence when you take that next step into the working world.

In college--I never honestly thought I was going to have a big career. But when I got out--I found out just how competitive I was and I wanted to be the best at whatever it was that I chose to do. To this day--if it's got my name on it--I want it to be not just good but GREAT! Every work product or team that you manage is a reflection of you and "everything speaks." In other words--dress the part, look the part, act the part and PREPARE PREPARE PREPARE. Never stop reading--newspapers,magazines, business books--whatever, keep current on what is happening in your industry. Whether you are in business, engineering,education,the medical field, sales, advertising,government--whatever it is stay current with trends in your field.

Another friendly piece of advice I would leave you with--find something that you LOVE and are passionate about and it is much easier to be successful. I'm not saying that there aren't tough days--but when you truly love what you do--the late nights and weekends working aren't as bad. Pick a major that really interests you and ask yourself if you can have fun doing this. To me--I HATE numbers so that isn't fun to me. But advertising and PR -- coming up with creative ideas, public speaking and talking with the media is fun. I have people I work with tell me, "I wouldn't have your job for a million dollars" because a lot of times I'm in the hot seat. But I thrive on the challenge and turning a situation around is what gets me up and going in the morning.

You might want to take a personality test before entering college to see what your preferences are and what would be a good major for you to go into. Ask your guidance counselor about them.Good luck and feel free to email me. I loved all four years at FSU and if I had to do it all over again I would do it exactly the same--only I might have studied a little more now that I've become a big career girl!

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000