Week 8 - ICON

 It finally came! ICON was a blast, I was able to hear from amazing speakers, network with professionals, meet other students and connect with alumni. 

We left Ada at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning and landed in Los Angeles at about 10:30 a.m. We had a little bit of trouble getting a room, but we didn't have much time to worry about it before our first session. All week we got to hear from professionals like Suzi Brown, the VP of digital communications for Disneyland Resorts and Gio Benitez, co-host of "Good Morning America." These were my favorite of the keynote sessions, and I also attended breakout sessions with speakers who covered topics from influencer relations to embracing your culture and background to set yourself apart. 

The itinerary had time built in for students to connect with professionals and explore career paths they may be interested in. At the "Connect with Champions Breakfast" I talked with Scott W. Thornburg and Jane Dvorak about their careers. While what they're doing didn't spark my interest, I was able to get good advice. I also took the time to have a conversation with someone I just met in the hallway, which is how I met Olga Mayoral Wilson. Olga was so sweet and gave me a lot of insight into the field and her experiences. She has a master's in international relations, which is something I'm interested in pursuing, so we connected, and I have an information interview set up with her for later this week. 

While we were there, I was able to meet up with the other members of the PRoud Council! Sadly, Lasya couldn't come but I got to meet Uyen, Anthony and Nashat. It was great to meet with them and feel their energy in person. They were all so incredibly kind and excited and I can't wait to see what we continue to accomplish as a council. Finally, as a group we all met up with some alumni who were also at the conference. We got family style Italian for dinner, and it was delicious. 

We left LA Sunday afternoon and got back to Ada around 1:30 a.m. early Friday morning. The trip was amazing, but I am having some regret because of how much I missed. I am really behind in almost all of my classes, and it's exaggerated by the fact that I have groups in my accounting and business writing class, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing in them, and I feel like I'm falling behind. But I'm sure I'll get back on top of everything in no time.