{Back to the OC}

Last weekend I made a fast trip home to NW Iowa, as I was invited to speak at the Northwestern College Business Alumni Forum with 6 other alums (check out the sweet rating NWC just received from CBS Money Watch!). I had a great time sharing my professional experience with college students. It seems like so long ago already that I was a student at Northwestern! Time goes way too fast.

Here were some of my top tips to the students:

Create your own personal brand. Know who you are professionally, what makes you unique and own it.
Create a solid online presence for yourself. If you like to write, consider blogging. Network with other professionals in your industry through Twitter. And most of all, have a solid LinkedIn profile! That’s a must.
Network, network, network. Reach out to other Northwestern grads and leverage those relationships.
Don’t be afraid to take risks. Apply for that job you think you don’t have a chance to get and sell yourself when you get an interview.

After the forum, I headed to the NWC women and men’s basketball games with my parents. I ran into a couple friends from college that I haven’t seen in a long time…it’s always so good to catch up and see old friends!

Saturday night I went out to dinner at The Hatchery with my parents and finished the night off by watching The Lucky One (LOVE that movie). And all too soon it was Sunday afternoon and time to make the trip back to Des Moines. It was a super fast trip home, but I am so grateful for those trips home to spend quality time with my parents. Having four kids in our family, its delightful when we all get together, but I cherish the one on one time I get with my parents in my childhood house. There is just absolutely nothing that can beat it.

On the way home I enjoyed the beauty of our Iowa skies.