Alexis Grant speaks to students who recently returned from studying abroad about how her semester in Cameroon helped her get where she is now -- and how they can use their experiences for good, too.
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What You Gained
Recognized how lucky you are
Skills that makes you a better job candidate
Learned to push yourself outside your
comfort zone
Love of travel
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My Story
Liberal arts college
J-School
Houston Chronicle
Freelanced in Africa
Wrote a travel memoir
U.S. News & World Report
Now: Innovator-in-Chief of Socialexis
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My Slashes
Journalist
Social media & blog strategist
Clients: Small businesses and startups
Managing editor of Brazen Life
Entrepreneur
Creating and selling ebooks and courses
How to Take a Career Break to Travel
How to Build a Part-Time Social Media Business
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How can you use
the perspective you gained while
traveling to do great things
in your life?
Our Goal Today
Etiquette class = none of it seemed to matter. I had a new perspective on what mattered.
+ Each of you also probably gained new perspective, adjusting to what seems like a new culture
Today I want to talk about that perspective, and how you can use it to live an awesome life going forward. Because this is an experience that will drive you for the long run if you’re smart enough to harness the energy and use it strategically.
How do you harness that energy? By recognizing what you gained from this experience.
Before we get into the details of what you’ve gained, I want to tell you a bit about MY story, so you understand how I got from where you’re sitting now to where I am today.
+ Why Cameroon
+ Study abroad in NZ = Ah-ha moment
+ Took full-time job to get experience, save money
Freelanced along the way
If you consider my backpacking trip, my book and all the experiences that led up until this point, I am where I am now largely because of my study abroad semester in Cameroon. And that might prove true for each one of you in the coming years.
So our big question today is…
Lucky as in – Europe, refillable drinks and spaces between the tables.
+ Story of how ran the race for women in Albany. Can’t waste the opportunity.
+ Go after and achieve what you want.
+ What did you learn?
+ Having fun is a solid goal, but take it beyond that
+ How to make what you learned part of your story
+ This might have been first opportunity to challenge yourself, do things you’re uncomfortable with = look where it got you
+ Show of hands, who feels like they’re better person after semester
+ Keep learning, prove to yourself
+ Apply that to life going forward. How can you push yourself outside your comfort zone?
+ Example: My experience in Cameroon led to my trip, starting my own business
Many of us discovered a love of travel
+Live a life of adventure and learning even after entering the “real world”… constantly look for opportunities to weave travel into my career and life
+ how do you make this more than a one-time opportunity?
Right now, probably a lot of you are motivated to do that
+ think outside the box about how you approach your life
+If there’s something you want to do, figure out how to get tehre
The last thing I want to leave you with
+ Ask yourself
+ Proven to yourself you can push outside your comfort zone, you can learn new skills, and you’re really lucky to have this life of opportunity in front of you.
+ Now go out there, and do something awesome with it.