My alma mater, Iowa State University, started classes last week and it made me reminisce of when I first started college 14 years ago now…

Back then I was just excited about what the future held in becoming an engineer, I had no idea the people I would meet on that journey that would lead me to what I do today!

I’ve truly come to believe that “the most important things in life aren’t things; they’re relationships.”

We live in a culture that loves the myth of the self-made achiever, but the truth is simple: one is too small of a number to do anything great. Every single meaningful milestone in my career traces back to a relationship, not an isolated effort.

Founding IINSPIRE LSAMP Alumni Committee (ILAC) in 2017 was because of a conversation Queenster Bobit and I had at our last conference as students the year before. We wanted to continue to come back to conferences and support students.

Founding NALA(STEM), then LSAMP Alumni Group with Dr. Nathalie Fuentes and Dr. Lizeth Tamayo in 2020 was built from the foundation of ILAC but I handpicked them to build something bigger that had never been done before at the national level to support LSAMP alliances.

With IncrediPaul, I received critical advice from Brian Thomas, Chelsea Hayes, and Deb Cole who I all met at conferences! They were inspirational to me in different ways to make the initial jump to start something, develop my speaking skills, and creating my brand/positioning.

It’s clear to see that people and relationships have always been so impactful for me, and I’m so thankful for the people I’ve been blessed to meet along my journey.

Thinking back, I had no idea what the future held with creating these organizations when I met all of them. I mention that because a lot of times when people are networking; we focus on the here and now and there’s nothing wrong with that.

BUT.. I want to challenge you to connect with people just because; be curious and share your interests with them and also LISTEN!

The reason I was able to reach back out or contact everyone I mentioned when it came time to start something was because I knew what they were interested in!

So many times people miss opportunities to connect because they don’t share their passions!

It’s crazy for me to look back and see that a connection I made while eating pizza in a student organization at Iowa State 14 years ago, led to creating a student organization (that she named), and contributed to the success of 2 nonprofits after graduating college as well!

Sticking on the theme of networking, I’m throwing it back to my past podcast, Six Minute Saturdays for this week’s highlight!

For those who are new in the last 2 years, I once had 2 podcasts (don’t ask me how) so check it out and the other 30+ episodes at your leisure. Linking the networking episode below!

And if you want support on being better networker especially as an introvert, join me this Wednesday. Flyer with details below!!

P.S. Next week the Be Incredible Podcast launches so don’t miss it if you’re not subscribed yet!

In this episode of Six Minute Saturdays, I discuss the topic of networking, particularly for introverts. I share my personal experience as an introvert and the challenges I faced in networking. I emphasize the importance of networking and how it can significantly impact one's career. I also talks about my transition from introversion to ambiversion and provides tips for preparing for social interactions. I advise creating a game plan for networking and shares techniques for building connections and starting conversations.

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