As a student who had grown up in the relatively empty and uneventful outskirts of Las Vegas, I was eager to seize every opportunity I could get my hands on when I went to NYU. It just so happened that internships turned out to be the most efficient opportunity for me to learn new skills while also making money. If I hadn’t spent so much time exploring my passions and getting valuable industry experience in college, I probably would not have gotten a great job after graduation, let alone know what I wanted to do for a career.

I’ve had an internship in everything from social media research at a major ad agency to digital media at a startup to account management in the video department of an Internet company. Following my curiosity and investigating my passions led me to have a diverse, extensive media and communications background. These habits also allowed me to become a quick study and problem solver in any situation I’m thrown in. My varied experiences have worked in my favor every day as a consultant, a career in which I am constantly faced with new projects, problems, and people on a daily basis.

It’s very difficult to intern and take 18 credits simultaneously, which I had to do to graduate early. But AOL had that magical combination of awesome managers, ongoing learning opportunities, great pay, convenient location (it was right next to NYU!), and endless other perks to keep me invested and happy for a year. When I was at AOL, the company also owned brands like Huffington Post, Tech Crunch, StyleMePretty, and Moviefone. That meant as an intern, I would use the same bathroom as Arianna Huffington and had the chance to see tons of celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, and Shay Mitchell when they were taping in the office. The fact that it was a one-year internship allowed me to grow and develop on a scale that’s not usually possible during a short-term internship. I was able to make strong, long-term relationships with my teammates, piece together the high-level business problems of my industry, and ultimately become an integral part of the department I was working in.

As cliché as this sounds, studying Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC) in college allowed me to develop my analytical and critical thinking skills, which is not something that all majors and colleges teach students, unfortunately. When I was in high school, the majority of my classes only taught me to memorize textbooks and what other people thought. When I was in college, the very first thing I was taught to do was think for myself. What did I think [about] a specific situation? What was my perception of the text or a current event? What solutions could I bring to the table?

Additionally, studying MCC allowed me to understand the deeper meaning behind media technologies and systems, which pervade our everyday lives. For example, while the average person would look at an advertisement at the surface level, I would probably think about the sociological, political, and cultural aspects and implications of that advertisement. I do wish that I learned more “hard” skills in MCC, like how to write a pitch or develop a communications plan, but fortunately those things can be learned on the job.

To be honest, I had no idea what human capital consulting was when I was in college. I was originally determined to work in digital marketing when a colleague of mine convinced me to attend a Deloitte event on campus. I still remember how out of place I felt at that event. Everyone else was a serious business student dressed in a pressed black suit. Meanwhile, I was a quirky communications major wearing snakeskin flats and shimmery eyeshadow. Human capital consulting is all about helping clients address their biggest problems from a people-driven perspective. Some common solutions include designing an organizational structure that aligns [with] business growth objectives, driving technology-enabled HR processes and cost efficiencies, and developing culture initiatives to improve employee engagement.

6am - Wake up, put on my makeup (or at least my eyebrows if it’s one of those days), grab my suitcase, and head to the airport.

8am - Grab a chicken noodle soup from Au Bon Pain and hop on a flight to my client site. So far, I’ve been to places like Chicago, Dallas, Austin, and Providence.

10am - Work, work, work, work, work (sometimes while listening to the Hamilton album or Lorde).

7pm - Exercise at a cycling, yoga, or boxing place. One time I accidentally went to a Jiu Jitsu class and had to wrestle the instructor!

8pm - Eat a fancy dinner alone or with coworkers. I try to stack up my OpenTable points when I’m traveling for work since all of my food is free.

9pm - Call my boyfriend and play videogames. Sometimes, I blog or read a book.

11pm - Sleep in my hotel room. I like getting double beds because I can use one to lay out all my clothes on.  

For me, the secret is planning. In addition to laying out my days on my Outlook calendar, I use Asana (a super awesome project management tool) to manage the different aspects of my life and hold myself accountable to tasks. When something is written down and assigned a due date, I feel more compelled to do it. I also try not to be too hard on myself if I am not able to blog according to a strict schedule. I originally started my blog for fun, and if I force myself to write to my own detriment (e.g., exhaustion), then it’s not adding any value to my life.

My public speaking approach is to teach important lessons I’ve learned in my career through a combination of storytelling and practical, actionable tips. While the major themes I discuss are largely the same, the audiences for my blog, workshops, and conferences often vary. This means I have to tailor my tone and storytelling approach to the audience I’m communicating with.

I started developing my public speaking skills when I was in high school. Having been elected to several school leadership positions, I had the opportunity to speak in front of large crowds frequently at a young age. I was also elected to serve as an executive officer for a 200,000+ student organization called DECA (Distributive Education Club of America). The role included extensive leadership and public speaking coaching from TRI Leadership.

My first public speaking tip is to not be afraid of feeling afraid. I’ve spoken on stage at least 100 hundred times and I still get nervous—palms sweaty, legs shaking nervous. But rather than give into fear, it’s critical to transform your nervous energy into excitement to tell your important story. Feel the fear and leverage it to be authentic on stage. My second tip is that it’s okay to pause. It might feel like forever in your mind, but to the audience it’s only a few seconds. If you need to take a few seconds to collect yourself, do it.

I am a wellness advocate, so I make it a priority to take care [of] myself. I sleep a lot, exercise often, and get facials, massages, and manicures monthly. I walk around the neighborhood when it’s sunny. I buy new dresses when there are great sales. I decorate my home when I see cute decor at Target. I re-read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and figure out what items no longer spark joy so I can donate them and create more space in my life. I brainstorm ways to achieve my dreams and help my friends achieve theirs.

Oh yeah. All the time. In the spirit of transparency and authenticity, I will let you know that I’ve cried at work. In bathroom stalls, on my desk, on my boyfriend’s shoulder. I’ve had nervous breakdowns, acne from stress, and I was once so busy that I could barely eat even a piece of toast a day. It’s easy to think that working women on Instagram have it together 24/7, but that is definitely not true. I drop the ball all the time, but I learned early on that success isn’t about being perfect. It’s about fulfilling your dreams and being your happy, authentic self.

When I get overwhelmed, rather than breaking down and giving up, I try to focus on creating a game plan. I ask myself questions like, “Is this a priority?”, “Who can I delegate this to?”, “What are the downstream impacts if I do or do not do this today?”, “How can I fix this?” A lot of things in life are out of our control, so I like to focus on what I can control to make the best of sticky situations.

In consulting, you quickly learn to adapt traditional project management techniques to your own life. For example, when you make a project plan, you usually list all the tasks that need to be done, scope out the work, determine timelines and dependencies, and identify what is critical vs. noncritical. I take a similar to approach to my life, while leaving enough wiggle room to be spontaneous and sleep more if I need to. If I ever feel unhappy or exhausted, I know that I’ve definitely taken on too much in my life and I need to start saying no to things that aren’t bringing me joy.