ASSET LADIES

Monthly a new ASSET LADY WILL BE FEATURED :)

Do YOU think your an ASSET lady or know one? Sggestions always welcome. Please e-mail the below information to dhippeli.assets@gmail.com with a picture of the ASSET lady

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·         All of my information will be shared

·         My picture will be used

·         My contact information will be on the blog

By submitting this survey and knowing my answers are going to be on the Internet, I also acknowledge that there is a rick my information may be used if sources find it.

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1.     What is your name?

2.    What is your age?

3.    What college did you/do you go to?

4.    Did you/do you plan to go to Grad school or further your education in some way?

5.    What quote do you live by?

6.    What organizations are you apart of/were you apart of (please include dates and durations)?

7.    What is your profession/what will your profession be?

8.    What’s your story?

9.    Where do you see you see yourself in a year? Five years? 10 years?

10. What advice would you give to other young women going into the “real world?”

Contact information:

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OUR FIRST ASSETS LADY***

This month we are featuring Courtney Evan! Courtney is one of the most successful young women I know. What makes Courtney an ASSETS lady? She is always planning, always organized and always staying involved. She sets a plan, goes for it and doesn’t back down! She is respectable by many and respects all. Not to mention she may be a machine because with all that she does I’m not sure if she sleeps! Definitely a hard-worker! Luckily for all of you, she was able to donate time so she could be featured on the blog. Grab a pen and paper because this girl is about to do some schooling. Read more on how Courtney Evan keeps herself on track and what’s she doing to be so successful.

Here is some background on Courtney:

·         21 years old

·         Senior at Ramapo College of New Jersey

·         Graduating in May with a degree in accounting

·         Plans to study and sit for the CPA exam ASAP after graduation

According to Courtney, “In New Jersey there is a 150-credit requirement in additional to passing all four parts of the exam.  In order to meet this requirement, I took the initiative to take on additional credits during my undergrad through extra classes and summer courses in the past four years.  I will be graduating in May 2013 eager to begin studying and sitting for the exam in hopes of becoming a CPA in my near future.”

·         Organizations she is a part of

Accounting Club                                          September 2009 - Present

     Vice President                                                      September 2012 -Present

Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society                            January 2010 – Present

Class of 2013 Freshman Caucus                                    September 2009 – May 2010

Colleges Against Cancer                                 September 2009 – May 2010

Donate Life of Ramapo College                         Spring 2012 - Present

     Treasurer                                                             September 2012- Present

Relay For Life Of Ramapo College                      September 2009 – May 2011

     Activities and Entertainment Chair                         September 2009 - May 2011

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars           January 2012 - Present

     Vice President of Community Service                   January 2012 - Present

Theta Phi Alpha Fraternity                              January 2010 - Present

     Sunshine Chair                                                      Fall 2010

     Philanthropy Chair                                     Spring 2011-Fall 2011

     Recruitment Chair                                                 Spring 2012

Courtney lives by the quote “Everything happens for a reason” because she is a “strong believer in that all experiences you endure shape you into the person you are today”. She also feels that she is “fortunate to have the support of close friends and family which” she is “eternally grateful for.”

I think it’s her story that makes her such a young success!

“From an early age I had a love for math and problem solving.  After taking a basic level

accounting class in high school and discovering how easily it came to me, I decided this was

the profession I could later have a career in.  Through a high school mentoring program, I

had the opportunity to gain insight of the accounting profession at a small accounting firm in

Brick.  Then I was able to finish out my program and learn about government finance

professions the Ocean County Finance Department and Purchasing Department.  For this

experience, I am forever grateful, especially at such a young age to point me into the direction

of pursuing my career. My two aunts who are both CPAs have also added to my drive with their

expert advice and knowledge of the field.

These experiences led me to Ramapo College to pursue my college experience.  I carefully

mapped out my next four years of classes to set myself up to graduate with 150 credits for the

CPA exam requirement.  I joined the Accounting Club as well as a sorority called Theta Phi Alpha

to interact and build relationships with other accounting majors and gain advice from about my

future in college.

                       

With the advice I gained, I applied early for internships during my junior year of college.  I

successfully interviewed and found myself fortunate enough to receive two placements.  My

spring internship was mainly audit-focused at a mid-sized firm in Morristown.  However my

summer internship was more focused on specialized tax returns for condominiums on extension

in another mid-sized firm located in East Brunswick.  These two opportunities lead me to make a

more serious decision about my future and accept a full-time position after graduation. 

                       

I am now in my senior year at Ramapo College and focusing on my schoolwork and involvement in

various organizations and activities.  Sitting on three executive boards this year is allowing me to

gain more insight as to how different groups of people work together and come together for the

overall wellbeing of our campus and our community.  I am looking forward to completing my last

year at Ramapo as well as moving forward with my career in accounting.”

                I asked Courtney a very crucial question all women should ask themselves. Where do you see yourself in a year, five years and ten years? Having a plan is always crucial when you want to be a success and want to feel you have more than luck going for you. When you plan you have goals. When you have goals you stay on task. Staying on task means staying organized and focused, all which helps to lead a better you in the business world. Here is what Courtney had to stay about her plans:

“One year from now I see myself working full time in a mid-sized accounting firm.  I will be working

Towards becoming a CPA and eagerly diving into my accounting career.  Five years from now I see

myself gaining experience in the profession and becoming much more self-sufficient.  Ideally I would

like to have my own home at this time. Ten years down the road, I see myself further advancing my

career by pursuing a higher role such as management or a partner position within a firm.  I would also

like to be married and thinking about starting a family by this time.”

Not only can I add in my two cents about how to be successful, so can Courtney since she has mastered all these skills at such a young age. Courtney has a few tips for everyone on advice for those going into the “real world.”

·          Discover where your areas of strength and interest are and pursue a career focused towards them.  Think about how much time and energy will be spent on your career; find what will make you happy and continue to stay motivated.  

·          In order to have a successful college career, plan out your four years in advance.  If possible, apply early for internships and fulltime positions after graduation.  Try to be more involved with your school beyond the classroom by joining organizations and volunteering for your local communities. 

·          Most importantly motivate yourself and others to succeed in your college years.  Every school and community has career centers and services that provide guidance and resources.  This is the time to study and work your hardest, because your efforts will pay off. 

                       

A special thanks again to Courtney Evan. You are a very special person and so successful. You should be so proud of yourself for all you have accomplished and all that you will accomplish. After knowing you since Fall 2009, I have seen you grow so much and into such a professional young lady. You are always helpful to those who need and have a heart of gold. I know how determined you are and no matter what happens you will always be a star. Keep it up girl J

Feel free to contact Courtney by e-mail at cevan@ramapo.edu.
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DECEMBER

OUR SECOND ASSET LADY, STEPHANIE SINCK!

 

First, I would like to take the time to apologize that this feature is late. Second, I would like to thank Steph so much for taking the time to fill out our survey!

Steph Sinck an amazingly bright, driven and devoted women is a graduate of Ramapo College from Spring 2012. To easily describe her she loves children and has a love for teaching and coaching swimming. While at Ramapo, Steph was involved in InterVarsity Fellowship holding a position on the student e-board for a year. She was also on the College swim team for four years and help the title and duties of a captain for two years. She also had an amazing opportunity volunteer time to spend in La Cuchilla, Dominican Republic to live with a family and learn the culture during the experience “Bridges to the Dominican Republic.” Now that Steph has graduated and is in the “Real World” she knows she wants to further her education.

Right now, Steph is currently completing student teaching and looking for a High School/Middle School science position. During this time, she has also been coaching for a local swim team and plans do continue once she starts teaching. SO! All while teaching and coaching, Steph has another goal. In Spring 2013 she plans to begin the application process to Grad schools to receive a masters in Science Education or Environmental Science.

One part of Steph’s responses that really stood out to me was the quote she lives be. This is a quote all should preach and live by because after all the truth is exactly in the words she says –

I would say the quote that I live by or always say is “Life’s too short.” I’ve been trying to remember this more than ever and how life really is too short to hold grudges or regret decisions I’ve made. I always try to remember that somewhere, someone has it much worse than me and I need to be thankful for what I have in this moment. I feel blessed to have the life I do and that I constantly need to remind myself that life is short and it isn’t worth it to be down on myself or sweat the small things.

A part I love about Steph’s charismatic ways is that she knows who she is and what she wants. She doesn’t play the whole well whatever happens, happens and I’ll see what I can do or if I can get there. The girl sets a goal and digs in with open eyes and arms to do the best she can. And let me tell you, this girl always succeeds. So what exactly is Steph’s story that makes her this way then, right?

Even as a child I always loved science, being outdoors, and helping my fellow students learn and understand material in school. I was always extremely active with swimming and being involved in different sports. So, from a young age I knew teaching or doing a profession with science was always at the top of my list.

After my freshman year of college, I traveled to the Dominican Republic to live for two weeks in the mountains with a very poor family. While there I discovered even more my passion for teaching and helping others. For me, that trip helped confirm that teaching was something that I would definitely want to try out and pursue. That summer was also my first summer coaching at a local swim club and realized too that coaching was a strong passion of mine. Overall, that first summer really shaped the rest of my college experience and helped me prioritize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

This past year I have begun coaching the top swimmers in the state at the club I started off swimming at. It has further solidified my love of coaching and involvement in swimming. I have also just about finished up my student teaching where I have discovered how much I enjoy middle school aged children and helping them learn to love science as much as I do. So between my freshman year of college and the year following graduation, I have in a way, come full circle to realize that what once started as dreams are slowly becoming reality for me.

A large part of life people should pay a lot of attention to is goal setting. Setting goals means that you want something and you are going to go after it. If you want to achieve, you will find ways to stay on task such as a progress report from yourself, like reflecting back every so often to see where you’re at and even feedback from others to see their opinions. One thing I love to ask Asset Ladies is to tell me where they see themselves in a year, 5 years and 10. Obviously Asset ladies know this or at least have given it some thought. What I loved about Steph’s was that she was realistic and really had a wide variety in what her plans are. She didn’t just talk about a career or education, she talked about it all!

In a year, I hope to have a job teaching science in a middle school. I will probably still be living at home, saving to eventually move out on my own.

In five years, I would see myself still teaching science and coaching. I would hope to be married by this point of my life and own my own home. Also in five years, I would see myself having completed a master’s degree of some sort.

In ten years, I would see myself possibly starting a family and still teaching. By this point, I may have or at least looked into completing another master’s degree, or a doctorate degree to possibly teach at a college or university.

Another important question I ask of the ladies is for them to provide me with advice, advice for what they want you to know. After all, this blog is here for you all to read, learn and act. Always hearing advice from others gives you different perspective and different ideas. It allows you the creativity and ability to be perspective to everyone’s ideas. I love Steph’s advice because it is something that I feel too. Steph and I see eye to eye on many things life and I am grateful to know I am surrounded by such good friends! Here’s what Steph had to say –

I would tell other young women going into the “real world” to first and foremost do what you love. It sounds so cliché, but I really think that’s the key to being successful and most important happy. If you can wake up being happy and excited to go to work that day, it’ll make your life so much more enjoyable. Not only will it benefit you, but your fellow employees and the people you interact with on a daily basis.

I would also say time management is key when entering college especially and when entering the “real world.” If you can keep yourself organized and manage your time, it opens your doors to do so much with your day and more importantly your life.

I thank you all and I thank Steph Sinck as well. I hope through these features its sparking ideas and making you all think “hm”. After all, some of the best moments are the “a-ha!” moments. Please continue reading and continue succeeding. We’re the future here of business, America and the World. If we’re not going to get things done, then who will? ;)

Please feel free to contact Steph by phone at 908-930-5856.

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JANUARY

This month’s feature on an ASSETs lady is delayed and I apologize, we all know how things can be around the holidays! I would like to introduce you all to yet again, as we all love, another young, successful woman Laura Frey. Laura is 25 and currently working towards her master’s degree of Corporate and Public Communication at Monmouth University. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Laura told me about her involvement at Penn State. While working towards her degree she “was a part of the Pennsylvania State University’s ComRadio which is an online radio news station. I worked for the news radio station from September, 2007 to May, 2008. I also worked as a videographer for the Pennsylvania State University’s Television station PSN-TV in 2008. Currently, I am not a part of any organizations. I am seeking a job position in broadcast media and working towards completing my Master’s degree. However, I am interested in joining organizations that will enhance my skillset and offer networking events”. This sounds like a very busy lady, if you ask me! So far out of all our ASSETS features you can see these girls all have or will be graduating from college with desires to go on with their education and all very involved with extracurricular activities at their school.

So what is Laura’s story? As heard by Laura, “I am a Graduate student at Monmouth University pursuing a degree in corporate and public relations communications. I believe that in this current economy, I will have leverage over other applicant’s competiting for the same position. I recently completed an internship at a prestigious news station in New York City. At this time, I am seeking employment in a news station while completing my final course work in graduate school”. Laura is a very hard worker and knows what she wants to do now and in the long run. She always has a plan and sets out to stick to it and follow through.

Since Laura always has a plan she was asked, where do you see yourself in a year… five… 10…? Laura responded with “In a year, I hope to be working in a newsroom for a prestigious television news station and learning new skills for position advancement. In five years, I hope to be working in a news station as a producer or as an on camera reporter. In ten years, I plan on being a senior anchor, reporter, or producer”. As I personally know Laura since we are classmates, I can truly say this ASSETS lady has her head on straight and always has a plan. This girl is very successful at such a young age as she worked for Telemundos after college, went for her master’s degree, was offered an internship with cablevision and has interned with Fox news. Anyone can learn a lot from this lady! So, why not right!?

Here is what you can learn from Laura. You can succeed as she does if you find a quote to live by and practice your own preaching. Below are Laura’s quotes she lives by and

Always be a first rate version of yourself,

not a second rate version of somebody else

Judy Garland

I’ve been lucky. Opportunities don’t often come along.

So, when they do, you have to grab them.

Audrey Hepburn

“I would give is to study hard, work hard, and never give up.

Always stay focused and determind and you will reap the

rewards.”

Laura Frey

 

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FEBRUARY

February’s Assets Lady will be featured on Caitlin Ritchie, a friend of mine who is a true inspiration to all. While thinking about February’s feature it was obvious who I should due to her recent life events. For being only 26 years old, Cait has done so much already in her life! I’m really not even sure if this woman has time to sleep! You will soon find out if you read on, but she is by far one of the most successful young women I know and I couldn’t be happy to have her advice posted on the blog. Enjoy the read and I hope you learn a lot, I know I sure did!

Cait is Ramapo College of New Jersey graduate who studied education. She is a certified Elementary Education teacher (K-5) and plans on getting her special education certification but has put that on hold due to starting up her own business. While at Ramapo, she was on the college dance team from 2006-2010 and captain her senior year. As I mentioned, I know Cait and I know her from the Ramapo College Dance Team. When I was a first year student, Cait was an upperclassman. From my personal experience, I learned from early on that not only was Cait an amazing dancer with great insight, she was had a memory of a machine! I think the woman remembers every dance she ever did or saw! It was a true inspiration to be led by her. Going to practice was not only fun, it was a learning experience and helped me down the road when I came into the position of captain. She is a true leader and inspiration to all she comes in contact with.

Apart from the dance team, she was a coach for a recreational cheer team for four years from 2005-2008 and about to start voluntarily teaching Zumba at nursing homes and retirement centers. Cait said “This I am extremely excited for and should be an incredibly rewarding experience.” As you can see, Cait is always on the go and fitness is a huge part of her life, as well as teaching and leading others.

Cait, the huge Beatles fan that she is, lives by the quote “Let is Be.” As you will soon see, Cait’s life really is about rolling with the punches and taking everything in that she can. As I’ve mentioned Cait at a “recent life event” and she owns her own business. Well! That’s what makes Cait so amazing! At such a young age, she has recently opened a dance studio and can do something she loves everyday! However, I also mentioned I’m pretty sure she doesn’t sleep! Of course this is just an assumption! BUT! While she just opened a studio, wants to voluntarily teach Zumba she also still works at an all star gymnastic and cheerleading gym coaching three teams, 2 dance and one cheer. How crazy is that! If that’s not busy and always being on the go, I don’t know what is! But that is the type of person Cait is! She is always on the go and helping others, such a wonderful person to look up and aspire to be like and learn from!

So what’s Cait’s story? What makes her the person she is? What gives her the drive she has today? Lucky for all of us out there, Cait was awesome enough to share this information! Please read on to learn more about Cait, this was honestly even amazing for me to learn!

“Since I was young, I dreamed of being a teacher. I used to force my friends and family to play school with me. I also dreamed of being a dance teacher. I used to sit home and watch old dance tapes and teach myself the older girls routines and difficult skills. I just couldn’t get enough of the dance world and knew I wanted to be in it for a long time. I used to watch the older dance students and my dance teachers in awe. I have been to many dance conventions and danced with some of the biggest names in the industry who have inspired me to do what I am doing today. As I grew up I moved a couple times ultimately landing me at Paramus Catholic High School, where I joined the dance and cheer teams. I met a coach there named Heather Messer, who I would like to say changed my life. She helped shape me into the coach and person I am today. Once I graduated from Paramus Catholic, I went to Ramapo College and joined the brand new dance team. We fought to get that program off the ground to where it is today. For the next four years I stayed with that team becoming captain my senior year. The team is now nationally ranked and has won numerous choreography awards. In college, I began coaching cheerleading for a recreational program. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy it. I coached the girls competitively for 4 years winning numerous national and local titles. I then began coaching at a brand new all star cheer gym called The Cheer House in Garfield, New Jersey. The all star world is vastly different from recreational cheer but I got to be apart of this program as we pushed our way to the top. Training the girls in cheer, dance, and gymnastics for 5 years and winning a whole lot of national, state, and local titles as well as choreography awards and more. I began a hip hop dance program at this gym last year and in our first year both of the hip hop teams became national champions. On the side I began doing choreography for many different cheer and dance programs around the state and recently have gone as far as southern California. My choreography has won many awards across the country. With all of this cheerleading, I began to really miss the dance world and thus the idea to open my own dance studio formed. My family, being supportive of everything I do, was right by my side. In fact, my mother is my business partner. Opening a mother daughter business was not easy, we came across some difficulty but it only made us fight harder and it bonded us even more. The dance studio is located in Emerson, New Jersey and is called Creative Edge Dance Academy. Here, I’m making all my dreams come true as well as the dreams of many little girls that are just like I was. Already in one month of being opened, the students at the studio are doing some extraordinary things and inspiring me to be a better teacher. I can only say how extremely blessed I am to have the experiences I have had to get the point I am at today. Working with children has always been a love of mine. Teaching them is a passion. It’s so rewarding having people tell you that you have changed their child’s life. It is what makes everything worth it. It’s why I keep doing what I am doing.”

How amazing is that?!?! I was so happy to read this story about Cait and know how far she has come. It’s so amazing to see people who are doing something they love all while helping to shape better women! So, the story can’t just stop here right? I asked Cait where she sees herself in a year and in the future. Cait said, “In one year, I am hoping that the studio will grow further and we will begin a competitive program that will help my dancers learn more about performing and showcasing their skills.

In 5-10 years, with hopes that the business is successful, I hope to make a sister studio further into western New Jersey where I grew up in Warren County. Along with this dance studio in Warren County, I hope to be able to open a cheer gym alongside it.”

It was so great to see Cait setting goals for herself and thinking of ways to grow her business. As I’ve mentioned before, setting goals is a very important task all should do. When you have goals, it is something to aspire to! Cait has set some amazing goals and I can’t wait to check in with her in the future to see where she is at with everything!

So one of the most important things you ladies can take away from Cait is her advice. Here is Cait’s advice to young women like you going into the real world “My advice is take all of the experiences in. Some are positive and some are negative but they are all learning tools. Observe what people are doing and learn from it. You may find some techniques that you may want to use yourself and you also may find some techniques that do not work and learn from other peoples mistakes. I lucked out in being in two predicaments where I helped build programs so I learned the good and the bad before I got to owning my own place. I found that positivity is great but work ethic and discipline can go a long way and is deeply respected by parents (especially if you are working with their children). I have my teaching degree to fall back on. It’s not going to always be easy, especially finding a job in this economy so why not just do what you love. It makes you much richer in the long run”.

There you have it! I personally can say, I learned a lot more about Cait from reading over her responses. Therefore, for all you ladies out there, anyone in your life who you look up to as inspirational, take a few minutes out of there day and find out what makes them the person they are, what quotes and experiences they live by, their goals and what advice they have for you. You never know what you can learn about someone and you never know you may just find enough inspiration to make you be a better you!

Thanks again to Cait Ritchie and thank you all for taking the time to read this! Hope you all learned some great things! Feel free to reach out and contact Cait on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or cell. Cait is very responsive and always available for questions for anyone. HEY! You never know, maybe you want to learn to dance or know a child who is learning or you want to try a Zumba class and need choreographer! This woman is amazing at what she does!!!

LinkedIn: Caitlin Ritchie

Facebook: Creative Edge Dance Academy

Twitter: CreativeEdgeDA

Cell: (Business) 201-388-8394

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MARCH

The ASSETS Lady of March is a co-worker of mine at NBCUniversal who is always professional and has a lot of knowledge when it comes to teaching, traveling, communicating and business. Lilly Gannone, a 25 year old Rutgers, New Brunswick Graduate, has a perspective on the world and work ethics that I know all young women can learn from. Lilly has incredible experiences and a great personality that have brought her to where she is today.

From interviewing Lilly I myself have learned so much from her and found her advice and quote she lives by a great way to look at life. As Lilly said “Don’t complain. If you’re unhappy about something in your life, you can change it however you like, so do something and be proactive, not bitter.” I love this! So often young women feel that they have “crap end of the stick” to put it nicely get what are they doing besides complaining it. It is your life and you need to live it the way you want. If you are not happy with where you are at in school or work, do something about it! No one is going to be able to help except yourself. That is why I completely agree with Lilly’s advice. If you don’t like something, it’s up to you to change it.

I also loved Lilly’s quote she lives by. Though not a very “everything happens for a reason” or “if you don’t love me at my worst you don’t deserve me at my best” type deal, Lilly truly has a meaningful quote. “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way” quote by Mark Twain. Lilly said that she knows it is “a bit strange but it makes sense to me. Though difficult, sometimes challenging yourself forces you to learn and improve in ways you never thought you could.” From learning more about Lilly and seeing the way she upholds herself I know this is the quote that exudes from her.

While a student in high school and college, Lilly did a lot of traveling and took on a large course load. To me, Lilly is a bright, young woman who has a lot of knowledge under her belt as well as traveling! In college Lilly was definitely active as she had a double major and a minor. She traveled as well as being involved in organizations. Lilly said

“During college I was very involved with an organization called the Institute for Domestic and International Affairs (IDIA, 2006-2010). We worked to build and facilitate model United Nations and model Congress conferences for high school students. My work mostly included researching and writing long briefs on topics like human trafficking, the War on Drugs, and crimes against humanity. I would then present these briefs to a group of anywhere between 10 and 85 students, who would proceed in debating the topic at hand and work together to find solutions to those problems. I love this organization and the work they do. I spent 4 years with them and it was one of the best learning experiences I had. Teaching is something I am extremely passionate about and this organization really helped me grow as a teacher.

With IDIA, I also got to take a 10 day trip to the Gambia(January 2009). There we taught seminars on personal growth and development to middle school aged children. The overall goal was to help the children understand that their voice mattered and that they could work toward helping and improving their communities. On somewhat of a similar note, I participated in a program in Croatia called Global PACT that was geared towards rehabilitating communities still struggling with the aftermath of the Yugoslav war in the early 90s.

During my first summer with the program (July-August 2007), I was a participant in the program, learning the skills necessary to reconstruct communities broken by social strife and confrontation. In my second summer with Global PACT (July-August 2008), I was hired to teach the program. It was wonderful to go from student to teacher with this program. I was able to further my teaching skills by learning how to harness them in a totally new and different situation than I was used to.”

As it seems and shows, Lilly has a large passion to learn she mentioned that “Grad school is definitely something I would like to pursue in the future, but for the time being there are too many things I’m interested in, so it would be difficult for me to pinpoint one to study. I think education is extremely important in bettering your career and your own personal development. I try to further my education anyway possible, even if that means going outside the preverbal box of a university, so I take advantage of training sessions at work and try and ask as many questions as possible when learning something new.” It is always important to remember that education can never hurt you! Though there may be loans to pay as well as bills, don’t forget that furthering your education can only help you in the end. It is clear that Lilly wants to do so many things but has her eye on certainly going back. As I say, it is always important to want to do things and set goals, it gives you something to work towards!

So what exactly is Lilly’s story? We know where she works, where she went to school and her experiences of travel and college but what makes Lilly, Lilly? As I always love to ask the ASSETS Lady of the month, what makes you, you or what is your story? Here is what Lilly said –

To someone who doesn’t know me, my resume is a bit strange and makes little to no sense, other than my obvious attachment to travel. The first 5 months of my freshman year of high school were spent in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by way of my father taking a job there. Needless to say, when I came home I automatically stood out in my small high school in southern New Jersey. My parents thought Congo the ideal situation to get me out my small town and teach me about what lies outside of the United States. It worked; I love Africa in all of its wonder and mystery.

That adventure quickly led to others; I spent my junior year of high school in France as a foreign exchange student. My French limited to “My name is Lilly, I can’t speak much French,” made being in France difficult the first three months. I soon learned the language and took every advantage of being in a foreign country possible. My wanderlust followed me to college and led me to take advantage of various travel opportunities within my organizations and elsewhere. My travel experience led me to consider a life of diplomacy, so I started off my collegiate career on the Political Science track. Realizing I couldn’t stand the pompous arrogance that seemed to inflict many of my fellow Political Science classmates, that major soon became a minor and I took on Communications in its place. All the while I was also studying French, having learned the language while abroad, I figured I should keep up with it and took it on as a second major.

Needless to say, French and Communications majors do not directly lead to any one career path. Since teaching has been a long running theme in my life, the obvious route would have led me to the classroom, but I became too comfortable working outside the generic classroom structure; I couldn’t see myself trapped there and decide traditional teaching was not for me. I was really uncertain of what career path I wanted to pursue, so I did what most students do and applied to every internship available and worked a lot of different jobs. I taught swimming for 4 years, tried my hand at public relations, waited/cooked in many restaurants, and did some screening printing. Nothing really developed into anything until my last semester at Rutgers when, by freak chance, I got an internship at NBC. That internship later turned into a job and allowed me to break into the world of television.

It was my first big grown-up job outside of college. Unfortunately it was only a freelance position, so after a year I either had to leave the company for 6 months or work part-time. Part-time does not pay bills, so naturally I moved back to France. I do understand that that is not really the natural response for any normal person, but I knew an English teaching opportunity existed and I took advantage of the 7 month long program and had a blast teaching again.

After France, I was able to come back to my old job at NBC and soon after I was hired as fulltime staff. I love the fast paced unpredictable atmosphere of my job. There is something comfortable to me about the frantic environment. It’s like traveling, you never know what to expect and you should be prepared for anything. Although I know my life has been a bit out of the ordinary, I have grown accustomed to its weirdness, and to be honest I rather like it.

I always love reading these stories. It allows me to see how driven and hardworking these young women are and what sets them ahead and apart from the pack. I know Lilly as a driven, hardworking, ethical women at work it was so lovely for me to see her in this other light. To see her passions for travel and teaching and seeing what fit best for her. Lilly certainly is one to always put the best foot forward.

One thing I always ask the Lady of the month is her future plans or goals, where she can see herself. Though it is hard to be precise as one may never know where the future may lead you, Lilly has realized this but still knows what she wants from her life. Lilly said “It’s really difficult for me to pinpoint exactly where I see myself in the future. In a year, I expect to be in a position at NBC slightly higher than I am today. As for the next 5, I know I have the patience and teaching ability to be a good leader, as well as the drive and determination to further my career and possibly climb the corporate latter. As for the rest of the future, I can’t really say, I’m excited to see what happens, because at this point I would rather see where life guides me rather than guide life.”

All and all, I loved having Lilly for this month feature! As you have noticed so far all of the ASSETS lady have been very different yet they are all successful young women. It doesn’t matter what you want to do in life, it just matters that you want to do it. You should never stray from your dreams and goals and you should always, and I mean always, go after what you want!

I would like to say thank you again to Lilly for some awesome answers and helping to teach other young women ways to find themselves and be successful. Thanks Lil! If you would like to reach out to Lilly with any questions below is ways you can contact her!

Facebook: Lilly Gannone

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Email: LGANNONE@gmail.com