From Classroom to Conference Room: Branding, Belonging & Becoming

This talk is about growth. From the classroom to the conference room, and from unsure to understanding self. I’ll walk through my own journey, moving from Iowa to California to Florida, learning along the way through business wins, teaching moments, and a healthy dose of failure. That path included discovering I had social anxiety, something I once saw as a barrier but eventually learned to navigate and even use as a strength.

As students transition into the workforce, everything starts to shift. It's no longer just about what you know, it’s how you show up. That’s where personal branding comes in. Who are you when no one’s watching? What story does your presence tell before you even speak? We’ll do a quick branding exercise to help answer those questions and dig into how leaning into your authentic self can unlock opportunities, especially during that critical college-to-career pivot.

But branding alone doesn’t carry you forward. Relationships do. I’ll share how networking, especially on LinkedIn, became one of my most powerful tools for growth. Not just for getting noticed, but for building community, giving back, and finding the right rooms to be in. In the end, it’s not just about where you go, it’s about who’s walking with you. And that journey? That’s where transformation happens.