I recently had the opportunity to speak to two different groups at Marquette University.

The first was the Marquette Ad Club. The second, an actual class.

But before I get into it, let’s take a trip back in time (not too far back, again I’m really not that old).

I graduated from Marquette University two years ago, and looking back, I crammed as much as I could into my four and a half years.

I was an RA, I was involved on campus, but to me, the most important step was my first internship. I was a Creative Intern in Marquette’s Office of Marketing and Communication. I only helped with basic graphic design projects, but it opened my eyes to the world of marketing.

From there, I had several internships ranging from client research to PR to social media. I couldn’t be happier with my college experience.

I met a lot of very intelligent and talented people, and I also learned a few things along the way.

That last part is what’s most important.

My friend Dustin Zick and I were invited to speak to the Marquette Ad Club because of our professional backgrounds and our blog, Thanks for the Love, MKE. It’s a blog where we showcase how great the city of Milwaukee is and connect with people that love the city as much as we do.

Talking to the Ad Club wasn't my first speaking engagement. I presented on a panel a few years ago at the annual PRSM Summit hosted by Marquette. I was lucky enough to know Tim Cigelske, and even more lucky that he was a fan of some music I made and my background in art and social media.

After the panel, a professor at UWM reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to speak to her class about how to cultivate a digital personal brand. Essentially, I talked about how I used social media to get myself into conversations and the collective social media scene in Milwaukee.

It was a great experience, but speaking to the Ad Club struck a different chord: not too long ago, I was sitting in these exact seats.

I remember sitting in class, attending evening sessions, just to hear what advertising and marketing professionals had to say. I remember being starry-eyed just sitting there imagining a future of being in front of people, them listening to me, not the other way around.

It’s funny, to me, how my personal life has led to as much success as my professional life.

I’ve had great internships, I’ve networked my ass off, and I pushed myself to learn as much as I can.

I’ve also created blogs that change the way a city celebrates itself and have 20,000+ followers after being featured on major online publications. But even these started out as small side projects that were for fun.

When I spoke to the Ad Club and the class at Marquette, my biggest message was just that. Everyone does something unique. Everyone has that one thing that is interesting. Take that, add some passion, and find people who share that same passion, and you’ve got a winning recipe.

A week after talking to the Ad Club, I was back on campus talking to a class, ADPR 3200. Not much had changed between presentations, but it’s still humbling nonetheless to have a large group of people actually care to listen to what you are saying.

I talked about cultivating your own personal brand and how you can leverage that to network and ultimately land a job. While it’s a topic I wish someone had come in and talked to my class about, I’m glad I was given the opportunity to forge my own path and really figure it out on my own.

I think what has helped me to be where I am today is the initiative to learn.

I’ve met (and known) a good number of people that graduate, get a job, and basically just “maintain.” They do their job well, but they don’t really make an effort to push themselves, and that sucks.

Hey, it’s their life, but it’s disappointing to see that talent go to waste.