Family over Money

Amanda Stamper from the governor’s office was a phenomenal guest speaker and gave the class lots of great advice. I wanted to touch on a few of her main points in this article, because I think the information is beneficial to anyone in the workforce, or about to enter the workforce.

The first point I want to touch on is her point about money being unimportant. She brought this up over and over again and noted the importance of finding a job that you enjoy, not necessarily one that pays you the highest. There isn’t enough money to make up for having to work at a job that you dislike.

The second point that I want to discuss is the notion that family is more important than your job. Too often today people lose track of their priorities. Amanda talked extensively about how your family should always be the most important aspect of your life, with your career following behind; no matter what. She discussed how to approach this topic with potential employers to make sure they are aware of the order of your priorities.

The third point that I want to discuss is perseverance. The most inspiring part of Amanda’s speech came when she talked about her perseverance. She was literally “16 and pregnant.” She didn’t let that stop her from paying for college herself, and graduating with a communications degree. This perseverance is also critical to your career as well. Working hard all the time will improve your reputation and allow you to live up to your full potential.

All in all, I thought Ms. Stamper gave us lots of valuable insight. She was arguably the highest profile speaker that we have had to date, yet she was the one who talked extensively about being humble and working hard to get what you want and where you want to be.