Honored Guest

Whenever a professor announces a guest speaker, students are tempted to believe that day will be a free pass to skip class.  In fact, I often find myself easily falling into this belief.  But this semester, I’ve realized that is not a good idea!  Don’t fall into that trap!  Guest speakers are some of the most interesting and exciting days you will ever have in class!

This week, I had two guest speakers on the same day and I gained valuable advice from each of them.  The first was in my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, where we learn about what it takes to become your own boss.  Our guest speaker was exciting and energetic.  He was a different kind of entrepreneur, who works at a Bible College in Indianapolis, while also working with a network marketing company (which is like the Avon business model).  His message to us was simple:  line up multiple streams of income!  This just means that you have a daytime job, but also devote a couple hours a week to a company on the side, like selling beauty products.  It seems like such a good idea.

He also encouraged us to create a 5-year vision statement, detailing where we would like to be in 5 years.  By writing it in the present tense and updating it each year, these goals are much more likely to be achieved.  This is an idea that I think I’ll actually implement!

Our second speaker that day was Moria Forbes, who is an executive heading up the ForbesWoman initiative.  Her presentation was truly inspiring to me as a woman wanting to move up in business.  She encouraged us to have a mission we’re passionate about and be willing to take risks!  By looking to leaders and their stories, one can find inspiration.  This is something I’ve found just by attending guest lectures.

It seems that taking the initiative in your education can truly benefit, motivate, and inspire you.  This can be done just by attending guest speaker events.  It’s really that simple!  Sometimes, it’s too easy to make light of a college education by just doing enough to get by.  But then, I wonder if you’d regret that 5, 10, or 20 years down the road.  What if we all took advantage of the time we have at Ball State and other universities?  What is each of us made the most of our college days?  Imagine what would be different about college, society, and each of our personal lives.  And it could all begin with an honored guest.