Melissa Kaufman on Your Professional Journey: February 23rd, 2024 Alumni Event Recap
Melissa Kaufman speaking to Founders at the 2023 Nalukai Academy Summer Startup Camp.
Regardless of what career you choose to pursue, navigating your professional journey is arguably one of the most sought out topics for advice and guidance. In the second installment of our 2024 Alumni Network Events, alumni spoke with entrepreneurship educator and award-winning author Melissa Kaufman about reflections from her experiences building her own career and providing mentorship for others’.
“Your most precious resource is your time”
Event Takeaways
At the end of our Q&A discussion with Melissa, we asked participants to reflect on what they learned from the evening. The following are their responses:
Despite all of the technical advances in the last 10, 20, 30 years, the struggle is still the same for young people to find their path. It's full of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and a feel of "am I doing this right?" "Am I going to figure it out?" - Melissa Kaufman
Acts of service lead to finding ones purpose. Melissa realized her calling though helping youth find theirs. Today the idea of having agency over ones path become even more apparent. We must have the audacity to ask for help, for connections, and keep asking no matter how many no's block our path. - Aaron Schorn
You don't necessarily have to be an entrepreneur with the knowledge you have; you can be an entrepreneurial person anywhere and apply the principles and the mindset of an entrepreneur to pretty much everything in life. -Kaniela Spalding
Find yourself in the process and trust your gut. -Gabby Navalta
A shift I aspire to embrace involves fearlessly initiating conversations with others to foster meaningful connections. -Tate Goodman
Give yourself test runs: it doesn't have to be perfect—just be curious, try, see what happens, and adapt. -Miranda Canniff
One of the best ways we can contribute goodness to this world is to be curious about yourself and boldly share that to the world! -Joyce Ann Montemayor
When life takes a detour, commit to the detour. Don't miss everything that's around you because you're trying to get back to the other path. See what happens when you treat it as the road you're meant to be on. -Auston Stewart
There is no "right" path or "right time" to do things. Just go for it, evaluate, adapt and pivot. Become comfortable with being uncomfortable. -Noah Kanahele
It's all about mindset over identity and learning to face challenges with a proactive attitude that comes from the core of what makes everything personally worthwhile. -M. Kutty
Doing what you love will in the end benefit not only yourself but others around you!
Being open minded will lead you to numerous opportunities and from those opportunities you are able to find what you love to do. -Jerrica Labin
1) Never push away what your interests are...they may come back and then you'll see how it's connected. 2) Starting something to give back will always be more fulfilling than creating for yourself. 3) Don't be afraid to try new things, and never lock yourself into 1 particular area/ mindset. -Amia Datts-Voluntad
Entrepreneurship is a mindset not necessarily a job title. It's okay to work for someone else as long as you're learning and improving yourself. -Aya Chang
Learning to be comfortable in the uncomfortable. Specifically in the sense of my level of knowledge. It's okay to not know something or to not be the smartest person in the room, but how will you grow from that and continue to expand your knowledge. -Keona Conroy-Humphrey
"There is no pathway." Success manifests itself differently in everyone. Have the audacity to pursue what you want. -Kai de Guzman
Even though I am taking a break from academia, I can find new ways to pursue my interests and the things I am curious about, and maybe I could even get paid to learn about these things. Even if I no longer have access to a state of the art lab, maybe there are other resources and opportunities or connections hiding in plain sight where I can continue to do this work that is so meaningful to me. - Sophia Davis
