I'm Feeling 22... A Year In Review

Yesterday was my birthday. It was fantastic! As I curled up in bed with a full stomach, after a delicious dinner date at The Cafe, I reflected on all the blessings of the last year. Now that I'm feeling 22, here's my year in review.

Like I said in my last blog post, if you're an Iowa State student and have
never experienced Hilton Magic, you're missing out!

January

Birthday/Basketball - My last birthday was full of fun and memories. My friend Joni and I dressed up as Legos to claim our 15 seconds of ESPN fame during an Iowa State Basketball game. The Cyclone victory at Hilton was one of the best ways I've ever celebrated a birthday. Getting "I SAW YOU ON TV!!!" snapchats all week was just icing on the cake.

SAEA Quiz Bowl in Atlanta, GA - At the beginning of 2015 I added Georgia to the list of states I've visited. Several Ag Business friends and I went down represent Iowa State in a quiz bowl competition. My team was eliminated pretty quickly, but I enjoyed my first Mellow Mushroom and exploring the big city with my friends. Looking back, Atlanta was my first step toward adulting in 2015 - I flew for the first time without my parents and learned to take major public transportation on my own.

February

NAMA Industry Tour in Milwaukee, WI - If you've been following my blog for long, you know industry tours are one of my favorite things. I just love meeting new people and learning what they do. While in Wisconsin I did a little beer tasting at New Glarus Brewing Co. and met some fantastic marketing folks from Bader Rutter and MorganMyers (including Sara).

I'm scheduled to go to the National Farmers Union College
Conference on Cooperatives again in 2016! I'm so excited!

National Farmers Union College Conference on Cooperatives in Minneapolis, MN - I go to a lot of meetings/conventions/conferences throughout the year, but this was certainly one of the best. My roommate Meghan and I drove up with a fellow Cyclone we barely knew, Travis, and the three of us came back laughing and joking as friends with many new connections across the country. While in the Minneapolis area we toured several businesses with a cooperative structure and enjoyed a museum about the flour milling industry.

Here's the reflection I wrote right after getting back, “I’m motivated by my passions and interest in the community and didn’t know how that perspective fit in the business world until this conference. It was great to hear other people with similar thoughts talk about their successful organizations. This experience certainly has made me consider the business structure I will look for in a future place of employment.”

March

Spring Break in Colorado - Spending spring break on a rowdy beach with a million other college students has never really appealed to me. I don't really like the idea of needing a vacation from my vacation, so last spring a group of friends and I roadtripped out to Colorado. Aside from a bit of car trouble in Kearney, Nebraska the break was perfect. We rented a gorgeous cabin out in the mountains, enjoyed shopping in Breckenridge, and fixed delicious family style meals. We spent hours playing games and watching movies. It was so refreshing! 

Ag Leadership Dinner - You may remember an old blog post about the Ag Leadership Dinner at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. I'm still inspired by the speeches I heard that night and would strongly encourage you to check out Jo Luck's definition of VISION here.

NAMA Casino Night - Our Iowa State National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) helps out at a local casino themed fundraiser every year by serving as blackjack dealers. It's such a fun excuse to break out that little black dress and put on a little make up. This year I drug my friend Ryan along and we had a blast! I'm looking forward to this years event for sure!

April

NAMA Nationals in Kansas City, MO - This is another conference that's at the top of my favorites list. I rode down with my Iowa State classmates and while they competed in the marketing plan competition, I hung out on the social media corps sharing the stories of the event on Facebook and Twitter. I'm so thankful I had this opportunity to network with so many in ag marketing communications. Watching the Best of NAMA awards presentation was so inspiring!

Here's the group from the AgEI Industry Tour! We have a lot of fun together
in the office and on the road.

AgEI Industry Tour in the Des Moines Area - Yep - another industry tour! By now you probably know the Ag Entrepreneurship Initiative has influenced me a lot. So, naturally spending a day touring entrepreneurial businesses with them was one of the highlights of the last year. I had my first ever wine tasting on this trip at Jasper Winery and got to see how fruits and vegetables are packaged at Capital City Fruit. Visiting La Quercia was really special to me because I knew it was something my Papa Tony would have enjoyed. Meeting new entrepreneurs never gets old!

May

Beck's Internship - Last May I packed up my little car and moved out to Atlanta, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis, to work as Beck's Hybrids' marketing intern. While I was there I lived in a big farmhouse with girls that soon became close friends. We had so much fun exploring the area and searching for bargains at Goodwill's half off Saturdays. You can read more about my work at Beck's in these blog posts:

May 18 - First Impressions of the Beck's Experience
May 26 - Love for Stories

June

Beck's Internship - Check out these blog posts to see what I was doing in my internship in June.

June 5 - Blessed with the Best
June 12 - The Road Less Traveled By
June 19 - Who I Am: A Father's Day Tribute
June 26 - What If and Why

July

Beck's Internship - You can read more about my internship in July in these blog posts:

July 10 - Adrenaline and Professional Development
July 17 - Does It Get Any Better Than This?
July 13- Photo Friday

Adrienne's Reception - Growing up Adrienne was our family's regular babysitter. She was a huge part of my childhood and has been one of my biggest role models. In 2015 she got married and I was lucky enough to get to take photos at her wedding reception. lt was a great excuse to make a trip back from Indiana and it was so special to catch up.

August

Senior Year Started - In August, the senior year that seemed so far away officially began. In the fall semester I took a full load of 18 credits, worked three jobs and participated in all my usual clubs. I was so busy, but it felt good to be back in a familiar routine surrounded by my closest friends.

Becknology Days - All summer long I heard how much there is take in at Becknology Days. Even though it meant another trip out to Indiana and skipping school I decided I had to see what everyone was talking about for myself. I was not disappointed! There were so many people, demonstrations, and learning opportunities. All three days I stayed pretty busy in the Country Store keeping clothing stocked and helping customers find the items they wanted. The last day I snuck away for a couple hours to hang out with my parents who came to check it all out. They were impressed too!

September

Aronia Berry Festival - If I had to choose a favorite time of year, fall would have to be it. Harvest is in full swing and there are so many gorgeous colors all around. It's the perfect season to head to a pumpkin patch... or the North American Aronia Berry Festival right here in Iowa. Last September, my roommate Locky and I drove out and spent the day at Sawmill Hollow Family Farm tasting ariona berry wine, BBQ sauce and dips. It was a fantastic event complete with an aronia berry stomp and many guest speakers. I can get Aronia Berry Cayennne Sauce from this farm at the Hy-Vee a few blocks away from my house. Many of my loved ones received it as a gift this past holiday season!

The Ag Business Industry Tours are always a good time!

Ag Business Fall Industry Tour in Kansas City, MO - On the Ag Business Club's most recent trip to Kansas City I learned about the federal reserve. Pictures weren't allowed, but we got to see millions of dollars being inspected, sorted and counted. I've never been around so much money in my life! Our trip also included stops at a Royals baseball game, Lansing Trade Group and Bayer Crop Sciences.

October

This was our team in Ireland! It was such an awesome group!

Ireland - October was the month of once in a lifetime opportunities. At the beginning of the month, I spent a week with two other Iowa State students touring across Ireland spreading the word of the Startup Gathering on social media. We covered events in 5 cities and caught a little bit of sightseeing along the way. You can read more about each day of this adventure in these blog posts:
Day 1 - Dublin
Day 2 - Waterford
Day 3 - Cork
Day 4 - Limerick
Day 5 - Galway

And if you every plan to visit Ireland yourself, you may be interested in this post from my trip:

10 Things About Ireland Nobody Told Me

Meeting Warren Buffett in Omaha, NE - Sometimes opportunities come around that you just can't pass up. Having lunch with Warren Buffet is certainly one of those things - even when it means being on campus at 4:00am - and you're not a morning person at all. 

November

Camila - For the last part of the fall semester, my five roommates and I were joined by our new friend, Camila from Brazil. In the two short months she stayed with us, we made so many fun memories together. Many nights were spent enjoying movies, wine, popcorn and conversation! I'm so glad she was able to stay with us and am crossing my fingers a visit to Brazil is in my future!

I'm so luck to have made so many new blogger
friends at #AgChat

Econ 495 & #AgChat Conference - Camila was able to travel to Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee with me and several other Iowa State AgEI students in November. (You may remember this Wordless Wednesday post from our trip.) The group traveled the region conducting research about poultry production and the impact of recent avian flu outbreaks. As travel always does, it opened my eyes to all sorts of new experiences. 

After the class trip ended with a fun weekend in Nashville, they left me behind to attend #AgChat Conference. The conference inspired me and was the last push of motivation I needed to tackle re-branding this blog. In just two days, my photography and writing improved. So many ladies generously shared their advice with me. It was also awesome to meet bloggers I've admired for years in real life. None of this would have been possible without Iowa Corn's generous sponsorship.

December

Holiday Parties - Getting together with family and friends one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. December was full of fun gatherings and the chance to catch up with friends that I see way too little. Our roomie gift exchange was a success and the perfect send off for Camila. Best of all, I was able to celebrate the reason for the season with my family!

Re-branding Started - I'd been debating about re-branding/moving/changing my blog for months, but #AgChat conference really motivated me to make a plan. Over Winter Break, it was time to put the plan in action. I wrote these two blog posts about my transition (3 Re-branding Changes I Made In 2016 and 7 Re-branding Changes I Made for 2016). Roots Journey is just that - a journey, and always a work in progress, but I am proud of the progress I've made so far. I'm looking forward to some exciting announcements in 2016!

January

Return to Beck's - For the last week of Winter Break, I road tripped out to Indiana to visit my friends at Beck's again. Celina, next year's marketing intern rode out with me so we could work together on a few projects together. It was a great week and it felt good to be productive, but the highlight was showing Celina all the local restaurants with my old roommate Rachel. It was a yummy trip for sure!

Last First Day of School - I had my last first day of school - for a very long time at least just a few weeks ago. It was such a weird feeling. I woke up that day with a bad attitude, but read this blog post and you'll see I got turned around. Now I'm excited to make the most of these last weeks!

Start AgSolver - The last big event of my 21st year was starting a new job. I'm blessed to have a position as a Social Marketing Specialist for the semester. It's only been a couple weeks, but I'm very impressed with the products and team I work with. The only drawback is my office is so close to my favorite Ames restaurant, The Cafe! It takes so much self control to not grab lunch there every day!

10 Things About Ireland Nobody Told Me

I've had a great time in Ireland and for the most part, it is very similar to the US. People speak English, love coffee and are very friendly. There are just a few little things that are different that nobody told me.

1. You need to get used to revolving doors. Learn to get through them with a rolling suitcase, backpack and 40 lb. purse if you want to go anywhere fun.
2. Light switches are on the outside of the bathroom. Knowing this ahead of time will save you a good two minutes of panic as you dash to the loo.
3. Also, here a "bathroom" is only in your home. Even though it may seem graphic to say, "I need the toilet." that's totally normal here.
4. Most electric outlets have a switch. When you plug in your phone and it doesn't charge, don't sweat it. Just flip the switch and you'll be grand.
5. On that note, no one here says good. Say "grand" or "brilliant" to avoid strange looks.
6. Also, from experience, I learned when someone asks, “How did you find ____________ (the hotel, a person, event or city)?” They aren’t looking for an answer like “I googled it” or “we have a mutual friend.” In the US we would say, “Did you like ____________?” If you forget, they’ll probably laugh and clarify their question for you.
7. Also, in the United States, we might say “that guy” or “that girl.” In Ireland, the phrase to use would be “your man.” For example, “Your man in that funny commercial.” It threw me off for a little bit, considering I had nothing to do with the person referenced, but after some help I began to catch on.
8. If you travel to Ireland, be prepared they like to have fun and use plenty of sarcasm. Have a good time and dish it back or they’ll take advantage of the fact you’re a little gullible. You don’t want to be like the group of Americans who believed Irish cars don’t have reverse because of all the round abouts my new friend told us about.
9. When your packing to come to Ireland, keep in mind, they don’t dress as casually as Americans. During the week I never saw the baggy sweatpants that people wear to their morning classes around campus. Over there, they aren’t as common and are called a track suit. Probably a good hint that they’re only appropriate for the gym. Dark jeans, a sweater and collared shirt with tasteful accessories is perfectly acceptable for everyday wear.
10. Last, but not least, the attitude toward time is much different in Ireland. I don’t remember a single one our meetings starting less than 10 minutes behind schedule, and in that culture it’s perfectly acceptable. For people who constantly find themselves running 5 minutes behind, it will be a relief. For those who define late as less than 10 minutes before an appointment, it’ll be a good lesson in adaptability. ;)

I hope you get the chance to travel to Ireland and experience it for yourself. If you go, I'd love to hear about your trip and the things that caught you by surprise. Thanks for reading!

Startup Ireland: Day 5 - Galway

Galway on Friday was the last day of big Startup Gathering events. The whirlwind of new foods, a different time zone, and lack of sleep caught up to me that morning. Since I wasn't feeling well, I missed several of the speakers and didn't explore the city as much as I had hoped. Thankfully, I bounced back quickly and was still able to experience some of the city.

They mayor of Galway spoke during the morning forum. Photo credit: Paul Condron

Like most of the other cities, the mayor came to speak about the importance of startups in their region. It was really cool to see so many important people make the Startup Gathering a priority and recognize the positive impact a good startup ecosystem could have on their area.

The rest of the morning forum proceeded as normal with breakouts, panels and keynote speakers. After those wrapped up, smaller events with a more industry specific focus took off around the city. Rachel, Clayton and I chose to attend the open house for an incubator office sponsored by Bank of Ireland that was recently completed. The space was beautiful and we all agreed we would love to work there. Here's a picture from a fun little side room that would be perfect for a conference call or locking yourself away form your devices to get work cranked out before a deadline.

Isn't this just the cutest little space? Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

The rest of the office was super hip bright orange and blue with nice big tables and huge presentation screens. I want an office like that some day!

In the evening, things wrapped up with a reception, just like all the other cities. The keynote speaker was a man who had recently sold his successful startup. He made two comments that really struck me.

• "Out of adversity there is always opportunity."

This quote hit me like a ton of bricks. It really is all about perspective.

• "There is absolutely no reason you can't start a business anywhere in the world."

This comment was made as he spoke about technology and all the doors recent advancements have opened. It really challenged me personally to learn more about the technology resources available to me. I need to learn, and use them effectively to achieve my goals. 

Galway was a great place to wrap up our tour of the country promoting the startup message. I feel so blessed to be a part of such an impressive conference and am thankful for all the new skills and connections I've gained. Stay tuned for a my final reflection on the whole trip coming soon. Thanks for reading!

Startup Ireland: Day 4 - Limerick

Limerick was day 4 of our 5 city journey across Ireland. Like every other city the morning began with an organized forum of speakers and panelists. I enjoyed learning from all kinds of organizations that have resources for startups. Hearing the trials and triumphs of experienced entrepreneurs was very interesting.

Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

There were lots of quotes throughout the morning that made me think, but this one especially stuck with me. "It takes a community to raise a child. Equally it takes a community to raise a successful startup and a country to raise a successful scaleup."

Part of the morning session included a breakout exercise where attendees divided into 6 groups. These teams brainstormed ideas related to networking, state, education, environment, skills and culture that would help improve the "startup ecosystem" in their region. It was fascinating to float around and hear their innovative solutions.

Breakout sessions in Limerick.

Each city had a city coordinator that handled a lot of the event planning in the region and leveraged their local network to make their big day a success. Gillian Barry was the city coordinator in Limerick, and one of my personal favorites. She was energetic, very engaging and communicated her passion for the startup movement well. Many of the speakers throughout the week were men, so it was fun to see a woman in such an important leadership position.

City coordinator, Gillian Barry and Startup Gathering CEO, Eoin Costello on stage in Limerick. Photo credit: Paul Condron

Just like all the other cities, several experienced entrepreneurs shared the lessons they learned the hard way. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from them:

• "My advice, hire slowly, fire quickly." - Adrian Fleming
• "I quickly learned, 'If you want it. Do it."
• "If you're out there doing everything for your customers, more opportunities will come." - Shane McCarthy
• "It is all about teams. It is about picking someone different than you that has complementary skills." - Kevin Sherry
• "Every company starts with the first employee. You can't export from day 1. Establish and prove a customer wants it." - Kevin Sherry

Entrepreneur panel in Limerick. Photo credit: Paul Condron 

In every city, there was also an evening reception where the mayor, city coordinator, the Startup Gathering CEO, and a keynote entrepreneur spoke. In Limerick, the keynote speech from Jimmy Martin, CEO of AMCS Resource Technology really grabbed my attention. My phone was dead by that point in the day, but here are a few of his key points I scribbled in a notebook as he spoke.

• "I learned the importance of sales at a very young age. My father was a farmer and a big part of farming is business."
• "You have to understand your product and market quite quickly."
• "Focus. Focus. Focus. I couldn't tell you focus enough."
• "Understand your customer. That's key."
• "A lot of companies make the mistake of not knowing how to sell."
• "Don't waste your time. It's valuable."
• "One advantage startups have over the big companies is they are nimble."
• "Don't be afraid to fail."
• "If you're not the sales person, find one fast."

I hope you're as inspired by the knowledge and advice the speakers shared in Limerick as I have been. Thanks for reading!

Startup Ireland: Day 3 - Cork

Our Startup Ireland journey across the country continues! This little habit of seeing both the sunrise and sunset is becoming quite a pattern this week, but with sights like this I don't really mind.

Sunrise over Cork. Photo credit: Paul Condron

Sunset in Waterford. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

It will be pretty hard to keep it wordless, but this Wednesday I'm sharing some images from my trip so far. Many thanks to the friends traveling with me that let me share their art.

This was the view walking to the evening reception in Waterford. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

Growing up, I remember hearing my Grandma Addy talk about Waterford Crystal. It was so fun to be in Waterford and see it in real life. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

There are so many beautiful buildings here. We saw this one on our way to a Tech Brew event and had to take a picture. Photo Credit: Rachel Kelly

These planters outside the Google European Headquarters looked like macaroni noodles. This venue has been one of my favorites. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

This was one of the panels in Waterford. Each day featured two panels and several other speakers. The panels were always my favorite part of the session. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

This is another beautiful building from Waterford. It was near the venue for an event called The Big Pitch. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

The Bank of Ireland was the main sponsor of Startup Gathering. Here's their building in Dublin all lit up for the week of events. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

My new friend, Margaret, who works for Startup Gathering, myself and Rachel in front of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin. There was quite an impressive light show there Monday night. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

The Iowa State social media team doing their job in Waterford! Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

Our hotel in Cork, The Kingsley, was the nicest hotel any of us had stayed at before. Out in the "car park," or parking lot there was a beautiful fountain and statues. Here I am with the team photographer, Paul. Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

The Iowa State social media team hard at work in Cork on Day 3! Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

These Go Cars were our transportation for the week. Go Car is a car rental service out of Dublin. Photo credit: Margaret Stafford

This was the scene in Cork behind The Kingsley Hotel. We took tons of photos of this sunset! Photo credit: Rachel Kelly

Thanks for reading! Good night!

Startup Ireland: Day 2 - Waterford

Wired. Inspired. Tired.

After a second full day of Startup Gathering events, I wasn't sure how I would even begin to share all we've been experiencing as the social media team. It has been so exciting and completely exhausting all at the same time. Finally, these three words seem to best describe my day.

Wired

From 6:00 am to 1:00 am we've been connected and interacting online. I've been blogging, instagramming, tweeting, facebooking, pinteresting, adding content to the app, and group messaging minute by minute. At home, I'll confess I'm on social media often, but this is like never before. In someways I haven't missed a thing happening with my friends back in the US because I've been on every platform nearly around the clock. We've been pushing out so much content, along with all the conference attendees and speakers, that #startupIRL has trended two days in Ireland now. (Keep up the good work team! ;)) I love the opportunity this technology offers to connect with so many influential people and share stories from anywhere in the world. Every corner I turn, I can't help but see a photo opportunity or status update for social media. Here's one we just had to capture:

Rachel and I are two of the three Iowa State students covering the events on social media. She's been a lot of fun!

Inspired.

Both days so far we've been bombarded with entrepreneur's stories of starting, succeeding and scaling. It's touching to see communities come together, passionate about the startup vision and the economic impact potential in their region. Many important figures have been present at the Startup Gathering events demonstrating their support. The speeches and panels have challenged me to think in a new way about the positive relationships young, innovative startups and established multinational companies can have.

This entrepreneur panel was one of my favorite today. Each of them had lots of good advice!

I could write for days about all the advice that was shared, but I'll just share a few quotes and let you search Twitter for the rest using #startupIRL.

• “Focus. There are so many things that will potentially distract you, but you’ll benefit from focus.”
• “When you are starting a new business you have to produce something that will cause people to change.”
• “Entrepreneurship is only 10-20% about the ideas, the rest is about executing them.”
• “Don’t give up. Successful entrepreneurs are ordinary people with tenacity.”

After being around all these energizing, visionary people I'm even more excited to get to work on a few things I've been brainstorming for a while. 

Tired.

Mom, you can just stop reading here and know that all is well. :) The last 68 hours have been so strange. One minute I can hardly keep my eyes open, the next (particularly at 1 and 2 am) I'm wide awake and ready conquer the world... or order pizza! It may be jet lag, it may be adrenaline. I don't know, but I've decided to enjoy it all. I'm sure come Sunday I'll crash hard, but in the mean time I just want to take it all in. It's pretty impressive what you can accomplish even on 8 hours of sleep in that time with a little mind over matter.

The Bank of Ireland has sponsored Startup Gathering, but I think we need a coffee sponsor too! It's a necessity around here!

On that note, it's about time to try to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before tomorrow's events in Cork. I'll be sharing everything on Twitter throughout the day with #startupIRL or check back later for a follow up blog post. Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Good night everyone!

Startup Ireland: Day 1 - Dublin

It's 2:30 am here, so I'm pretty "wrecked". Rachel and I got up at 5:30 this morning and have been running around with the rest of the team since. This post will be short, but I wanted to post a quick review of the wild day we've had.

The Go Cars are a unique car sharing/rental system that is taking off.

First thing in the morning, we were picked up in the Go Cars the Startup Ireland team has been given for the week. It's been so nice to have designated vehicles for the week.

It was raining when we left the hotel, but we were told its common weather in Ireland. At first I was disappointed to start off the day in such a gloomy way, but it didn't really impact us at all. The day turned out fantastic!

The Google facilities were fantastic!

The morning began with the big forum event at the Google European Headquarters. The space we were in was called Google Foundry and was filled with bright colors, interesting speakers and exciting ideas. So many people were running around to make the event possible and they really pulled it off. Our hashtag, #startupIRL was trending right away in the morning and every bit of the presentation looked professional. 

Throughout the day, the social media team was in charge of taking quotes from the speakers, turning them into tweets and matching up photos. We made sure the huge Fandom screens were constantly displaying the things attendees were tweeting in. It was also important that we struck a balance between posting our own original content and interacting with others participating in Startup Ireland registered events across the country. Seeing so many people participate in the online conversation gave me a huge adrenaline rush!


In the afternoon, we split up and attended a few smaller Startup Ireland events and got more time face to face with beginning entrepreneurs. I particularly enjoyed Dublin Beta where the three of us from Iowa State visited with very young startups to create short highlight tweets featuring their ideas. Follow the @StartupIreland Twitter account to see who we met and the projects they're working on.

After, we regrouped at a final reception to hear a few more speakers. Then we loaded up the Go Cars again to head to Waterford, which is about a 2 hour car trip. I rode with a sweet Irish girl just a few years older than me named Margaret and two of the event speakers. I'm a terrible co-pilot, but eventually we made our way to the final destination.

At the new hotel in Waterford, we set up and regrouped a little. Most importantly, we had a little team bonding. Rachel and I even tried our first Guinness! We had lots of good laughs and were able to find humor in some of our miscommunications from the day. Even though I just wanted to go to bed when we got in, I'm so glad I went and hung out with the team. It's going to be hard to leave on Sunday!

Well, I better get some sleep so I don't nod off in any of the events tomorrow! Thanks for reading! Cheers!  

Good night! Photo credit: Startup Ireland