The next morning was a little rough to say the least. Exhausted from traveling, and going to sessions all day, my classmates and I were too tired to go to sleep so of course we stayed up late watching scary movies. I didn’t want to believe my alarm clock when it yelled at me to wake up at 6:30 for the early morning session. Already starting my morning in a negative way, I was less then thrilled to listen to the speaker without even knowing what I was about to attend. Moving like a snail on a hot summer day, I chugged around the hotel room trying to get myself ready for the day. Finally getting downstairs, I missed the free coffee and my brain was going through caffeine withdrawal. Finding a seat in the enormous ballroom, I sat down and looked at the presentation I was attending, Living Legends of Public Relations.

This presentation was based off of the careers of Mary Beth West and Keith Burton who both have their own agencies and how they started and became who they are today. They had great advice and information about how to start out from graduating to being successful in your passion for communication. Mary Beth West Communications specializes in creation, implementation of media relations’ campaigns, employee communication programs, and many more that sets her company and skills apart from others. Her and Keith’s secret to success was be willing to relocate and know the culture of your career. They believe that with those specialized skills after graduation, your personal brand will expand. Even though I was struggling to keep my eyes open, the one thing that really stuck out at me that Mary Beth said was, “It’s the quality of the experience of your early career that matters, not the money. That will come later.”