Let me hear you scream, “GIRL POWER”. This past weekend was all about female empowerment! The Live Smart Series 2015 presented by Smart Girls Group weekend is an inspiring event for girls of all ages. It was founded by Emily Raleigh, who wanted to create a guide for her younger sister and girls like her. On January 1, 2012, Smart Girls Group was born. I was given the opportunity to attend this event through Human Resources at Hearst. Yes, my internship really has it’s perks! While attending the event along with my roommate, we met other girls we had no idea were interning at Hearst. One of the girls actually turned out to be an Ole Miss alum. We basically caused a scene when we saw each other. “Hotty Toddy!”, we screamed.
The conference kicked off with the first keynote speaker Elaine Pouliot, former Senior VP of Training and Development at IBM. She gave an amazing message on how to dress like a CEO and how having street smarts is just as useful to your life as what you could learn in a book. It could even be more important. She also encouraged us not to be afraid to help others. “Just because you give people the recipe, doesn’t mean they’ll make the same brownies”, she said. After the first keynote, we all branched off into smaller sessions. I attended the Nitty Gritty of Networking with two ladies from KPMG. I needed those tips because I will be a graduate soon and networking is pretty much the key to getting your career started. After our breakout sessions, we had an amazing lunch served to us by Fresh & Co., a local organic restaurant in New York.
The afternoon keynote speaker was Stephanie Ruhle, managing editor at Bloomberg TV. Her message about how to use what you already have and being financially independent sparked something in me. I really needed to hear that. She was an amazing ending to my first day at the conference. Since the first day kicked off at 8 o’clock. I had to get to the city earlier than usual. So, waking up at 8 o’clock on a Saturday wasn’t going to be an option. My roommate and I made it the event right before the second day’s breakout sessions were about to start. We attended a session on how-to obtain an internship. This one wasn’t as useful to me, because I already have a profession internship with Good Housekeeping. I still enjoyed the Devil Wears Prada gifs that the presenter used.
The second day’s keynote was brought to us by Anne Fullenwider, Editor in Chief of Marie Claire. The magazine obsessors in the room were in the midst of an idol. She delivered a very quick but efficient keynote about her time in the industry, who was her mentor in her early years and how it influenced her career. Her advice were issued in the form of nine tips. #1 Sometimes you do have to chop the carrots. #2 Make sure you show up. #3 Once you show up , work hard. #4 Work doesn’t feel like work, when you love what you do. #5 Remain curious. #6 Remain useful. #7 (I missed it) #8 Stick with it. #9 Have financial independence. This weekend also helped me meet new phenomenal young women. Everyone had a story and was driven by a force. Every girl in the room had a different background and personality, but were all brought together because of one thing. We were all SMART! I hope I’m able to be in the midst of this amazing array of girl empowerment and love again next year!
XOXO Sabrina
Sabrina Clinton 