Read the article written by Sarah Tritle to learn about her experience attending the 2016 Sourcing Industry Group Executive Meeting.
Success Comes by Choice, not by Chance - Sarah Tritle (2017 B.S.B. in SCM)
I realized early in college that I would be responsible for my own success. I identified four goals that would lead me to that success: earning competitive grades, winning scholarships to finance my college costs, establishing and fostering relationships with professors and peers, and ascending into leadership positions. I committed myself then to the diligence necessary to achieve each objective. Now, after accomplishing my goals, I look back on my personal, professional, and intellectual growth the past four years, and I feel a deep sense of pride in myself, thankfulness to those who helped me along the way, and joy in the fact that my labors have led to many successes.
I made a series of conscious, deliberate, personal choices these past four years to achieve my goals. I can recall a number of sleepless nights spent studying, a countless number of meals skipped to attend extracurricular meetings and networking events, and carefully budgeting my money to purchase professional clothes for interviews and business events. In retrospect, those investments -- including the thousands of hours studying my textbooks, the thousands of miles driven, and the hundreds of cold walks to my Buick late at night after study sessions – made me realize that the last four years have been the hardest of my life, but they have also been, by far, the most rewarding. Because of the outcomes of those investments, I was one of ten students in the country to be invited to the Global Executive Summit in California (all expenses paid), I will graduate debt-free thanks to generous scholarship donors who have rewarded hard work and academic excellence, I will have two professional internships completed, I have a number of job offers waiting for me across the globe post-graduation, I have a circle of friends who mean the world to me, and, maybe most importantly, I have developed a confidence in myself that makes me feel both ready and excited to begin my career.
If I could impart one piece of advice to new students, it would be this: Remember that everything in life is a choice. You have the choice to “just get by” in school and life, or you can choose to challenge yourself, overcome your fears, and progress. You have the choice to use past failures and hurts as excuses to shy away from the unknown, or you can choose to accept the past for what is, learn from it, and then move forward towards success. You have these choices, and you also have the power and authority to make these choices with a joyful heart and a positive attitude. Life is yours for the taking. So say “yes” to new experiences, live with purpose and conviction, and challenge yourself to always choose the pathway to success.
