KCSpeaks

This August marks my conclusion as part of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) New and Emerging Professionals Initiative (NEP). Last August, I became one of the inaugural 10 young professionals in the United States to be part of this initiative.   For those that are not familiar, the New and Emerging Professionals is a program of NAWDP for workforce development professionals age 35 and younger that are seeking to grow their leadership skills and contribute to the future of workforce development. Since the deadline is looming close for the next group to apply, I wanted to write about my experience as a NEP member and tell those interested a little bit about my experience. For my readers out there wondering if this blog post was solicited by NAWDP, it was not. I am blogging on my own free will!   If you look at the NAWDP website for information on the New and Emerging Professionals, https://www.nawdp.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Abo...

The universe works in mysterious ways.   Despite the wishes, desires, and hard work of many individuals, sometimes there is a curve ball.   This curve ball is just when an individual has it all figured out and that person is on a course towards a certain action. These curve balls happen all the time in life and can be good and bad.   They also happen in our professional lives. A few months ago, my son was deciding what to do about his upcoming college decision. Where he would be attending college depended on the outcome of so many factors. He had his top choice, but after that the options were shaky. Being a good mother and the eternal workforce development professional, I encouraged him to take making his backup plan more seriously. He made the statement “Plan B’s are for those not confident in their Plan A. I will worry about that when I need to.”   I applauded his confidence in himself, but was concerned that there were so many factors besides admission that...