Day 18 - How I Learned to Get Things Done with Purpose & Personality

Over the last few posts, I’ve revealed a little more of how the last six years has helped me get closer to finding my niche. There’s been so many students, co-workers, projects, and experiences that I will never forget. However, before I move onto the third part of my “How I Found My Niche” series, I would be remiss to not mention two more people that I have had the pleasure of working with in different capacities at Rutgers.

This person (you’ll hear about the second on Day 19) delivered a t-shirt cannon gun to me with less than a 24 hours notice.

When Rutgers Habitat for Humanity was seeking sponsors for their Build-a-Thon this person helped secure space, provided staging, and connected the club with the right people to pull off this event - back to back years.

Back in May 2012, when many of us were planning the Big Ideas Conference, this person put together one of the most amazing and dynamic socials in conference history.

This person also played bartender for my rehearsal dinner.

She is none other than: Carey Loch.

Yes again, another “big sister” in my life. My country music lovin’, big sister from Wyoming. Carey Loch is the Director of Programs for Rutgers Student Life but her title is just the beginning of who she really is. Carey has her hands in several successful programs at Rutgers such as: Dance Marathon, Beats on the Bank, and all of Homecoming week including the legendary Bed Races. And these are just the big ticket events.

Not only is Carey a colleague in Student Affairs, a close friend to Courtney and I, but she is someone that I look up to because she brings the product and the punch. She has built a collaboration with our department to add a layer of “WOW” to some of our events like Mud Run, Color Run, and EDM Run. In a time when Athletics takes precedents, Carey has created partnerships with them that has been indisposable to the programming offered to Rutgers students.

I also have to thank Carey for helping take the Rutgers Habitat for Humanity club to the next level with their fundraising and outreach. As I mentioned in day 7’s post, I served as their staff advisor and have been in the process of raising $100,000 to build and dedicate their own house in Plainfield, NJ. In April 2013, Carey stepped into to help the club secure a location and partnership with Geek Week as they executed their first 24 hour Build-a-thon.

The following semester for Build-a-thon 2.0, Carey went a step further (completely volunteer) and helped them organize a location, bridge a partnership with Residence Life, and secure a stage for a concert. She saw the hard work, dedication, vision, and passion Punit Arora, club president, had. She genuinely wanted to help anyway she could. Both Punit, myself, and the rest of the members are forever grateful for her efforts.

Did I mention Carey does all of this with one of the brightest and most positive personalities I have ever witnessed? Because of this, she is sometimes rewarded with more work and more people wanting to work with her. So how does she do it? Why does she do it?

It’s simple - she has one philosophy: Principle. Product. Personality.

Principle: When Carey starts a project or partners with someone, she wants to make sure everyone involved is doing it for the right reason. In our world, it generally should be for the students or Rutgers community.

Product: For Carey, producing a quality product is a huge value for her. Especially, if her name is going to be on it. When she is working with others, she wants to make sure these people will walk the walk and not just “talk a big a game.”

Personality: Carey’s personality is contagious and anyone that gets to associate with her are lucky. So her third philosophy is clear - you better play nice in the sand box. She knows not everyone may be as upbeat as her, but you better be optimistic, be able to carry out a conversation, and share similar values as she does. Also, it doesn’t hurt if you like to have a good time while you work.

Even though Carey’s events are large scale and draw a lot of attention, a lot of times her work goes unnoticed. But she is ok with that. Just like a lot of people that I have introduced so far, she is selfless. If you know Carey, make sure you thank her the next time you see her. If you don’t know her, get to know her.

What They Taught Me:

Carey has taught me that when you work on projects that you are passionate about, everyone involved needs to put their agendas to the side and only leave room for one - the students.

How They Inspired Me:

As I continue to build my personal brand, Carey has inspired to be a better connector every single day. Whether it is meeting people to build my own network or finding ways to put two people in touch, I always come back to “How would Carey Loch approach this?”.

#NicheTip:

Principle. Product. Personality. Don’t forget it the next time you work on a group project - real world or in class.

Day 17 - Other Duties as Assigned: Not Always a Bad Thing

In yesterday’s blog post I introduced Chris LoBue and shared the impact he has made on my photography skills, creative ability, and entrepreneurial spirit. Looking back throughout the years working at Centenary College and Rutgers University, my marketing knowledge from FDU has always stuck with me. On a daily basis, promotion, engagement, marketing strategy and branding keeps coming back to all the programming I have been a part of.

For today’s post, I’d like to share how in 2010, I started to come closer to finding my niche and the three influential co-workers that have supported me and always kept me moving forward.

About a year and a half into my job in Rutgers Recreation, I had already learned how to update our website on the backend, use iMovie to make promo videos, and found new ways to reach out to students. In late 2009, Facebook had just turned five years old and Facebook Pages began popping up everywhere. Based on my previous knowledge and ambition to learn new things, I was asked to lead a committee to build out a social media presence for our department. After looking at trends, best practices, and seeing what else was out there, we launched our Facebook Page for our department in Spring 2010. Mind you, this was all considered ‘other duties as assigned’ at this point because I was still managing all my intramural duties. I say this because I think these other duties should not always be looked at as a bad thing...and I’d like to share with you how those other duties shaped my career path.

As I led our social strategy, our Director allowed me to recruit and hire four students in the Fall of 2010. This first go around, I had a small outreach plan and not a lot of demand. However, one project lead to another. The need for video and photo followed and I bootstrapped any resource, camera, and equipment we could get our hands on.

Over the next two years, we built out this part-time project into a department of social media managers, photographers, videographers, and brand ambassadors. I saw a vision of what this team could accomplish and how it could help our department be innovative while breaking through the noise at Rutgers. Luckily, so did our Director and she extended an offer to create a full-time position to run our marketing and social media. You know that you are carving out a niche when someone creates a position for you. Don’t get me wrong it took a lot of 60+ hour weeks, but there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Since starting in the new role as Assistant Director of Marketing and Social Media in July 2012, we have built a unit run on the creative minds and efforts of 18-22 year olds. I am completely dedicated to this team and coming up with the best social media content and creative campaigns that will actually grab the attention of college students. This upcoming year I am proud to say, we had 65 students apply for 5 positions and we now have a team of 10 students hired for Fall 2014.

By far, this has been one of my biggest accomplishments in my career and it required a lot of work, savy, resourcefulness, and small wins. Throughout the last four years, I couldn’t have done it without three co-workers that are now close friends: Kristen Pettis, Kate Quinlan, and Meredith Stille. I keep coming back to this, but I view a lot of my friends as brothers and sisters and it is safe to say that Kristen, Kate, and Meredith are my big sisters.

Trying to build your niche and make a name for yourself requires long hours, extra effort, and a desire to learn new skills. When you have hard working people like Kristen, Kate, and Meredith around you, the long days turn out to be some of the most memorable.

What they have taught me:

Kristen taught me me to be selfless. No matter what she had going on (personal or professional) she would drop what she was doing and help get it done, with a smile on her face - time after time.

Kate taught me tenacity. She is the type of person that has an idea, doesn’t wait around, and does whatever it takes to execute it. #ladypower

When one of our student employee’s had a family tragedy due to Hurricane Sandy, Meredith went all in and did whatever it took to help her and the family out. She dropped everything in her life and served as more than a supervisor and more as a family member. Meredith taught me what it really means to be there for someone.

How they inspired me:

Here’s what they all have in common and how they have helped me get closer to finding my niche:

1. They are each hard working and when they have a vision they do everything in the power to carry it out.

2. They share a passion to make a difference in the lives of young adults.

3. They are never stuck on the status quo - every year I have seen each of them find ways to improve their jobs, programs, or trainings.

#NicheTip:

Don’t ever be too good for the ‘other duties,’ be the person that takes those additional tasks and makes them awesome. It’s also so important to be firm in your vision but flexible in your path. There were times where I would have loved to have more resources or go full time with the marketing position before the department was ready. However, I kept focused on the vision and found a way to make do with the cards I was dealt. Finally, find your people. Look for the coworkers that you like to be with and that inspire you to always do better. I’ll expand on this in my post tomorrow...stay tuned.

Day 16 - People Come Into Your Life for a Reason

“There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either you need them to change your life or you’re the one who will change theirs.” - Madeline Sheehan

 

On December 30th, 2008 on top of a lighthouse in Harbour Town - Hilton Head, SC right around sunset, my life changed: I proposed to my girlfriend of five years, Courtney Stone. I spent the two months leading up to the proposal planning it all out - from asking her parent’s permission to ordering the perfect ring to planning a spur of the moment trip to South Carolina. From that moment on after I popped the big question our relationship became that much better. Courtney and I came together to celebrate with friends and family over the next month and then the real fun began: start planning a wedding. Now for most guys, this seems like a daunting task that they want nothing to do with. Of course, things like wedding registry and the late nights putting together menus and seating charts were a bit painstaking to say the least.

Little did I know that apart from the menu tasting at our venue, meeting our photographers Chris and Suzanne LoBue of CLB Photography would be the highlight of the wedding planning festivities (oh yeah, and of course marrying Courtney was fun too!).

I still remember the first time we met Chris and Suzanne in April 2008 at their studio in the basement of their home in Red Bank, NJ. Talk about a start-up (in a good way). When we arrived for our initial appointment, we were pretty much greeted by their two young, beautiful daughters Sophia and Abby. Chris and Suzanne had it down to a science and organized babysitters every time they had an appointment so they would not be distracted from their clients. Somehow they always made it work.

Courtney and I loved the personal touch and were blown away by their studio converted basement. Immediately, Chris and Suzanne connected with us before even showing us any pictures, discussing prices, or talking logistics. It felt like we knew them for years and they genuinely wanted to know about us so they could put together the best creative behind their shots and make sure it was a fit even if we weren’t going to hire them.

Long story short, we did hire them because we loved their dynamic, our comfort level with them, and their picture style really did speak for themselves.

So how does all of this fit into the “How I Found My Niche” series? For starters, CLB Photography has come a long way since 2008 while still keeping their personal touch. They have moved their studio twice and are now settled into the heart of Red Bank, NJ where they have a storefront, full-time staff and a large studio upstairs. They still focus on wedding photography but have added boudoir shoots and B2B photography as well.

How do we know all this? Because Chris and Suzanne were not only our photographers the day of our engagement shoot and wedding - they became part of our circle. Both of them are great at connecting with a variety of personalities but most of all, they are creative and take risks, just like Courtney and I.

Since our wedding in May 2010, the story with them continued on:

1. In August of 2012, I was putting together an in-depth digital media training for my new student marketing team at Rutgers University.  When I needed a photographer to conduct a training that would relevant and especially engaging, who did I call? Chris LoBue.

He not only was full of energy and kept ten college students engaged for three hours at the end of summer, he put photography on a level playing field. Whether my students were experienced or have never held a DLSR camera before, Chris kept things simple, while giving of us some of the best advice: “Do whatever it takes to get the shot.” This philosophy has stuck with us helping us capture some of best moments in our department over the last two years. All because of his valuable, down to earth training.

2. When I started the Niche Movement in January 2013, I was racking my brain of people in the tri-state area that found their niche and had a great story. Sure enough it hit me: CLB Photography. When I reached out to Chris and Suzanne, they openly invited me to their studio to let me interview them (part 1 featured below). After hearing more of their story, I really got to know them on a greater level and appreciated how far they had come. They had a vision, took risks, and grew their business all while living out their passion every day.

Prior to CLB Photography, both Chris and Suzanne were on different paths with typical 9-5 jobs that didn’t fuel their creative-side. Sure, for a while they talked about their dreams, then started working on it on the side, and finally they took a leap of faith and have never looked back. That leap of faith has paid off as they have been featured in every wedding magazine in the tri-state area, appeared on Good Morning America, and have worked with many fortune 500 companies.

What they taught me:

As I built our digital marketing team at Rutgers, Chris played a major role in my knowledge and creative ability with a camera. To this day, I try and put myself in the same mindset that Chris and Suzanne use when they are on a shoot. As it relates to finding your niche and entrepreneurship they have taught me to trust your gut. Going out on their own requires a lot of risk, but if you have a passion, strong work ethic, and vision, you can really make a name for yourself.

How they inspired me:

As I reflect over the last few years since I met Chris and Suzanne, they have definitely inspired my creative side and confidence to capture the moment. Whether it is photography or videography, when you are behind the camera, you are in charge and hold the vision on how to capture the moment. Both in my personal and professional life they have taught me to take risks and not deviate from what you value at work.

#NicheTip:

Sometimes we put our relationships in boxes. I could have easily placed the LoBues in the 'personal relationship' or 'wedding planning' box, paid for our photos and moved on. However, when I meet someone that talented and passionate about their work I am always thinking about how I can connect them with my students or how I can build upon that relationship because I know I will learn a lot from them. Look at those in your life that have found their niche, and figure out new and different ways you can continue to build the relationship and learn from them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9kEf-MkN24

Day 15 - How to Make the Most Your Days

This past weekend I spent time away with my parents and Courtney in Lake George, NY. Other than an occasional Instagram post, I completely shut off – it was much needed and helped me focus and clarify where I am going with The Niche Movement. With that said, as I spent time with my parents, I continue to observe the importance of having really great family around you. Like I mentioned in a few of my previous posts, I am an only child, but was lucky to be surrounded by several great cousins that treated me like their little brother. One of them I am introducing into the "How I Found My Niche" series is my cousin Jennifer O’Connell Caputo.

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As the youngest cousin, I always looked up to Jen like a big sister. Jen was always a great athlete especially, in field hockey. I played a lot of sports growing up like , soccer and golf and I always tried to excel as much as possible since Jen became a star athlete in her high school and went onto to play field hockey at Rutgers University her first year of college.

Jen went on to graduate from Rutgers with a degree in psychology and landed a great job with a consulting company as a HR recruiter.  A few years later, I was in college and started to see Jen build a great future for herself. Her hard work and talent started to pay off and was promoted several times. She also met her husband Kevin at work and got married in August of 2003.

Believe it or not, the first (un)official date for Courtney and I was at Jen and Kevin’s wedding.

As I became more involved at FDU and started to build my “resume” to prepare myself for the real world, I was always able to turn to Jen for advice. Throughout my early twenties I turned to Jen for advice on jobs, interviewing, relationships, and family advice. Aside from Jen’s caring personality, one of her best skill sets that I admire most, is her ability to connect with anyone around her and start a conversation and keep it going.

As I have grown older, I still look up to Jen for several other reasons. She has a wonderful family - 7 year old twins, Joey & Addy.  She stays active by taking cross fit classes at 5:30 every morning and runs occasional GORUCK and mud runs. And she still works full time for the same company she started with after college. The reason I mention all of this is because I know Jen leads a busy life. However, the reason I look up to her today, is that she makes the most of her days. She makes time for her family, friends, and manages a hectic life of work and raising twins, all while having a successful career.

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When I look back, here are just a few ways Jen has always been there:

- supporting our fundraising efforts when I ran our first Habitat for Humanity trip in 2006.

- as a bridesmaid to Courtney in for our wedding in May 2010.

- to celebrate our house warming party in June 2010.

- to set up meetings with her company as Courtney and I launch our own projects in our careers.

- to throw some of the best family gathering and parties I've ever attended.

The last shoutout I have to mention is that Jen also organized a Hurricane Sandy Relief fund and raised thousands of dollars and collected 10,000+ toys in a matter of 4 weeks to donate to the community of Seaside Heights and the surrounding districts. All while taking care of her day to day responsibilities mentioned above.

She is truly an amazing person.

Thank you for everything Jen.

What they taught me:

As I get older, the time spent with family and close friends starts to become more precious and valued. Just like my cousin Jen, I am trying to live my life to the fullest and become successful while still making time for my family and friends that are near to Courtney and I. She has taught me that it is ok to be “busy” but when you are with your family (especially, parents) to shut off and be in the moment with them. It's something you will never get back, trust me.

How they inspired me:

Jen has inspired me (and Courtney) to set the bar high for yourself. Hard work does pay off but she has always instilled in me to have your work respected and receive what you are worth.

#Nichetip

The closer you get to finding your niche, the more your career may pull you away from what really matters - your friends and family. It is important that you make time for those around you and that when you are in the moment, to be present.

Day 14 - What Can Happen When People Believe in Your Vision

During my first few years, fellow student affairs colleagues described the feeling:  seeing your closet student leaders graduate college. I didn’t know what that felt like because I was only at Centenary just shy of two years. It wasn’t until May 2010 when that feeling hit when one of our student leaders Dana Wise graduated from Rutgers.  I would now describe it as joy, happiness, and even some sadness (especially when they don’t return in August).

Let me explain how I got to this moment:

When I started at Rutgers, one of my main initiatives was to create and expand the community out of the Livingston Recreation Center. Sure, it was easy to promote intramurals, recruit refs, and lead the 8-10 student directors that got paid to work for our department. The real challenge (even though it didn’t feel like it) was too create a volunteer advisory council. Week in and week out I observed the staff that worked in the building from front desk to fitness assistants to intramural officials to see what students would be the best to start this council. I slowly started observing a few students, Dana Wise, Carlos Correa, and Tara Curran to be exact, because they loved being around our recreation center (aka Livi Rec).

I started up conversations to find out more about them, slowly work in what I was trying to start and see if they would buy-in. The easiest sell was Dana because we found out we both grew up in the same part of NJ - in Sussex County. As weeks went on, Dana, Tara, and Carlos started to help me build this community even though they didn’t work directly for me. They saw my vision, they cared about the other students, and were ready to make a difference.

Late Tuesday night meetings turned into programming on the weekends for the Livingston community. Our most successful event was a 3 on 3 charity basketball tournament that raised hundreds of dollars for Rutgers Against Hunger. That’s where the real community was built and where Dana stepped up as a leader. Not only did we have 32+ basketball teams, we partnered with residence life, recruited and managed 20 volunteers, and she made sure all necessary sponsorships were secured.

Leading up to graduation, Dana was a psychology major and had established a very nice resume by building a set of leadership skills for herself and becoming president of our council. So much so, that she started to have reservations about “going into” the psychology field. Of course after some long conversations, some tears, and some confidence boosting, she decided to pursue a Graduate Assistantship and attended the NIRSA national conference in the spring of 2010.

Dana did everything she was supposed to do - had a strong resume, great GPA, dressed professionally, interviewed well, and had a personal touch. However, she came home empty handed - no assistantship and no admittance into a graduate program.

She did do something right - before she boarded the plane to the conference she struck up a conversation with someone wearing a Cornell sweatshirt. That person was headed to the conference and helped put her in touch with someone from Old Dominion and while she was at the conference she secured an interview for the facilities position.

Even though she came up short, she made an impression just like I did when I interviewed at Rutgers. April came and went. So did May. She graduated thinking “the world was about to end” because she didn’t have anything lined up. After some more tears in my office, I told to keep her head up, keep networking and something will come. Sure enough, a week after graduation, she interviewed and landed a job as the marketing GA at Old Dominion from a connection she made at the conference.

Talk about about timing and waiting for the right opportunity. This just didn’t turn out to be a graduate assistantship.

Let me really break down what came from this:

- Dana was able to help out on one of the outdoor adventure trips and travel to Peru.

- She was accepted to travel to China as part of a student affairs exchange program.

- From the exchange program she met the Old Dominion’s president’s wife and basically became besties with the family where she spent Easter with them.

- Lastly, her director was the upcoming NIRSA president which would open up a ton of doors.

Plus, she lived 10 minutes from Virginia Beach while earning a masters degree. Not a bad deal while building her personal brand even more above what she accomplished at Rutgers.

All of the hard work and emotions of “finding your niche” started to pay off. I knew Dana was going to become a great professional regardless of the field she entered, so I invited her to present with me a second time at the Region 1 Student Lead-on at Syracuse University. This time it wasn’t about group dynamics or leadership, it was about standing out, remaining patient, and to take advantage of every opportunity that is put in front of you.

Now with a masters degree in hand, several life experiences later and becoming a responsible, independent adult, Dana is the Membership & Marketing Director for the YMCA in Wayne Hills - the largest YMCA in the state.

What they taught me:

First of all, Dana taught me that hard work does pay off. Even though her story has a few bumps in the road, she kept pushing herself. I also learned that my advice, mentoring, and in reality, counseling, was helping. Not just Dana, but a several others. This is why I want to use my skills of connecting, finding one's passion, and helping them standout; and spread it as far as it can go.

How they inspired me:

This council I was charged to build was volunteer on my part and the students part. This has been one of the most rewarding initiatives of my career at Rutgers. Dana, Tara, and Carlos are now some of my best friends I see regularly. They saw my vision, believed in me, and wanted to make a difference. They all made a difference not only for the community, but to me as I try to grow out my next vision.

#Nichetip:

When an opportunity is put in front of you, take it, trust it, and give it all you have.