For my Rose cafe, I attended Laura’s talk on how to pursue passions as a career. First off, I’d like to commend Laura for working in such a difficult field where you are liable to take on a lot emotional baggage everyday.

Laura’s path was first gaining a world class education. Then after working in a corporate setting for one year, she moved to her current field of social work.

She offered a view that working in her field didn’t mean she had to sacrifice an exciting career. She talked a lot about all the places she has traveled through her work and all the initiatives she has been a part of.

Another thing she discussed is how education has contributed to her success now. I think this is an important point for anyone attending a university. It might seem like you are destined for a very straight path to some large company or maybe a smaller startup. However, you want to be directly helping people in need. Right now you have the opportunity to gain skills that would greatly benefit those in need. The more educated you become the more valuable every hour you spend helping becomes.

That was the overarching theme that you can leverage your education to help fulfill your passions.