The key is finding mentors that are willing to provide some words of wisdom on the struggles they’ve faced and the method they used to successfully or unsuccessfully maneuver through. It’s smart to work a fulltime job to be able to save and invest into your business, learn a valuable skillset from your job, and then make a master plan to build up your business to such a high functioning level that the transition is smooth. The wisdom, courage, spark, and skill wrapped up in this one woman inspired 57-year-old me to bring more intention to my vision, my planning, and my understanding of what staying true to myself means.

S. ’16, had no idea that her time as a student leader and graduate teaching assistant at the SoC would prepare her for the life-changing opportunities she has managed to embark on in the past two years alone. As a nationally-recognized college speaker, Natilie retells her story of triumphs, contemplations, and the process of how she discovered her purpose of empowering others. So I knew due dates for assignments as an instructor, and due dates for assignments as a graduate student as well. It also provides a key entry point for colleges to offer additional services to ensure our students have their basic needs met.

What sets me apart is that many of my messages infuse pop culture themes, authentic and memorable personal experiences, and highly interactive audience engagement during my presentations.

I have the privilege of traveling around the country, soon the world, to provide college students and young professionals with the tools to prepare for executing their goals. I never wanted people even to have the opportunity to try and, you know, speak against or speak negatively or try to talk about what they didn’t have clarity on, you know, so. And luckily the Director of Grad Studies was like, you know, I’m going to count you speaking as professional development since you already have your hand in your career. So like mentorship, relationship building, leadership despite trauma, Greek leadership, Black and multicultural Greek leadership, first-year experience. Natilie: I was able to, once you added in book sales, you added in speaking, yeah, I was able, at some point, I made maybe like two and a half times my assistantship, almost three, by being able to do these things and elevate my speaking career.In this episode, Ashley speaks to Natalie Williams, a doctoral student and collegiate speaker who works with colleges all around the country! Emily Roberts, a financial educator specializing in early-career PhDs and founder of Personal Finance for PhDs.

And then I eventually learned, maybe months after that, the business side of speaking and was able to start it as a business and turn it into a very much so awesome, successful career path. MU is an equal opportunity/access/affirmative action/pro-disabled and veteran employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex in our education programs or activities, pursuant to Title IX and 34 CFR Part 106.If you’re looking to hear how great college speakers get booked, crush it on stage, and continue to experience rapid growth in their business, then this is the episode for you! Emily: So, the question that I ask all of my interviewees before we wrap up is what is your best financial advice for another early-career PhD? Natilie: And with the topics that I speak about, leadership and student leadership on the collegiate market, it’s not as many young black women doing what I’m doing. To this day, Williams implements the fundamentals of public speaking she learned and taught at Illinois State.

But I had to be sure that it was a safe space because I was not going to allow anybody to sabotage this career that I had worked so hard for. And I really kind of lay out even more in the book of how I was able to start the speaking career and elevate it. And so I’m really excited to learn how she’s managing her business as well as her career as a graduate student. However, one Illinois State University School of Communication (SoC) alumna is using “the culture” to cultivate student leadership.She explains how she finds speaking clients and how she got started in the collegiate speaking market! After watching the show while studying abroad during her undergraduate career, she made the connection between the program’s collegiate themes and student leadership and goal execution.