I didn't take too many photos, as this cruise on Argosy's Lady Mary was a networking event with accounting professionals. I didn't want to come off as that girl.
So on Wednesday, July 30, I drove two hours from my house to Bainbridge Island to park the car, got on the ferry as a walk-on passenger (it's free fare this way), and then walked to Pier 55 from the Seattle terminal on Alaskan Way. There were already many people there - professionals and hopeful potentials who were undergraduate and graduate college students. They had a table set up where they were handing out free sunglasses (I'm wearing them in the photo) and name tags with your first and last name above your college logo. I was the only one from Whitworth University, so I knew no one and didn't have much of an idea of how to approach anyone. I didn't bother with the other students as I didn't want to waste my time socializing when I came all this way to network.
So while we, sixty hopefuls, cruised on the Lady Mary with forty professionals, I made a new friend named Becky, who came to the States from Rwanda in Agrica to get her college education, is a graduate from a Georgia college, and is going to be studying for her Masters in Auditing this year at the University of Washington. One of the campus recruiters, Mr. Togami, saw me as I climbed the stairs to the upper deck and sought me out. He is the campus recruiter for Spokane! Mr. Togami explained this when he saw my confusion at his knowing my name - he's been speaking with Whitworth's Outside Internship Director about the university's annual accounting internship recruiting event. He introduced himself, then Becky and I introduced myself, and then we all talked about travel. Then he gave us his business card, requested for our resumes, and then he suggested I crash Gonzaga University's accounting recruiting event if he is unable to make it to the Whitworth campus.
Then we all took a seat in the lower deck to listen to Seattle University's head women's basketball coach, Joan Bonvicini, give a speech on leadership. During her speech, she asked for volunteers to come up and give an example of leadership. I was the last one to go up, and I shared an example involving my work in the hotel and how I sometimes have to take charge when there is no supervisor or manager on site, and how I take the time to chat with people from other departments and listen to their concerns. I didn't stutter when I spoke, I had good posture, my voice didn't waver or fade, I didn't use any crutch words such as "like" or "um," and I even got the 100-ish people to laugh. After Coach B ended her speech, several professionals came up to me to introduce themselves and asked me to tell more about my working at the hotel. One of the professionals who approached me is a senior partner with Peter Sullivan LLP. He has CPA, CHIA, and CM+AA certifications (Certified Public Accountant, Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics, and Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor). So his CHIA certification is a major part of what made him perk up when I spoke up with my example. He gave me his business card, requested for my resume, and then we talked about the hospitality industry. He and I also spoke about ethics and hospitality in general. Then I met up with Becky again, and we got some ice cream that was being served on the upper deck. When the Lady Mary docked back in to Pier 55, Becky and I went to a nearby Starbucks and talked for a good while until it was for us to go home.
It was definitely a wonderful day and this cruise went better than I imagined for myself, I made new contacts, and I made a new friend.
