Glamour Panel on the Secrets to Success in Your 20s

Last week, I attended a special panel at Barnard College in NYC presented by Glamour, on "The Secrets to Success for Twentysomethings".  The Barnard campus was beautiful and I got to catch up with our Barnard Campus Correspondents Giselle and Toby who were attending the panel too!

First, Debora L. Spar, the President of Barnard, gave opening remarks.  Then Cindi Leive, Glamour's Editor-in-Chief who moderated the panel, introduced the panelists.  It was an amazing lineup:

Taraji Henson, an Academy Award-nominated actress as Best Supporting Actress in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Jodi Kantor, a reporter and one of the youngest editors at The New York Times, who dropped out of Harvard Law School to pursue a career in journalism
Meghan McCain, politics and culture blogger and daughter of John McCain
Danica Patrick, a top female auto-racing driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series
Danielle Evans, author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self and a recent graduate of Columbia University

Here I am before the panel started.

It was an incredibly inspiring panel as each of the women shared their tips for success in your 20s.  Some of my favorite takeaways were as follows:

-Taraji Henson told us to pursue what we are passionate about and take risks- she always wanted to be an actress but first tried electrical engineering in college because she thought it would be a more lucrative career, but it wasn't the right fit for her and her dad steered her back to acting which had always been her dream, so she took a risk and went for it.  Taraji also said that "if you stay ready you don't have to get ready"- so that when an opportunity comes knocking, you'll already be prepared- that means things like having your resume and cover letter ready to go at all times.

-Jodi Kantor also said to take a chance and do something you love- she went to Harvard Law School but then realized she didn't actually like the idea of being a lawyer day-to-day- and she had never thought she could actually succeed as a journalist.  But she quit HLS to work at Slate magazine, and her career took off from there.

-Meghan McCain said to be careful about what you put online because it can come back to bite you... and no drunk tweeting!  She also cited the importance of interning even if it means doing "b*tch work" while you're there- she interned at Newsweek and SNL while she was in college!  Meghan also said she is committed to getting a woman elected to the presidency, and that for 2012 she thinks Mitt Romney has the best shot of the Republican candidates.

-Danica Patrick said that if you're in a male-dominated field or industry (like she is with auto-racing), that you shouldn't think about being a woman in a male-dominated area, you should just think about being the best!  And often there will be even more attention paid to you because you are a woman, which can work to your advantage- I know Windsor, Annie and I have found that to be true in the male-dominated tech start-up world.  She also told us to learn from everyone you work with, and to find what you love and do it- think "if I could do anything in the world what would that be?" and then do it.

-Danielle Evans said to do what you love (in her case writing) and it will lead to a successful career if it's something you love

All in all it was an incredible event!  Thanks to Glamour and to Barnard and to the fantastic panelists!