Meet Leah Pardee, an IUP Alumni who graduated in 2014 as a Hospitality Management major. She is originally from Coatesville, PA, about an hour south of Philly.
Leah chose IUP because it was a large campus with a great atmosphere. It was also affordable and allowed her to get away from home.
Some of her favorite memories from IUP were meeting her husband and her group of girl friends.
Leah’s biggest challenge after graduating was imposter syndrome. According to Psychology Today, imposter syndome is a “pattern of behavior where people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, oftern internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud”. In Leah’s case, she lacked confidence, was quickly thrown into corporate America, and had no idea how to handle herself.
Her advice for recent college graduates is to stick with your job for at least one year. If you switch jobs every couple of months, you will ruin your resume. Part of Leah’s current job is interviewing potential employees. If she sees on a resume that someone can not hold a job for a year, she moves on and chooses someone who is more likely to stick with the job if she decides to hire them.
After graduating from IUP, Leah created a website called Candid Confidence. Her website is a place where women can come for advice on becoming their most confidence and happy selves. It covers topics about confidence, mindsets, and even offers career advice. She writes weekly blog posts and will answer any questions you may have. Click here to view her website.
Her reason for starting the website was because of her lifelong stuggle with confidence. “Once I developed a strong confidence, I realized how much happier and more successful I became. As a Sales Manager, this is one of the biggest areas I work on with my employees. I became very passionate about helping people grow their confidence, and realized I needed a way to reach more people to make an impact. I started Candid Confidence as a way to build community and help women to become the best version of themselves through self-esteem”.
Ever since creating Candid Confidence, Leah has learned a lot about herself through the process. It has opened her up to many new ideas, one being meditation. She recommends meditating for just a couple minutes each day to let go of negative thoughts you may be having about yourself.
Leah wants everyone to know to believe in yourself and start building your confidence, as it’s the #1 asset in your life.
(All pictures from Candid Confidence)