What made the biggest difference this year in CEO was the comradery I felt with my classmates and facilitator. I feel that without that connection CEO would have been a completely different experience and that I probably would have left otherwise. This positive impact made me feel comfortable enough to ask questions while we were out and about on the business visits. Which led to me asking the right questions to land me a job at one of our visiting cites. Which prompts me to say to the new class coming in—Don’t limit yourself and your experiences, have fun, make smart decisions, and keep an open mind because who knows? Maybe if you go into it looking for a job an opportunity will present itself to you. Looking back at how I entered CEO, I would fulfill the expectations required of me, now looking back I wish I had known earlier that the real take away from CEO was simply putting yourself out there. Such a simple thing can be difficult—or the opposite, so easy you forget all about it. I will be forever thankful to CEO for encouraging me to develop a curious mindset about the world around me and the confidence to make things happen. All of this could be an answer to the question, “How has CEO impacted me overall?” But the answer that hits closest to home would have to be that CEO has impacted me in every area of my life going forward and that without it, I would be a completely different person, following a different walk of life, barreling forward without a reason to stop and think rationally for a second thought. I think I mentioned it earlier but I am eternally grateful to the CEO class and everything everyone has taught me this school year. I’ll sure miss everyone now that we are moving into the next chapters of our lives, but at least we can all be a little bit more ready to face our new challenges ahead. Thank you Belleville CEO class of 2025 and Dr. Nick Johnson for taking the time to guide us on this journey.
