When I was a junior and a senior in high school, I was a member of Nordstrom's BP. Fashion Board.  BP. Fashion Board is almost like a mini-internship program where you learn about merchandising, marketing, products, and organizational structure at Nordstrom.  It was a great program to be a part of but my only complaint is that since people move up so fast at Nordstrom, our Board went through a lot of different leaders and it became hard to follow along.

Through this program, however, I was introduced to Lisa Mayer, founder and CEO of My Social Canvas.  My Social Canvas is a lifestyle and apparel design company that empowers student designers through design contests and sells those designs to support an organization or cause that they have partnered with.  It just so happened that the day they visited, I had to present a store concept that I had come up with and mine exclusively sold brands that gave back in some way.  After hearing about MSC's mission and presenting my store, I went up to them and said (in true high schooler fashion) "So…do you like have any internship opportunities open for this summer?"  And that's when one of the representatives told me, "I love that you just asked that.  If you don't ask for it, the answer will always be 'no.'"  And so I got involved.

A few weeks after meeting Lisa, she invited me to hear the then-director-of-digital at Charity: Water speak in NYC.  Lisa knew that I was passionate about social entrepreneurship and has always kept that in mind, inviting me to events she thinks I would like.

I became an MSC Campus Rep (and you should too!), and quickly learned about the small startup that MSC is.  Because My Social Canvas is quite small at the moment (but definitely growing), I have been able to really become an integral part of company.  And it all started because I decided to go out on a limb and ask about an internship.

We had a campus rep day in NYC where we visited Warby Parker got a lovely tour, as well as visited Seventeen Magazine!  I sat on the couch that celebrities are always pictured on!

Warby Parker was such an amazing experience to have considering I hadn't heard of them before that day.  They have a similar model to TOMS shoes in that if you buy one they give one, but they do it in a bit more of a sustainable fashion.  Warby Parker Glasses are given to trained entrepreneurs in developing nations where they can sell the product to financially empower themselves.  Their product is high quality and priced reasonably, and their customer service is top notch!  I love my Warby frames that I purchased after my visit!

Being a part of MSC has even allowed me to have my design be sold online.  I designed tote bags for the She's the First Summit in August, 2014, and a long sleeve shirt for the Design for Her collection. The Design for Her collection benefited WomenOne, an organization started by Dayle Haddon to help send girls to school in developing nations.

That's my favorite thing about My Social Canvas: the products give back!  I am so passionate about going into the fashion industry to improve the fashion industry, and MSC gets that.  I have attended so many amazing events and met so many people who have been so helpful in my career aspirations that I really can't imagine where I would be right not if I had not asked to get involved.

Just ask, the worst they can say is "no" and that's the answer you're getting if you don't ask at all.

This past week I traveled to Seattle, Washington for the Net Impact Conference.  Net Impact is a community of more than 80,000 student and professional leaders creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and the world.  I first got involved with the organization last year at Ithaca College and had the honor of reviving the Cornell University undergrad chapter my first semester on campus.  I hate to sound redundant, but Net Impact was what had the most impact on my my first year and I am so thankful that I got involved.

At Cornell, I have a stellar team running the club with me and we are learning so much throughout the process.  Sadly, only I was able to attend the conference this fall though.

Last year, after seeing pictures of the Net Impact Conference and watching the live stream as the executive board from my chapter attended, I proclaimed that I would be there next year, no matter what.  I started building my business casual wardrobe with "I'll wear this at the Net Impact Conference" as my mantra while I shopped.  I was looking forward to this conference for literally a year and let me tell you, the conference did not disappoint!

Being in a room full of people like you (in the sense that you can say CSR or SDG and they'll know exactly what you mean) is comforting and empowering.  I felt like I had found a home and wish I could have had a conversation with every single attendee.  Everyone had such diverse backgrounds, majors, and jobs, and that just added to the greatness of the conference.

The theme this year was "Game On" and attendees were challenged to take a competitive approach to making a positive social impact.

What I hadn't realized earlier was that Net Impact is predominantly a network of graduate students, then professionals, and then undergrad students.  On one hand, I felt very young and inexperienced, but it also helped foster a community between the undergraduate attendees and made me feel like there was so much to learn from the people who surrounded me.

One of the best keynotes from this conference had to be Stephen Ritz from Green Bronx Machine.  He was energetic, zealous, and extremely captivating. 

To watch his talk, click "watch again" and then the arrow on the right so you get to the video titled "Thursday's Keynote" and then skip to an hour in to hear about Green Bronx Machine.  The first keynote, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  She also had a really good presentation but it was not as exciting as Stephen Ritz's was.  Watch both if you have time!

Ever watch The Story of Stuff?  This project/movie was shared in classrooms with me probably almost every year since it was released in 2007.  It's a great quick video that really makes you think about what goes into everything that you buy.

Annie Leonard, the woman who is featured in the Story of Stuff videos, is Executive Director at Greenpeace.  She also happened to be at the conference wearing her hat as a board member at Ben & Jerry's.  It was pretty crazy to meet her (pictured on right), based on the fact that she's only ever been on my screen!

I met a ton of people at this conference that I am so excited to keep in touch with and reach out to for career advice and more.

I also had the opportunity to explore Seattle a bit, although it was pretty quiet for a Friday night!  I saw the famous and disgusting gum wall before it is being taken down, and even added a piece of gum to it (quickly followed by using hand sanitizer)!  I walked around the waterfront, Pike Place Market, and to the Space Needle.

Oh and I highly suggest a visit to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room on Pike Street!  It was incredible to see what they do with coffee there and there are so many hipster guys with crazy cool mustaches that it's definitely a must see!