The Element

Ken Robinson is a guy worth listening to. He spoke at TED in early 2007, and his speech has become the second most viewed video of all time on TED's YouTube channel. (I've posted the video to this speech at the end of this post.) He's funny, he's dynamic and he places a lot of value on creativity. He recently wrote a book entitled The Element that looks at the importance of finding your passion and pursuing it in your life.

I'm writing from New York following the first day of the Huntsman School's Career Exploration trip. Huntsman students who are interested in finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and other subjects have the opportunity to visit various places including The Big Apple to meet with alumni and other professionals to network and to get a feel for the industry, the city and the opportunities available to them. 

Brittany Packham at Times Square

I decided to combine my experience on the Marketing and PR focused visits with reading The Element. Robinson describes "The Element" as "the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together." In this book, he emphasizes the importance of talent and interest exploration; when an individual finds something she or he is both passionate about and good at doing, that person will excel in that field. 

Tyler Spurlock at USU alumni event

On Wednesday, we visited Bloomberg and saw how they perform their broadcasts. We then visited Coltrin and Associates and got a unique view into the PR world as we met with their professionals, many of whom are Aggie alumni, and asked a variety of questions surrounding the PR industry. We also sat down with an insightful PR professional in a cafe who gave us insight into the event planning world. We ended the day by attending a USU alumni event where nearly 100 Aggies gathered. The common thread I noticed throughout these visits is the fact that the professionals seemed to have found their "Element." They were excited, happy and passionate about what they do -- something that can make anyone's career more rewarding and successful. 

This is really quite an incredible experience for Huntsman students who want to get their foot in the door. Huntsman students can explore their interests and talents, meet with executives and professionals that otherwise would be hard or impossible to get in front of, and start their careers with good firms, doing work they want to do. 


- Sterling Morris

Ken Robinson on education and creativity