I’m excited to share with you the first post in a new interview series I’m calling “living YOUR happy ever after.” The stories in this series will highlight some pretty amazing people who are either living their happy ever after or are darn close. Their stories and their philosophies on life and the pursuit of happiness have inspired me, and I hope they inspire you, too!
The first story comes from Karen – my blogging and social media inspiration, best friend, and sister, who has time after time worked through great challenges to capture her dreams. Her college athletic career culminated in reaching the Olympic trials, and now she’s created her dream job, teaching social media classes at the University of Louisville.
Say hello to my new series:
living YOUR happy ever after!
Karen has always been a multitasker, and she’s holding true to form these days. For starters, she teaches classes on crisis communication and social media at the University of Louisville and teaches online for the Integrated Marketing and Communications program at West Virginia. She researches and presents her findings at conferences all over the world – this year alone has taken her all the way to the World PR Forum in Melbourne, Australia! She publishes everywhere from professional journals to her own online blog {she has been online since 1995 and blogging since 2006!} She’s a mentor to college athletes, having been a scholarship athlete herself, and a competitor in the 2004 Olympic trials (!!). And she still has time to enjoy hanging out with her friends, cooking, photography, working out, and cheering for her favorite sports teams.
But she’s loving it. “Honestly, I think I am living my happy ever after,” she says. “I always wanted to be a teacher growing up, and I am able to do that. I have had the chance to present and travel all over the world doing what I love and making wonderful connections. My family has been very supportive and I have an amazing group of friends and colleagues.” The only thing she would add would be “more travel and possibly spend a semester teaching abroad. I loved the time I spent in South Africa a few years ago and it would be wonderful to go back to share these same experiences with students.” And she’s working through her international conference connections to make that happen!
It’s not all easy. Karen admits that it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get where she is. “Social media research within PR is very competitive,” she says, so not everyone can expect to call themselves a social media expert and to present on panels right away. Her philosophy on achieving her dreams is the same one she held as a student athlete and competitor at the Olympic trials: Work hard, win easy. “If you’re willing to put in the time and effort to invest in your future, you will be rewarded. The same goes with your dreams.”
You can follow Karen’s adventures at her PR and social media blog, on her blog’s Facebook site, or on Twitter.