On Monday, Sept. 29, California Lutheran University’s School of Management hosted “Pathways & Possibilities: How to Succeed IRL,” where students heard from keynote speaker Timmy “The Dreamer” Bishop, participated in a workshop and met professionals in roundtable discussions, according to Cal Lutheran’s website.
Rosie Baker, communications coordinator for the School of Management, said the event was previously known as “Paths to Professionalism,” but was renamed to “Pathways & Possibilities: How to Succeed IRL.”
“It gives our students the opportunity to meet professionals and alumni from off campus. They can talk to people in a variety of different industries,” Baker said.
Baker said the event is meant to help students “gain clarity in who they want to be and what they want to do.”
“That can be a really daunting and scary thing to think about…when you’re really young,” Baker said.
The event marked Bishop’s second time speaking at Cal Lutheran, according to Baker.
Bishop is the founder of Dreamer State University, “a community-driven school empowering students to chase their dreams and change the world,” according to his LinkedIn.
“For me, it’s all about just, like, giving back to the kids and helping them with the things I didn’t really have help with when I was a student, but also doing what I love,” Bishop said.
Bishop said his main goal for the event was to help students figure out what they want to do after graduation and give them “the courage to explore.”
“When I was in college,…I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, but the big thing is, like, having the courage just to start to try new things and find those passions and find what you really want,” Bishop said.
Hannah Burnworth, a senior majoring in sports management and a host of the event, said she was able to gain insight from other professionals at the event and expanded her view on how to use her degree beyond sports.
“I think that has been helpful and kind of letting me know that I don’t have to go straight into something, and I can take my time and forge my own path,” Burnworth said.
At the end of Bishop’s keynote speech, attendees filled out a “Dreamer’s Contract.” According to Baker, the contract is a way for students to write out their goals and their plans to achieve them.
Baker said the event had a networking opportunity with alumni and industry professionals to help students gain confidence and peace knowing that careers can go in different paths. Baker said networking is a major goal of events like “Pathways & Possibilities,” especially for young people.
“[Networking] puts you above so many other people who are older and don’t know how to network,” Baker said.
Burnworth said before the event, she was shy and that networking was a struggle for her, but being able to attend and host the event gave her confidence.
“When we think about our dreams, we oftentimes think about the things that we can get and acquire and have in our life, but really it’s about how, like, how can we serve and help others,…because I think that’s what fulfills us as human beings,” Bishop said.
