Victoria Funes on Life as a Young Professional in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge is a fantastic incubator for the young professionals and emerging leaders of the Gulf South. Our Leadership Development Intern, Victoria Funes, is busy navigating the college and early career landscape while networking and gaining key industry experience… and now she’s sharing her perspective and advice with fellow Capitol-area young leaders.
As an LSU student majoring in Management and Strategic Leadership, Victoria knew going into college that she wanted to learn how to be a good leader of people. A Baton Rouge-native, she was pleasantly surprised at the depth of experience and connections that could be made right in the place she grew up. Here’s how Victoria has gone about tapping into those resources in her home town.
Charting a Course as a Young Professional
Start Networking
No matter how early it is in your career journey, you can start now! As a rising junior at LSU, Victoria has been active in seizing opportunities through the business school to meet professionals in different fields. She emphasizes that this is especially important if you aren’t sure what you want to do after graduation. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up after college, so it’s important for me to be open minded and talk to a lot of people,” Victoria says. “Make those connections now, so you have opportunities when you are deciding what to do.”
Gain Respect by Building Relationships
Victoria currently serves as the VP of Learning and Development for her sorority, and she’s found that the best way to build trust and respect among her members is to form relationships with individuals.
“Starting college is a tough transition period for most people, and my job is to support these women in navigating the way forward. I focus on forming relationships with everyone to get a grasp on their needs, and then I come up with the best plan to help them develop in these formative years.”
Relationships built on trust are the most productive. Gaining experience in people management, by getting involved in active student organizations, is a great training ground for learning that leadership is about building the relationships that enable strong teamwork and smooth collaboration.
Lead through Learning
As a student and/or young professional, lean into the opportunities you have in front of you to prioritize learning and development. Victoria has found that leading and learning go hand in hand, and that talking to a wide variety of people about leadership helps her improve in her many roles. This will be true through every stage of your career journey: leadership is less about holding a certain position, and more about actively learning while trying to be better.
Seizing Opportunities in Baton Rouge
“Even being from here, I was still nervous to come to LSU and start my business major. I didn’t recognize anyone in my classes, and had to put myself out there to meet people in my major. This ended up being the best for me, because I met so many people I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
In her role at Success Labs, Victoria has also gained a front-row seat to what’s happening locally in the world of leadership and organizational development. In supporting the work of our coaches and consultants, she’s seen what goes into strategic planning and development for companies; including all of the relationship building involved in helping teams chart a path forward in a complex business environment. Victoria says that she “didn’t realize how much goes into coaching, how personalized it is. It’s all about building specific plans to help people reach their full potential.”
Victoria has dived into experiencing everything her home town has to offer a college student and young professional, and she’s excited about the journey ahead. Even without knowing exactly where she’ll end up, she’s already setting herself up for success by expanding her network, and learning while leading her peers. Wherever you are, put yourself out there and learn as much as you can about what’s happening around you – chances are, you’ll find a world of opportunity for your burgeoning career.
Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to grow leaders, build teams and drive results through great people strategy. Contact us to get proactive about expanding your company’s potential, and stay up-to-date with our latest news and leadership development updates here.