The city is officially starting to open back up so make sure you take advantage of everything it has to offer!

This month is Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month and we want to bring to light the hate and discrimination that they have been facing. This time last year we were discussing the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, hoping that some justice would be served while urging the world to take the plight of Black Americans seriously. We were offered a small victory with the conviction of Derek Chauvin, but we still have a long way to go. We told the world then that hate has no place here and that sentiment still stands. Asian Americans have a rich history in America and it has not always been a pretty picture from internment camps to exclusionary practices. We ask that you make sure you are part of the solution and not the problem. We are stronger together!

Although COVID-19 cases are slowing down in Illinois it is still extremely important that you protect yourself and consider getting the vaccine. The vaccine reduces your risk of contracting the infection with all of the available vaccines being over 60% effective. The vaccine has also been shown to reduce the chances of serious illness if you were to contract COVID-19.

With the vaccine, additional opportunities such as travel will also become more accessible to you as several countries such as France are allowing vaccinated visitors from the United States only. Some schools are starting to make vaccines mandatory for attendance as well, so for all our future college students, it will be essential for you. In addition to travel abilities, you will also be working towards reducing the need for masks and less restrictions when outside. There are several ways to get a vaccine so don't wait. Book an appointment now!

It's common knowledge that people expect you to have a plan after college, to know where your next move will be but that's not always the case. Graduating in a pandemic only made planning my next move all the much harder. Receiving notices that jobs were on a hiring freeze became commonplace but due to networking and connections I was able to get a position with my current startup, AboveBoard. AboveBoard is an executive hiring marketplace that focuses on helping underrepresented executives land C-suite and Board roles. As much as I love what I do its nothing like what I envisioned for myself when choosing my college major. A majority of the people in my company were the same, studying things that have nothing to do with what they are doing now and thats perfectly okay. It's okay to not have a plan, to have a plan that changes, or to have several plans. As many have said before it's the journey that counts. So next time someone asks you what your plan is say that you don't know but you're excited to find out.