How blue-collar parents taught me to succeed in the white-collar world.

This week, I will have the pleasure of speaking on a Hofstra University panel for high school students who have been accepted to the university's Lawrence Herbert School of Communications. I will be sharing my experience attending Hofstra and how it led me to where I am today, which naturally got me thinking about why I chose Hofstra in the first place and the lessons that my college experience taught me.

This is me on my first day at Hofstra with my roommate. I was there in pursuit of a career path that I had chosen for myself at age 17 – public relations. I had no idea what it was, but I declared my major in it and I remember telling people, "I'm going to be a public relations consultant!" Knowing the industry much better today, I would equate my vision at the time to brand management, social media and corporate communications.

I really wasn't intimidated by the opportunity to choose my life path at 17 because I am extremely goal-oriented. Although I envied my friends who took a gap year or time off after high school to travel, work or save money, college (for me) was my natural next step. I chose to major in public relations because my neighbor at the time worked in the industry and told me one time in passing that I would be good at it. At 17 and on a deadline, that was all the reason I needed.

My parents – Nancy and George – were extremely supportive of me during the college search and application process, but their expertise in the area was limited. George didn't go to college. He is a first-generation American; his mom was from Ukraine and his father was from Belarus. He has worked for the United States Postal Service as a mechanic for decades; he will be retiring this July at 62 years young! When my brother Connor and me were growing up, my dad worked overnights and had weekends off, which he religiously spent going on adventures with us. When I was applying for college, he would often email me articles about the best entry-level jobs and top-earning careers. PR rarely made those lists.

Nancy studied art history and theater in college, went to beauty school, and continued her education in hair, cosmetics, skincare, permanent make-up, and many other specialties over the years. In addition to being a mom, she mostly worked for herself doing hair and makeup for weddings so she could set her own schedule and raise Connor and me. In my college search process, mom often told me to go to community college to get my pre-reqs over with and live at home to save money. As an adult with student loans, I understand where she was coming from, but at 17 it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

My childhood and watching my parents work and raise us definitely inspired my professional path. In addition to my mom's beauty career, she was a band manager –?OUR band manager. We grew up as professional musicians in a family band called Dugan's Hooligans.

This was me at the very beginning, a photo that my mom landed on the cover of an Irish music magazine at the time.

As our band manager and agent, Nancy was booking paying gigs for us starting when I was 7 and my brother was 9. She sent out email blasts, posted all over social media, hung up flyers, sent out CDs, pitched reporters to interview my brother and me, and so much more. She wrote scripts and programs to keep our audiences engaged. Nancy knew how to pack the house and keep them coming back, which taught me a very valuable lesson in business – a good impression early on will translate into profits and repeat customers.

I had the privilege of growing up in a great town where most families had been going to college for generations and parents paid for their kids' educations. For me, this was not the case. I grew up watching two very smart, hard-working people make the best life for themselves and their children while having fun in the process. They raised us in the best town that they could so we would be surrounded by community, arts, and culture. They gave us instruments, something that taught us early lessons in discipline, and they inspired us to stick with them through all the trials and tribulations of being a kid. All along the way, they made sure we knew that no matter what path we wanted to take, they would support us.

So, at the age of 17 when I was suddenly responsible for choosing my life path, my parents and community supported me and guided me, but I was in charge. I found an institution that allowed me to grow personally and professionally; a successful career that has continued to challenge me, as well as bring me pride, joy, and fulfillment; and a network of people I had never met before who have been instrumental in choosing my direction.

The greatest lesson I took away from college was realizing what the experience was for and how it could apply to the rest of my life. It was a place where I learned how to learn, and continue learning. I learned to take responsibility for my actions, and I learned how much hard work and dedication it takes to carve out space for yourself where you want to be.

In reflecting on the experience, here are some of the other lessons I wish to pass on to the future Herbert School graduates at Hofstra.

1. College was not a trade school that guaranteed me a job once I graduated; I had to work hard and plan for that. College was giving me the skills and network I needed to land it.
2. College did not start when I arrived on campus, it started when I was researching and applying to schools. I learned very valuable lessons and skills in applying to college that could not be taught in a classroom.
3. College was not just in the classroom,?the classroom was one small piece of the college experience.
4. College was not a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was an experience that gave me the confidence to make every big life decision that has followed.

Every high school graduate who chooses to go to college should do so with confidence in the decisions that got them there and ready to embrace the opportunity they manifested for themselves. Every college graduate should leave with an arsenal of professional and personal skills that help guide them through the many big life decisions they will need to make in their future.

As we emerge from this pandemic and continue to conquer the economic and social challenges that it leaves in its wake, we have learned that things change very fast. There are never any guarantees; there is no one school or degree will make you automatically successful in life. That said, in my personal experience, if you lead a curious, confident and purpose-driven life, you'll find yourself on the right path more often than not.