Inspiring the Next Generation and Finding Your Passion

As I take a moment to observe my surroundings, it becomes clear that there are similarities within my generation's priorities and the direction industries are beginning to value largely. For myself, I'm completing my final term as an undergraduate and preparing to enter into the work force. Considering the future of work, we cannot help but think about the importance of company culture. But as someone evaluating culture, there is something for organizations and individuals to consider. While it is important for individuals to be a culture fit, how are we taking the responsibility to understand the underlying ideals that continue to motivate and inspire the next generation? There is a shift in the focus of organizations to invite employers to bring more of their everyday self to the workplace. The creation of a diverse and inclusive environment becomes critical to long-term success.

Having the opportunity as a LinkedIn Campus Editor and through my involvement as a LinkedIn Local Host, I strive to understand individuals beyond the surface level. I have been able to learn from a diverse group of students, all unique in their own. In doing so, we can better understand what inspires them to achieve success and how others can find their passion.

Here are the student voices of my generation sharing their inspiration:

"My biggest inspirations in life are my mother and grandfather (who I call ?ng) -- my mother for giving me the strength to challenge myself in life and grandfather for giving me the power to be compassionate towards others and myself. Together, their presence in my life have shown me what resilience looks like in order to overcome challenges. It was through spending my childhood with these two important people that have shaped my intention for integrating compassion in everything I do, whether that’s at work, school, in relationships, and with myself. This passion has allowed me to connect with those around me on a deeper level and approach the present moment with a great sense of clarity." - Elisa Tran

"At the age of 16, my mom opened her first store in Vietnam managing women who were 30 years older than her. Coming to America, she set goals on when she would get a house, own a business, build an orphanage, and, now, how many houses she’ll own before retirement.

Seeing her be the sole provider for a family of eight domestically, and tons more back in Vietnam, instilled the values of hard work and altruism. Despite finding so much success, she’s continued to work 352 out of 356 days a year for over 14 years.

I am passionate about social mobility, sustainability, public service, and community development. These passions all intertwine with policy and law. Ever since I was young I loved helping people and, at young age, discovered that being nice and compassionate gets you farther in life and makes you feel better! Since then, I’ve continued to invest my time in giving back to my community. I make it a priority to do so! " - Truong Xe 

"The ocean inspires me because of how much of it is unknown - yet without it, humans would not survive.

Coming into college, I was pretty excited to learn about everything I could. Blockchain was one of those off topics that was never covered in any of my classes, yet I found myself reading more and more each day about its revolutionary applications. I think that blockchain became one of my passions after I landed my first consulting gig with a small company that wanted to integrate blockchain in its business model.

I realized quickly that where education is lacking, demand for that knowledge is quite high. Hence, why I love the oceans so much! Because we know so little about them, yet they are so important in understanding many of life’s processes." - Ryan Eshaghi

"Growing up, I always had a love for the arts and being creative. When I started college, I realized that I wanted to keep my love for the arts and apply it to the real world. This is where I found my passion for marketing.

I loved marketing because it combined my passion for the arts and my degree in economics. I wanted to find a way to harness my creative potential and I found it through marketing.

It’s really about just finding your inner happiness. My mom is my inspiration. Coming from India as an immigrant at the young age of 16 to being CFO of a publicly traded company, she has shown me that there are no bounds and that anything you set your mind to, you will achieve. I am who I am because of her." - Priyanka Desai 

"Looking back at my time here at UCI, I would not have been able to achieve and accomplish all things that I did without a diverse network of supportive friends, internal drive/motivation, and inspiration from mentors and role models.

A constant in my life has been fitness and weight training. Fitness not only allowed me to improve physically, but also transformed me into a stronger and better version of myself mentally through the discipline and work ethic needed to keep it up.

The training had allowed me to grow in many aspects of my life like academics, social relationships, and overall emotional well-being. This has allowed me to stay determined to complete my undergraduate education and pursue work in the medical device industry to advance lifesaving medical technologies to improve the quality of life of people suffering from disease." - Kevin Jiang

"Leading two tech startups (Rest EZ and Augma), I’ve realized my inspiration stems from innovation. When I am able to see an idea, refine it, and then bring it to market, it creates a sense of accomplishment in me. I will continue to bring ideas into tangible goods and I am lucky to have found my passion this early on." - Savianno Iglesias

Needless to say, much of our inspiration lies from the charisma and values instilled from our loved ones. We are a generation that embraces the unknown while remaining curious, action-driven, and community orientated. These are just some of the trailblazers that will contribute to our global workforce.

Finding Your Passion.

When making your next big decision, we often evaluate our own values and beliefs. We begin to question if our choices will align with our core passions. Throughout this past year, I've taken several moments to take a step back to reflect and re-evaluate on many of my soon-to-be decisions. While there is no uniform way to find your passion, here are six pieces of advice from our above student voices that may provide guidance in finding your clarity:

1. Don't feel pressured to make it a difficult journey - it can simply start from within. Passion, to me, is the intersection of what you value and what unconditionally excites you.
2. Trust yourself - If you think you’re qualified for something, then do it. Consider every opportunity that comes your way and never let anyone convince you that you can’t.
3. Ask questions that are interesting to you - Do the work to figure out some of those answers yourself. If you like doing something, continue to do it, but don’t stop learning about it! 
4. Look to people you can depend on as well as what truly makes you happy. 
5. Get Involved - Find something such as a hobby or interest that gets you up everyday and internally drives you to perform at a level that will get you to success.
6. Experiment - Don’t be afraid to dip your feet in something you have never done before! Keep trying different things and don’t be afraid to jump to the next thing if you truly think its in your best interest.

Ultimately, curiosity and the willingness to learn drives success.

What inspires you to be successful? And do you think employers should be responsible to learn about employees beyond the workplace?

#StudentVoices #MyInspiration #Culture

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Germain Louie is an aspiring marketer, senior at the University of California, Irvine, and LinkedIn Campus Editor. He is also the host of LinkedIn Local Orange County and enjoys sharing about topics on Gen Z, social impact and technology, mental health awareness, and professional development. To learn more or get in contact with Germain, visit www.germainlouie.com.