Jen F.
Title: Professional Speaker
Professional Training and Coaching
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, minor in Theatre Arts, and Certificate in Journalism from Loyola Marymount University
Los Alamitos, CA, USA
Biography
Jen Fitzgerald is a former admissions counselor turned professional speaker who applies the insights gained from advising thousands of students during the college admissions process to networking and career exploration. Her roles with schools like Virginia Commonwealth University, a large public research university; The American University of Paris, a small private international liberal arts university; and Harvey Mudd College, a small private liberal arts college with a STEM focus, showed her the importance of building relationships by applying concepts of friendship to networking. Former clients include San Antonio Regional Hospital, Project Management Institute: California Inland Empire, and University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. Jen graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, a minor in Theatre Arts, and Certificate in Journalism.
Passion
I am a people person who loves building relationships, and I even have a guilty pleasure for personality tests. According to Myers Briggs, I'm an ENFJ. My Harry Potter House is Hufflepuff, and my "Sparketype" is Performer. My astrological trio is Gemini Rising, Taurus Sun, and Sagittarius Moon. When I took Strengths Quest both in college and over ten years later, my strongest strength is Harmony.
My hobbies include going to Improv class on Monday nights, Trivia on Wednesday nights, and Pure Barre yoga a few times per week. I am a huge fan of the ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series and converted my closet into a recording studio to narrate audiobooks. I also enjoy international travel, sex education, and the simple things in life like reorganizing my home.
From dogsledding in Finland to meditating at sound baths, I am willing to try anything at least once, but my ultimate passion is speaking. I come alive when I'm on stage and find ways to connect with the audience through storytelling. I am fortunate to have a strong support network cheering me on, including my husband, cats, and lizards.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
Everything is negotiable
Topics
Best Story
Have you ever sat next to someone eating a fragrant snack on an airplane?
A few months ago, I took a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles where the woman sitting next to me opened a blue bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. As a fan of the red bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, I take audience members through my thought process while I'm on this plane, smelling the fumes of her snack. I realized it's better to approach people with curiosity instead of judgment because curiosity leads to asking questions and finding commonalities that bind people together.
Origin Story
As a child, I overcame a stuttering impediment. I value speaking because there was a time I could not speak. I also took modeling and acting classes to gain confidence.
When I was 14, I attended a youth conference where I listened to dozens of professional speakers. I felt so inspired by their storytelling and vulnerability that I instinctively knew I wanted to be a professional speaker someday.
Fast forward to college graduation, I met a high school counselor at a wedding who inspired me to begin a career in college admissions because it combined everything I love to do into one job. I was an admissions counselor for eight years before pivoting to become a professional speaker. Just like I did as a recent college graduate, I am once more combining everything I love to do into one job, but this time, my title is Professional Speaker.
Example talks
SIGNATURE TALK- Beyond Contacts: Network to Make Real Connections
Presentation Summary Description
Instead of thinking about networking as making a business connection, think about it as creating a friendship. Demonstrate interest in others during networking efforts to build relationships in the same way you would make a friend. The FACE Framework (Familiarity, Authenticity, Curiosity, and Elasticity) leads to building relationships in any setting, establishing trust along the way. Networking is most successful when we sell ourselves as people that others want to collaborate with. Prioritize concepts of friendship in networking efforts to ignite organic business initiatives and collaborations. You are the FACE of your organization!
Learning Objectives
- Familiarity: Establish trust with others by attending networking events, coordinating programs, and leading organizations.
- Authenticity: Find your people who support you along your journey by sharing who you are, including your stories and life experiences.
- Curiosity: Ask questions to learn about others, find commonalities to better relate to each other, and connect what you learn back to your organization.
- Elasticity: Personalize networking efforts by analyzing the environment you’re in and the people you’re interacting with.
Key Takeaways
- Networking is most successful when we sell ourselves as people before collaborating as colleagues.
- Get to know people for who they are – not what they can do for you – by applying concepts of friendship to networking.
- Instead of focusing on making contacts, focus on making connections!
Audience
Customizable to various industries, timing, and sizes of audiences
SAMPLE CUSTOMIZABLE KEYNOTE- Connecting with Colleges: Building Relationships during the College Admissions Process
Presentation Summary Description
Demonstrated Interest is defined as points of contact students make with universities. When students get to know the people within universities, they are better able to decide if the universities are a great fit for them. Using the FACE Framework (Familiarity, Authenticity, Curiosity, and Elasticity) during the admissions process enables admissions counselors to attach a FACE to the name of the student in their application. Building relationships through Demonstrated Interest is the foundation of the admissions process.
Learning Objectives
- Familiarity: Narrow down your college search by considering what you want out of your college experience, including Location, Size, Major, Student Life, and Price.
- Authenticity: Connect with admissions counselors, current students, alumni, and faculty to get a sense of the people you would be surrounding yourself with at the university.
- Curiosity: Ask questions about the university to discover if it aligns with your interests, goals, and values. Use the information learned to make an informed decision about colleges to apply to.
- Elasticity: Be flexible in highlighting how you fit into the university through personalizing your application via essays and Demonstrated Interest.
Key Takeaways
- Building relationships through Demonstrated Interest is the foundation of the admissions process. Adding a FACE to your name personalizes the admissions process.
- When making decisions about universities to attend, it’s not about finding the perfect fit, but about finding a great fit.
- Discover a great fit through connecting with the people who make up the university.
Audience
High School or Community College Students
Breakout Activity: Speed Friending
Premise: Audience members will split into pairs and sit in a circle formation. The Speaker will announce a random word, and each pair will have 2 minutes to discuss a story in their life or fact about themselves pertaining to this word. Every two minutes, one of the members of each pair will move in a clockwise fashion until they complete the circle. The Speaker will give a new word for discussion every two minutes.
Point: Boost relatability, memorability, and likeability through finding what they have in common with others as they learn about each other as people.