On February 27th I attended the ASPA student-professional dinner in Los Feliz hosted by Mark and Jane Pisano in their home. The evening discussion centered around the topic, "Career Opportunities in a Changing World" and the guest speaker for the event was Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director for the Southern California Association of Governments. The dinner was a huge success and I left the event feeling inspired, reinvigorated and full of desire to do more, both in my present role and beyond. 

Mr. Ikhrata's personal story was beyond motivating to me. He shared with us that despite numerous hardships, he managed to keep his focus on success. I could personally relate to his struggles as I am the first in my family to graduate from high school, go to college, and complete graduate studies. I was encouraged by Mr. Ikhrata's kind words for us recent graduates in the room. Several points he shared resonated with me, such as his advice to find a mentor who believes in you. I've done that in my own life and my mentor inspired me to get my master's and has helped with various recommendations. Mr. Ikhrata also told us: don't be afraid to fail - we all fail but we must get back up and try again; don't be afraid to share creative and innovative ideas even though they may not be the norm at our workplace, eventually someone will listen and recognize your "outside of the box" thinking. 

As a bit of background about myself, I worked for Cal State LA for 7 years in their Planning and Construction Department. I received my master's degree in December 2011 and joined the Red Cross in March 2012. I always have been and will continue to be in search of challenging yet rewarding experiences and opportunities. Leaving the student-professional dinner event that night with Mr. Ikhrata's words echoing in my mind, I resolved to do more in my current role at the Red Cross and start putting myself out there as opposed to staying back in the office - which I tend to do. I resolved to be creative and innovative in my current position and start taking on more projects in hopes of gaining a comprehensive perspective of the organization.

The day following the ASPA event, there was a meeting between the Red Cross and the Mexican Consulate which would renew the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations. Initially, I was going to stay back, but after listening to Mr. Ikhrata's words that evening, I felt truly inspired to get out there, put myself out there, do more, be seen more, get involved beyond my current scope of duties and decided to join the group for the meeting. I took an active role that day and couldn't be more grateful for the experience.  

Hearing Mr. Ikhrata share his story was inspirational and clearly made an immediate impact on my life, but along with the great speaker it was also the intimate nature of the event that made the student-professional dinner so special. Mr. and Mrs. Pisano were so generous in opening their home to us to host the dinner event. It was a true pleasure interacting with them and the other guests in such a warm and casual setting, and it was great to see Mr. Pisano again after having met him in 2008 when Dr. Siegrun Freyss recommended I interview him for a class assignment regarding the California Performance Review. 

The student-professional dinner I attended was truly a success. The dinner was delicious, the company was superb, and our speaker, Mr. Hasan Ikhrata, was inspirational.  I hope to see you all at the next ASPA student-professional dinner!

Above is a photo of the work meeting I attended after the student-professional dinner. I am third from the left next to the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, David Figueroa, and the Red Cross CEO, Paul Schulz. 

More about Johanna:

Johanna Bonillo received her Master of Science in Public Administration from CSULA in 2011, graduating with a 3.8 GPA and with Honors in Graduate Studies with recognition from the Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences. She is a member of the National Political Science Honor Society (Pi Sigma Alpha). Raised by an immigrant single-parent, Johanna is a first generation graduate. She maintained her high GPA throughout her master's program while working full-time and raising her young son. Johanna is currently the Executive Assistant to Paul Schulz, CEO of American Red Cross, Los Angeles Region.