 Well, good morning to everyone and welcome and thank you for coming this morning for this very special seminar by Dr. Megan Lewis. We're going to have a couple introductions. I'll give an introduction on Megan and some of the work that she's done and the accomplishment she's had over the years. I think one of the accomplishments she did was surviving working on the barley program with me. I was just saying I see one of our former technicians here I was going to bring the other one back and we could relive short row harvest it doesn't matter if you know that or not but by that time I harvest everybody hates everybody. So, but no it's great to see Megan and all she's done. Right now Megan serves as the bear crop science equipment and automated field sensing lead in her role she oversees the development validation global deployment and logistics optimization of high impact, digital digital tools and sensors. Megan is an award winning scientific leader and stem advocate. She has received multiple recognitions, including being named an American Association for the advancement of science, if an ambassador. Des Moines business records 40 under 40 seed worlds 2022 future leader of the seed industry, and was recently appointed by the Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to serve on the south central regional stem advisory board. Megan is a stem education outreach fanatic ID and E, which is inclusion diversity and equity advocate serves as board member of the Science Center of Iowa, as a co leader of her local 4h clover kids chapter. I think just seeing Megan once she's done over the years and really her advocacy is really something I was always really impressed with, especially advocating science for women of all ages from girls all the way to adults and it's just fantastic to see. And I think mentoring those individuals because it's a completely different, you know, things that that to have to handle and I think they really need someone to talk to and Megan's really been able to mentor them through those, those challenges. Megan holds a PhD in plant breeding and genetics from North from NDSU and an MS and BBS degrees from the University of Minnesota. She resides in Des Moines, Iowa with her husband and two daughters. I love this part the Lewis family enjoys hiking catching frogs. That's cool. Good for you, identifying insects tumbling rocks traveling and playing piano and NDSU football. So I know Jane you want to say a few words I was going to say I remember when Megan was thinking of coming to NDSU Dr Decker knew I was going to be down at U of M for a meeting and he asked like just meet with you, talk to you about some of the opportunities for for grad school. And I said, Sure, I'll meet with her. And then I had just, you know, just talking with her you see the enthusiasm and the drive and as like I got to find some money. Hopefully she'll pick my project to come work on and I'm so grateful you did so thank you so much. Thank you. Well as is often the case. Thank you for finding the money rich because that was a really important thing. So I'm Jane shoe. I'm the director of special initiatives for agricultural affairs at NDSU. And it is my pleasure to welcome you back, Megan back home. One of the things that I think is really important about who we are in North Dakota, and who we are at NDSU particularly is here is a person who has has done great work. And, and when you talk to her, you recognize that that all of that work is really rooted in the foundation of where she's from. I knew Megan's dad very well in science fair and worked with him for many years all the way back to the time that I was a graduate student at NDSU. And when I met Megan again this last summer, she was coming coming through just to say hi to some friends. I'm just like, Dr shoe I remember you. And that was really cool because you see the generation to generation to generation and how we're connected. I love the fact that here is a person who has just done wonderful things in her career so far as a very young professional still. And when she is on the on the cover of an international journal. Her first thing is, let's reach back to NDSU and say, Hey, I would love to come and talk to your students. I don't have to be in the ballroom. I don't have to be on the big stage. I could come and talk to your students in class if you wanted me to. That's very impressive. And it just it reflects all of the good things that I know about you Megan, and we are just absolutely thrilled to have you here and ignite your spark uplifting the next generation of leaders in agriculture. Please help me and welcoming our speaker Megan Lewis. Wow, I have to give you a hug. Wow, that was amazing introduction. I'm done they covered it perfectly. Now I am really honored and excited to be here today. I see current buys in I see future buys in I see future leaders I see future scientists I see current scientists. We together make the world a better place so just thank you for what you do and let's dive in and ignite your spark. It's really important sometimes we get these speakers and we don't know who they are, and I threw in some surprise photos for some guests in the audience today, but it's really about where we grew up, and my roots are in North Dakota. I was grateful and lucky to grow up in my dad's science lab, and my mom and dad both educators community trailblazers. They taught me at a young age to make every interaction count. They taught me the impact that leaders and pillars can have on communities, not just locally but worldwide. And for that, I'm grateful. A fun story, and I'm sure my brother will smile in the audience, but this probably changed me from a science perspective is when you swab a water fountain handle and you can look at all the beautiful colors on the Petri dish. Yes, it's wicked cool at science, but then germaphobe Megan then you know arises so it gave me a good appreciation and understanding of science. And that I'm grateful. The fun thing about today is that I didn't always think that I was for sure going to go into science I wanted to do so much like any of you in the audience today. I love music, I was opera senior percussion piano, I love science but at a point in my career I had a pause and say hey, I want to give back to the farmers I want to give back to where my roots were and I want to give back to help feed the growing population. And then that was the decision that really launched my journey as a global agriculture leader. So just a quick overview, it just wanted to say hey go bison, I have a PhD in plant breeding and genetics, but I also have a degree and most in the room know in college education. I thought for sure, I was going to be a professor, I was going to live in North Dakota, my entire life and I was going to be so happy. NDSU taught me to embrace the unknown. NDSU taught me to be adaptable, be flexible. I'm looking at one of the key leaders today too that taught me hey you need to step outside your comfort zone and go get it. And for that I'm grateful, saying yes to what activity outside my comfort zone every year this was a big year, you know from Corteva to Bayer I'm grateful. It makes us stronger leaders, stronger scientists and develops a broad knowledge set. So I just want to say that yes I was on the track to stay North Dakota be a professor, but I'm happy I took a chance. I'm happy that I went out to see the world, and I'm happy that I was able to bring my family, my coworkers, leaders, peers, mentors along with me, because that's critical. I would not be where I am today without the phenomenal support of bear crop science leaders, mentors, employees, but also my NDSU support, my North Dakota support and most importantly, my family support. So this is fun. You know they said hey Megan just tell us a quick, a quick journey analysis of your career. I said, Oh, this is good. I needed to put this on the slide because it has been dynamic because I did choose to step outside my comfort zone, and just to go get it so these are fun photos I sprinkled in. And this shows the journey of what I'm really grateful for. So yes, PhD plant breeding genetics, I'm ready to conquer the world. I was so excited to start out as a soybean breeder and Grand Forks North Dakota. It then transitioned really fast into a corn breeder position in Breckerage, Minnesota. So if you know plant breeders, and to be real honest here, you know, actually get a PhD we get excited, we're like we're going to conquer the world we got this. My first day as a corn breeder, I showed up in my company vehicle, I was ready to make selections, I was ready to meet my team, and they handed me a broom. They meeting my boss, my leader, and said, Hey, go sweep the back room and come back in a couple of hours. Okay at the time, let's be real. I was like, What? Oh, Dr. Megan, you just handed me a broom. What are you doing? And it was the best two hours of my entire life. I swept the floor with contract workers from all over the world that new agriculture and breeding better than I did. I was able to connect with them on a deep level. I was able to grow with them. And then that made us a stronger team. The secret to success is not about I I it's really about we. It's about how do you help your partner, your team, get to the next level how do you inspire them and elevate them. And most importantly, how do you champion them. And a full circle for that story, when our father passed away and unexpectedly in 2013, we shook thousands of hands, but I can tell you the hands that I remember shaking. Were those are the contract workers that swept the floor with me on day one in 2012. And so that just shows the power of servant leadership, and the power of stepping outside your comfort zone meeting new people and making every interaction count. Okay, so now for the fun stuff. So in 2013, I then got connected with and they said Megan I'm a corn breeder. Can you drive me around sunflower fields. Now this was executives at Dowager Sciences at the time. Absolutely. But why are you having a corn breeder show you some flower I said, Oh, what's going on you know I thought worst case scenario like I know I'm different I'm a black sheep of breeders and it turned out to be positive. Dowager Sciences saw that I had passion for people. In 2013 I began my people leadership journey. And that's where we relocated to here on South Dakota. The team and I built a multimillion dollar research facility from the ground up. I was a corn breeder eyes leading corn breeders. And then also I picked up winter nursery activities in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Chile and Mexico. Fantastic. The sites have been running. We connected with farmers. We have a testing footprint established South Dakota. Fast forward four years. The family and I then relocated to get hungry. It's about two hours south of Budapest. This was a fun. Again, step outside my comfort zone and saying yes. I led research and commercial for corn and sunflower across Europe, and I met amazing individuals with amazing inspirational just goal. And that was awesome time we get back stateside. And then we announced that the merger so Dowager Sciences and pioneer they merged together to form Corteva. I'm grateful for my journey at Corteva. I have a lot of amazing mentors and leaders along the way. And this is where we relocated in Northern Iowa for a quick stint to help with merger activities. And then relocated to the headquarters of Corteva at that time in Des Moines, Iowa. And then this is where I again stepped out my side my comfort zone. So I was plant breeder plant breeder but in 2019 I chose crop protection. As a breeder we sprayed stuff, but I didn't understand the end to end deployment and formulation of that. And so I chose to go be green and growing, go continuous learning. And this is where I dove into technology this is the cool part. This is where people know Dr. Megan as dancing with spot the robot or drones but most importantly, this is where I got to build up my global networks at a deeper level, because it's all about the people. It's all about the global innovation for about three years. And then, eventually, I got into my, you know, this is a very, very, very awesome story because I was grateful for where where I was at Corteva. It was fantastic. Look at the journey, six company relocations, lots of opportunities not just siloed in science but I could be a people leader. I was hungry for more. I wanted to be green and growing I wanted to meet more people I wanted to learn a new culture. And I wasn't looking, but the right time the right place. This amazing leader at bear crop science who is now my leader today. He inspired me. I met him probably probably two years ago. And usually you're like hey not right time not right place, and people can ignore you. But this higher up leader paused and said you know what Megan you're going to change the world someday. So when we connected, I knew it was the right time the right place to make this big jump. And I'm happy I did because now I found a culture where I get to be me. I get to bring my best version to work every single day and that's what we're going to find for all of you today is how do we find your strengths and elevate you and get you to the next level. So a bear crop science today. I'm an equipment and automated field sensing lead and just really briefly rich describe my role very well so just kind of highlight it's really about the development validation and global deployment of high impact digital tools. That's my day job. I'm always a mom I have two daughters. I'm really big on family, and then my night job is stem outreach. And so just really thinking about how do we inspire a future generation to go get it and be their best versions. And so then my husband and I we co founded a stem camp. I'm on the Science Center of Iowa board, and then also a co leader of four age that was a new one for me. We bring science in for five to eight year olds. Fun fact, if you have never been through a questioning with five and eight year olds after a science experiment, I think you need to, because I did master's defense, I did PhD defense and I can tell you the hardest question that I got with probably in April of 2022. When a five year old kept asking me why, why, why, why is this why how does this work. It just makes you think at things a deeper level so I challenge all of you to really connect with our future generation because they are hungry. For innovation and curiosity and they're ready to go get it. Some recent recognitions I'm really proud of and honored rich covered very well but the fun one that just came up is now I get to take stem to the next level by working with the governor of Iowa. And how can we make sure that stem is considered across the state of Iowa and all school sizes small large and also represent agriculture technology. Okay, so this is a fun team I know a lot of them are tuning in from St. Louis today so hello and a lot of our tuning in from the combine driving up. Last night, this is a fun story again I have many fun stories we'll figure it out, but really I as my husband is driving let's be real I was not driving, and I was just talking and working, and then all sudden I met with the South Dakota team and I said hey drop me your pin. And they dropped me the pin of where they were working because a lot of our team right now we're out working long hours, hard hours, focus on safety and they're combining. So it's happy to see some of that in action last night. So just want to say thank you to the farmers and thank you to the scientists that weren't able to be here today because they are providing high quality data for us, and they're making us do what we can do. So those are just some fun photos. Welcome to Lewis hybrids did you all catch that. I was at a production facility. Okay, no, there's some head shaking. I said production facility the far left. And I was so excited because I'm like Lewis hybrids my name is Megan Lewis so it was pretty fun. I loved it. So NDS you asked me hey if you remember one thing from NDS you now we're going to start your journey enough about Megan. Now we focus on all of you. One thing that really resonated with you. And it was Dr. Richard Horsley. Yes right I'm calling you out. And you know as grad students you have lots of highs and lows and you're just trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up I'm still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up will figure it out someday. But one thing that stuck with me is I used to use the word failure. I used to use it for this, but maybe you do. And I was in his office and he said hey you have to stop focusing on the word failure and start calling it unexpected result. And I loved it. It really just helped me think about failure differently, and this different mindset putting positivity and energy boosting to learning was inspirational. And NDS you asked me to provide a quote it's really about how do we focus and embrace unexpected results. And with that mindset. Thank you rich I've been able to step outside my comfort zone be adaptable be flexible, not afraid to challenge a status quo and just enjoyed the journey. This is just a quick update sometimes photos are better than just words out of slide and just spoken. And these are my two daughters I don't know if there's a pointer, maybe there is. These are my two daughters they're my pride and joy. So, really when my mom was on the big screen they were so excited CBS Miranda Cosgrove. Let's be real they're probably more excited to see Miranda Cosgrove, but they were like hey that's my mom and they loved it and so this is to show who I am as I know that I don't lose my roots of where I am and I don't lose what's important to me. I did lose it for questioning we can talk about it. I'm not perfect. In my, my journey is not all rainbows, sprinkles and gum drops, there was bumps, there was detours but what I can say is that I always kept to the drive, and I persevered. And it was not easy and I hope all of you can get inspired today to go activate your best version as well. And Dr. Megan statue is fun. You know, this is, I was really excited the fun story on Instagram they're like Megan you're on the Washington Post. I was really excited I'm looking all over and I'm like my back sides on the Washington post, but I'll take it inside took that as a win. The life side statue if you are going to be in Dallas, Texas, you can go see Dr. Megan statue at the arboretum, and it's going to be there till this December 30 if I believe of this year, and it's a traveling exhibit. Big rocks. I don't see too many pens and papers that's okay I have homework and in these seminars so this is fun. Big rocks. Big rocks are critical I wish somebody they asked me what do you wish individuals would have told you early on. I wish individuals would have told me to focus on my big rocks and prioritize and make decisions off of those big rocks. And I'll tell you why. So as you're sitting on your table today, what are your big rocks. What are those non negotiable solid pillars that you make decisions off of that you are not going to flex because this is core to who you are and what you do. Here are my four big rocks. Family, non negotiable. And I have this amazing employee that I work with hi Monica I know she's probably tuning in, and she helps me elevate and enhance this segment of my life to always ensure that work life balance is a critical component on my calendar and everyday life. I love innovation. I'm a learner I love learning. I love the ability to think about how can we make our farmers more sustainable and productive. How do we protect our natural resources and how do we enhance embrace new technology and help our farmers do the same. Outrage you probably picked up future generation if we empower our children to unleash their creativity and innovation, our world and the communities that we live in are going to be a better place. So that's super critical in my realm, and then global connectivity. So just really thinking about I, it's an energy booster to meet individuals from different countries, different areas because they teach me something. It's really inspirational here diversity of thought, because I love being challenged my team knows this if I'm not getting challenged I will pause the meeting and say challenge me, because I want the creativity in the safe space for people to be their best version. So now I ask all of you, what are your big rocks. And if you haven't thought about this, this is a really critical exercise, because once you know your big rocks, you make decisions, and you make decisions and I'll walk through some tips and tricks. And Anna Maria had me put this photo this is stepping outside my comfort zone. And so this is not a photo that I would be comfortable going this is from the seed world magazine photoshoot so thank you Anna for for allowing me to step outside, but there's some really critical elements here. What I find I've mentored over 300 individuals throughout my life I mentor 45 currently today across the globe. And one thing that stands out is that we tend to get stuck in construction zones. And so we need to make sure that we're polishing our big rocks. We don't want our big rocks to crumble where we feel like we have to continually rebuild. We want our big rocks to be present we want to live our big rocks, so that we can polish not rebuild. I know my life, my opinion has changed for the better. And it just made me who I am today, some fun tips and tricks because everyone always likes hey you have some Megan insight that you can provide. I have two cell phones. And I know that we've had this debate with some of my awesome bear colleagues on the table but I have two phones personal and professional. And I do this I actually lock my professional phone in the garage in a class not lock but a plastic tote, just to show the divider of this is family time. This is where I focus on my family quality and then this is work time. And then take it out at night and call India China and just dive into more connections but two phones have really helped me weekly calendar review. I review it and I don't review it just to say hey what do I have going on. I review it to make sure everything on my calendar lines up with my big rocks. And if it doesn't, I'm okay saying no, I said no last year 363 times. And I'm pretty proud of that because before that people that know me, I am so afraid to say no, but it's really good to focus on you and use your time wisely. I do focus time so if you see my calendar internally you'll see focus time, I do focus time because I need a chance to to work. It's just the immediate but a chance to make sure that I think about what could be a chance to innovate a chance to read a chance to stay continuous learning 120%. So as you think about it I want all of you and I'll call a brave champion to tell me your big rocks at the end so everybody's now going to move their eyes to the floor that's totally fine. But really think about your big rocks and how do you live them. And now the another thing is, I always get asked about brand. What is your brand. Oh, because your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. Your brand isn't what you're saying about me in front of my face today like oh she's energetic she's smiling but what are you going to say about me. As I exit the door. And so that's something that you have to really think about. This is the next fun activity so strength finder this is a fun one so you have your big rocks I see some people writing awesome. And this helped me because I had a separate out at a point in my career. What do I love to do. What does the world need for me. How can I monetize my skills and then what are my strengths. I love these diagrams they're learning about them in school right now, but this really resonated with me because I did find some unbalance of hey. Do I have a good mixture a good balance and then am I thinking about things strategically and am I setting myself up for success, or am I setting myself up for burnout. Dead serious. So this is something that I always think about and what are my strengths and it's around your passion your profession what is the world need for me, my calling I love people. I know I'm a scientist I usually get called the black sheep of plant breeders but I love people being around people as an energy booster helping people soar seeing them just skyrocket past me is the true adrenaline booster. And then also thinking about you know your passion your mission like what gets you up out of the morning. What are you so excited to do that you're not going to hit this news button that you're going to go activate your best version, and you're going to go get it. So this is something I want all of you to do is think about what are your balancing. Do you have your passion mission profession and calling highlighted. Do you know what it is, and then as a balance. So strengths are really important. When you think about strengths, you have to invest in yourself. Now this is the interactive moment where you all get to answer and I get asked fun questions, but how many CTO and CEO positions exist in the company go one one right. So one you got to think about this this is how I break it down with my mentees to understand what do they want to do, what activates them what gets them excited and out of bed in the morning. One, so in a qualified candidate pool. How are you standing out students, future students graduate students professors, how are you standing out. Any bold volunteers, because then the next question is, are you standing out for the right reasons, based on where you want to go in your journey. Your brand is your brand aligned with your aspirations of where you want to go. What are your top strengths. Importantly, are you able to share your top strengths with me in 30 seconds. So that if you get anything out of today I'm looking at all these bright students is give Dr. Megan your 30 second elevator speech. And I really mean this you never know who you're going to meet in the elevator, you never know who you're going to meet in the grocery store. You don't even know walking through the Memorial Union I got to meet amazing bear colleagues from Canada I was so excited right. And you need to be sure that your message in your brand resonates when you have those interactions. So who's the ball volunteer who wants to share your top strengths your introduction with me in 30 seconds I do have a stopwatch. Right, but that's a critical thing to think about and I'm still working on mine because this is really important this is about making every interaction account, especially if you go to the career fair, and you're going to meet industry professionals we're going to meet and shake thousands of hands. How are you standing out, how are you saying, besides the awesome NDSU gear, like I'm a bison, how are you standing out and are you standing out for the right reason. So just really think about that I won't call anybody out yet. But think about that, and really practice and refine your intro that highlights your strengths highlights your big rocks, tied all together that I know your mission your vision and your passion. That's a lot in 30 seconds, I know. So some strength finders, I thought that this is just fun to put in here just to talk about where do you line up, and then I'm going to quiz you to see if you all can figure out where I line up. So we have strategic thinking relationship building executing influencing. Are you some fun characteristics, are you analytical, are you futuristic, are you positive, are you later, are you adaptable, are you achiever are you consistent are you deliberative. Are you an activator are you commander. So looking at these four does anybody feel confident like just show of hands like where you think you lined up on the graph. Are you strategic influencer executing relationship building one two and three love it. I kind of laugh where I end up in the middle. And that's okay right because then you have to figure out okay. So what strengths do I want to activate and bring as I build my brand as I build my LinkedIn profile or social media or resume or CV or just even work with my team and get to know my team. What do I want them to walk away and just know what so then you'll have access to all this. So these are some fun words. So the students in the room. I put this up here so when you're thinking of those buzzwords on top of your resume and CV. She cheat cheat guide put some of those in there. You know, are you a collaborator are you a relator are you a strategic thinker. Are you an adaptive communicator does anybody know what adaptive communication means. It means that you can talk to different stakeholders at different times in the day so 5am you talked to farmers 7am you talked to investors 9am you talked to a different leadership team 10am you go talk to China colleagues. Who's able to change and tailor their communication appropriately to be successful in that situation. That is a critical skill set. Yes, the foundation the background understanding the science understanding, you know their basic requirements of English writing computer it etc. But if anything out of this presentation is, do you know how to communicate. Do you know how to network do you know how to mentor. How many of you have mentors today show of hands. Awesome, I'd love to see everybody's hand right and what are your mentorship tricks and my mentorship tricks is I have the rule of five. I refresh my five mentors every single year. Number one, I meet with a business CEO somebody in finance that I don't speak their language I don't know what they're talking about, but they help me stay critical to my big rock of meeting with family. Number two I find a outreach trailblazer worldwide that keeps me connected to nonprofits. Number three, I actually mentor with my neighbor. My neighbor keeps me in the know what's going on in our community how can I provide how can I be a better community trailblazer and neighbor and partner. I also mentor with my leader or two levels up I think internally and then global is really important to me so identify a different global leader every year. I do that because if we get stuck with the same mentors, you think that we're growing. And if we are growing, what are those conversations entail. So just be really strategic with mentorship make every interaction count and here's some fun words that now you can add to your CV and resume. Next part about strengths. So I asked you about CTO. I asked you about what are your top strengths. No bull volunteers that come out and tell me your 30 second elevator speech but that's okay you'll tell me afterwards I'm sure, and I'm excited to meet you. But this is critical to sometimes I've had mentees come to me and say hey Megan, I know my strengths that it's still not helping me like is there another activity I can think about. We can all relate to projects. I'm not saying work projects this could be a personal project it could be a family project you could be building a porch or a deck, or something but think about a project that you are so passionate and so excited about a project that you thought was so successful, and you want to hang your head on. That's step one. Step two is now you think about what role on that project excited you, and why. Were you the leader where you the do or where you the thinker, where you the planner, my husband always jokes that I'm the architect, and then he's the actual engineer. So then we always say that whether it's meal planning or cooking or building. It's always fun I always have these great big ideas but he's the executor and gets it done. And then how did you navigate challenges I think one thing, instead of failures those unexpected results. What did you learn about yourself be humble. What did you learn about yourself. What are some of your areas warning zones that you have to sharpen and make sure that they don't pop up and you don't want them to pop up again. And how did you activate any new skill sets. And this exercise I love doing I know individuals are writing their thinking it's in the morning it's Friday it's buys and day I get it, but just walk away these are tools that I want you to go back and look at and really truly do a self reflection. Because if you do then you're going to send me an email or reach out to me on LinkedIn, Instagram Dr Megan social media etc and tell me what you got out of it and what I can do to help you on your journey. And then the most importantly, I added this one in here because sometimes in all the journals that I read. I'm a nerd I love people leadership by diving to psychology that's one area I wish I would have learned at NDSU as I was in plant sciences but I wish I would have taken more psychology because I think I deal with people on a daily basis more than I do with plant breeding science. And so that's a fun fact as well. But what would your team say about you. So often we get so excited about a project, it's successful so often we push ourselves to say, Who's the owner and who's accountable for that project. It is so critical for all of us to pause and really ask what would our team say about us was I a good leader was I a good collaborator did I network efficiently. Did I include everybody's thoughts. Did I think about diversity of thought. Did I champion those quiet individuals in the room or did I just let the loud ones take over the conversation. Did I make sure that I pause the conversation so that all voices could be heard. What techniques did I implement and do a deep dive because being a good team member is what makes this whole thing go around. And if you think a project is successful because you solely did it you are wrong. I guarantee you that yes you were had a critical part. You were critical enabler and empower, but I guarantee you that you had an army behind you that made that project tick and make it successful so I want all of you if anything today. Stop and thank your teams. Stop and thank all the people on your staff or even people in dorm rooms I don't know the age group over there but think about how your friends help empower you and how they help you be a better version of yourself and do not forget about the team element. So when you get through all this why the project was excited what strings were activated. What did I navigate most importantly, top of your mountain turnaround, pull your team up with you and do deep dive and a survey, even with your team surveys are overused but just talk with your team and say hey. What would the teams say about me. In the mirror exercise. Okay, now the fun stuff. So this is number three don't worry I have all your names I have all your email addresses I'm going to ask how the homework assignments going and you're going to tell me and I'm excited to read all the answers. Very my professor, you know coming out in me, but really about energy boosters and drainers. He goes Megan how do you have so much energy. And I said, it's just who I am. I love it because I'm positive I'm grateful. The experiences that I've been through have made me this way. Did I have confidence my entire life. No, and I know there's people in here that can say no I did not have confidence my entire life. And what I can say is that I took it as learning experiences every time I got those unexpected results to build into a stronger individual and embrace who I really am. So just thinking about boosters and drainers. You know what sparks joy like what gets you out of bed in the morning, instead of hitting this news button and what are some of those energy drainers. Let's be real you're always going to have energy drainers in your entire life. Anyway, you're going to have them but the key here is how do you balance it. How do you make sure that you have enough boosters with your drainers and that you don't have more drainers than boosters, because otherwise you're not going to bring your best self to work. So thinking about drainers this is really fun. What do you think is a trainer for me. You know me so well we're like minute 45 into our great discussion and collaboration what do you think is a trainer for me. Shout it out. What are your reports what do you say. Negativity. Yes, yes, good answers. Sitting in teams meetings for 14 hours in a row without any bio breaks that is a true energy trainer for me. And especially when I take those meetings in a basement and an office with no people around me. I love people and people interaction so those are energy boosters for me so what do I do. I have amazing leaders and employees that bear that just embraced me for who I am. And they go on these fun road trips with me this past month, we traveled across North Dakota, and June we did North Dakota Minnesota South Dakota. And then last month, we went to Mississippi, like how cool is that went to Mississippi Tennessee, Arkansas, to get to see the teams the boots on the ground to say hey we value, value you what you do. And thank you. And then also to feed my need to meet people and get inspired and get my energy reserve built back up. So what are your boosters and drainers what's a booster for you. Like it's you excited. Meaning positive people. Absolutely. Think about mindset how much it plays into your every day I know I do a lot of reading, but think about it if you wake up every day positive and grateful and you end the day positive and grateful. What do you think it does to your productivity. If you end the day negative if you start the day negative what does it do your productivity. Find your balance find who inspires you who mentors you who challenges you to go to the next level and hang on to that energy reserve but be mindful of their energy reserve to because sometimes those people that boost you up. They're the ones that burn out to so you never know what somebody is going through so the big message here is always be kind. And that's something that I learned throughout the years I'm still learning today. What are some final thoughts. Today I was asked to talk about leadership how NDSU helped frame my foundation and I am truly grateful. I now embrace unexpected results. I have the confidence to go outside my comfort zone every single year this year was a big year but as I told you before, I did it with a smile on my face, because I have a strong supportive team. I have the opportunity to work with amazing inspiring individuals female leaders male leaders who make the world go round, and they're making me a better leader today. And so that I'm forever grateful. So I challenge all of you to be bold. Acknowledge your strengths we did three options find one of those activities that works for you, except your fears. I have many fears, but you all didn't know that I have many many fears but accept them, but most importantly embrace mistakes. Don't view it as a mistake or failure but viewed as unexpected results. What can you learn from that build your brand. I want to know your brand I want you to generate awareness achievable goals I want you all to dream big, and not just for the students in the world. Even the professors in the room how are you staying fresh how are you engaging with the next generation. Are you ready to deal with Generation XYZ. You know how they take are you thinking about digital formatting how are you trailing your curriculum and your activities to help inspire those students to go get it and reach their dreams. You know a fun article that was sent to me last night to again science and people leader nerd, but I read it was so fun it's like the person of a workforce. Yesterday or in the past was about you know eight to five, sit in a chair, but in the chair. What are you doing, you're just falling status quo. You're just doing what you do to get a paycheck and then workforce in the future. You work anytime. You're flexible, we focus more on the impact delivery results and what are we contributing to the company these thought processes can be applied to academia my friends, and many universities are starting to embrace this and it's fun. It's fun to see, because now we're helping build the future leaders of the world and that is exciting. So this is the importance of being adaptable and flexible and being able to embrace change. Step outside your comfort zone. I guarantee you because even my first interaction. I had so many acronyms fly my way. And that I was, my daughters are telling me what they were I was like reading a message I'm like, I RL blah blah blah blah blah and they're like in real life mom. And then another one I got yesterday that's not appropriate but I was just like oh what is this is it pita bread, and it does not mean pita bread by the way, it's pita. There's another one that too so we're all diving into acronyms is how do you adapt your communication style to really reach the audience and everybody at all levels. Then embrace mentorship I want to challenge all of you to have your core three or five mentors but then pay it back. Pay it forward. You have a mentor, but who are you mentoring today how many in the room are mentors. I would love to see all those hands up again because we all can be mentors. And that's some of the breakdown the silo thing is that a mentor doesn't have to be a prestigious doctor. A mentor doesn't have to be somebody that just was so successful life a mentor could be somebody that was going through something that we didn't even know, and they had the courage to embrace it and tell their story. A mentor could be somebody that inspires you because they activate different thinking skills in your head. So really think about mentorship and then the most important thing that I tell my team, stay humble, stay hungry. Absolutely number one practice mindfulness. This is a skill set that I've been actively working on the last four years active listening. I've been doing a good job today because this is a seminar and they told me how to talk for an hour so please give me grace, but really active listening is not just listening with the intent to reply. But listening, taking that in digesting, and then responding. When you active listen you tell somebody hey I care about you. I care about your family I care about your hobbies and what you do tell me more. It magically stores that information more when you actually take the time to pause and get to know individuals. So active listening is so critical. And one thing we didn't get to but I'm happy to answer any questions I my journey is not all rainbows and gum drops. Ask for help and you need it. Mental health is real mental health is around us every single day. And I tell you to that it is so critical that you asked for help, and you're not embarrassed ask for help that we're all going through something. And so feel free know your resources know your people that you can trust in, and always ask for helping you need it because we're all human. Let's face it, we're all human. And we all have similar passions and some regarded whether it's family or big rocks we have some ties of similarity but we're also different. So make sure that you find those individuals that keep you honest keep you true, and keep you going to the next level, and the most importantly be grateful. This is an exercise that I started about a year ago I have a journal. It's Amazon 595. It's called the grateful journal. And so every day I wake up. What do I do the top five things I date it. I read my inspirational quote if you follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram I love my quotes. I write the quote for the day, and then I write the top five things I'm grateful for. And then I put it away, and I do for the year and the end of the year I reflect and I see if there's any trends because I'm a scientist. Are there any trends early in the aha moments or anything that I learned, but it's really really important. I wanted to give a nugget again some more fun words for all everybody in the audience to walk away and update their CV and resume with some really fun flashy industry friendly words, as you navigate the workforce. So this is Megan's opinion of what the workforce of the future looks like some core skill sets that as we embrace the new generations the new way of thinking the new way of working. How are we setting our students up for success and how are the students set up for success and how are you driving your career. Empathy number one, hands down. Empathy understanding the why active listening being there for the team, knowing what makes them tick knowing what makes them upset and being there when things aren't okay. Being a true empathetic leader. We covered advanced communication quiz what's advanced communication. Being able to tailor your communication based on the audience and stakeholders that you deal with. You're going to laugh at this negotiation. I can't tell you how many times I negotiate on a daily basis. And it's one skill set that you have to just think about it could be negotiating for resources, or head counter funding or building out your team or thinking about the unknown but negotiation is critical. Complex information processing, creative thinking, technology forecasting, I'm not so worried about where we are today. I'm a forward thinker futuristic thinker, where are we going to be in two 510 years. So if you meet me on the road or you're saying, Oh cool I did this I identified this marker at this place blah blah blah blah that's great how does it apply to the future. What are you going to do to impact the world in two 510 years. And also metaverse, you know whether it's team zoom I mean all these different digital platforms. How do you navigate that and how are you savvy with that and then how are you learning every single day. And so that's what I have today I just want to say thank you again. I hope you have some good nuggets of insight to find your strengths to think about how you're activating and preparing for the workforce of the future. Students are driving their career but most importantly, I don't want you to lose the spark that makes you you. And you can ask questions, I did lose my spark surprise I did, but I found it again and that I'm grateful, because I have amazing leaders mentors coaches and family support that makes me who I am. So thank you. When it comes to hiring, when it comes to hiring. There's a lot of a long list of criteria. So where would you rank grades versus all the other criteria that you use for hiring. Okay, so the question was where do I rank grades or GPA. So you all are going to laugh. I even mentor kiddos of all ages and I even mentoring some high school students today. I tell them the first thing to do is delete it after CV and resume. I say delete. And the reason why I say delete is because I'm not worried if you're a 4.0 student full transparency rich knows I'm 4.0 and I was always focused on grades I thought that I had to have a 4.0 to be successful at life. And what I realized really fast the first day being handed a broom. I need to really amplify other complex thinking skill sets I need to activate my soft skills. I need to become a well rounded stronger leader so my advice is delete the GPA. If I see it I usually delete it off for the candidates. But it's my opinion it's not as important as all those experiences and activities that make you who you are. I also tell people. They are cover your ears, but cover letters this is a good topic to talk about cover letters right. I think cover letters are a waste of time. I think that we're not utilizing our resources efficiently. And I think that a cover letter is just basically regurgitating everything that you have on your CV and resume. So I was a bold one bear was the first one I didn't submit a cover letter. But it's not me it's not who I'm doing and if they have questions they can ask because I would love a conversation and a cup of coffee Starbucks blonde rose to be exact. So cover letters are another thing I think you have to gauge cover letters based on the audience the needs and the leader the hiring manager because some individuals truly need to cover letter. But start thinking futuristic if you're going to do a cover letter how does it stand out and how is it different. So it's not just saying what you already said in your 12 page CV or resume. She's standing by you you nervous. Great. While you're in college what was the thing that motivated you the most. While I was in college but motivated me the most. Rich is going to laugh. I knew I wanted to be a scientist. I knew I wanted to be a leader. And I love doing a lot of the activities like county and seed and planting and harvest. But I knew with my mindset and how I strategically thought that I had to do more so yes I had to get exposure to those experiences, but I knew that I had to go on for advanced education and different education and learn new things, because of what I wanted to get out of life so I didn't have a professional answer. But what I valued most was the question. What motivated me, honestly, was the people. I remember pulling in because I started at NDSU for my bachelors and I was in Severson is that still around Severson Hall. Yeah, yeah, maybe. What motivated me is that we're all there trying to explore life for the first time. And what was exciting is that not only I was trying to figure out who I was they were trying to figure out who they were. And then you build those friendships and you build that network and we may have gone different paths different industries. What motivated me is you had your cheerleading crowd you had your champions you had your advocate and NDSU especially is like a family. That's one thing that stood out I've been to other universities and I can tell you that here professors you're not just a number your name. You know it's kind of like having your NDSU mom NDSU dad it's real at NDSU. And so what motivated me was the people, the people that saw a light in me that believed in me that inspired me. It was over there a decorate you know it just people that said hey even during my darkest days. You got this but to always think outside to so I would say what motivated me 100% was the people but that's because it's who I am. I'm not going to say chemistry organic chemistry sitting in a lecture hall squiggling little dots because I have issues to with you know like multiple choice questions like I could talk for days so. I am it was about the people is the bigger thinking the strategic thinking I lived in the basement of lofts guard hall for the greater part of my entire education. And I made it a point to meet and get to know people and active listen garden level excuse me I caught the basement so I always tell my friends to the basement yes. Megan be like your daughter real life mom. Like it was great to cover the lot of things there but bring it to real life like your main rock the big rock the family and everything you've been through your life with your career. How do you balance your big rock the family like your homework your husband dinners and how do balance all of that. So how do I balance I will be humble I was not perfect. I I learned to balance because life. Life taught me sometimes we learn the best lessons by experiencing the hard things in life. And so when I started as a female and a male dominated industry I thought that I had to walk and talk and you know be like everybody else in the room and I had to work 80 hours a week. Is that sustainable. No. And then you know I kept piling on all these experiences building a multimillion dollar research facility and just saying I'm going to be at the site 24 seven. Harvest crews planning crews I'm going to be at the site 24 seven. I got to a point where I just finally broke because I said well things are unbalanced I'm not getting enough family time my family I'm truly grateful. And so my experience in some of those hardships in life to makes you realize that you know we can always get money back it's going to be hard but money can get back but the one thing that we cannot get back is time. So don't do what I did by working 80 hours a week you know trying to be the latest and greatest find a new way that in flex it to make it work for you. And that means you're going to have to be bold and courageous and challenges to ask quote because there's many thinkers that think you have to be in from eight to five there's many thinkers that you have to do it a very strategic way. But I'm telling you that you could deliver those results and then some if you just embrace adapt adaptive and flexible schedules and flexible thinking styles. So I was imperfect. I was unbalanced. Many situations. My foot got stuck in the irrigation ditch and Grand Forks North Dakota is about seven eight months pregnant. Guess what happened. I landed right on my stomach on top of my child in the hospital hearing that heartbeat was the most precious sound I could have heard at that time that everything was okay but it just makes this realize like those hard moments build you to who you are. That's one example you know and just never take time for granted. And so I'd say that a lot of those examples build me up to say hey this is non negotiable. I'm a swim mom right now. Yes I have my busy corporate life and I have amazing colleagues and support network but you'll find me at the pool. Almost every day of the week to cheer on my daughters and say hey go get it. And everybody knows my focus time on my calendar from 5 to 8pm. That's my time with my kids. So I balance and I I know this sounds probably really structured and OCD ish but I put it in my calendar to like don't call me. Don't don't. Well I don't want to say that because if it's emergency call me. But this is my focus time with my family. And this is where I'm going to dive into some that perfect. I would say the lessons I learned maybe stronger but most importantly I focus on it I make decisions on it and I'm actively thinking about how to make my biggest rock the biggest rock. And it's not easy now that the kids are getting older and now we're driving all over Des Moines, Iowa. But I'm only going to have nine years left with some of them right so then you have to think about time time you can't get back so make the most of every moment. Yeah. Thank you Megan for this presentation. This quote you said do not lose the spark that make you you. So how did you know that you lost your spark because at the end you said I lost my spark but how did you know that you were losing that spark and how did you find it back. Ooh, you guys are asking tough questions now I have to get real real real. I am. This is a scary day in my life and I remember it vividly. I was pushing too hard. And I was in a 24 seven harvest operation had six crews going. I was one on call. It was a really wet season you're probably going to figure out what year. And we I think I spent more time on the call with tow truck tow truck companies to pull combines out of the mud that I did sending crews out. And what happened was I walked into the office keep in mind just go go go go cover up. You know my dad passed away in 2013 we moved we moved we moved for company relocations I just kept go go go go go. We are human we all have a breaking point. I remember walking into the office that morning, and I thought it was having a heart attack. I fell to the floor. Things weren't clear. I got rushed the emergency room. They thought I was having heart attacks I was chewing on baby at our baby baby Tylenol and then they did all the x-rays and all the blood work and everything. And they found out that I had costa chondritis which is inflammation of the rib bone that is caused by stress. And that moment was not a heart attack but it could have been it kind of put things in perspective. And so, I didn't have my spark thing right who has their spark laid in the hospital trying to get test done to figure out who you are. And that's where I really took control of my life, about four years ago to say hey no. I can show people that we can do this the right way we can do this where they can be their best version all day any day, and on their own terms. And this is where family not negotiable like I am life is so precious we have so many days I just want to make sure we make every interaction count so I lost my spark. I got really dark when I lost my spark, but then it was an effort to build a backup and build the courage and confidence just to go get it and inspire everybody else to not do what I did. Not to get burned out to the point of exhaustion and not to get burned out to the point where you lose who you are. And that's my biggest lesson is that that's why you need the champions advocates. I survived all that because I have an amazing family. I couldn't do what I do without my husband. He left his full time job in 2012 to be a state home dad and now he home schools are kids today to make us more flexible so our kids can embrace stem every day around them. And so I couldn't do it I do without a support network so find your cheerleaders find your champions find your advocates and clean on to them, because you're always going to need them as you navigate life. One last question coming from our online audience. Awesome presentation and points. Thank you. Question has you have you had either ignorant pessimistic mentees or students that you've worked with. And if you have. How do you handle something like that. Thanks. Good question. You guys are giving those five year olds a run for their money. Okay. Yes. So it usually happens when mentees got assigned to me early on where they didn't want to be there like Megan, you're too bubbly you're too enthusiastic. This cannot be real like I don't have the time of day for you. And yes that's fine but what I did, and what I can tell you. I did handle them and navigated differently. I found out what excited them. So yes that even though they're pessimistic and they, they are dark and they think differently and they're just have a negative look on life. In some cases, we all have that one thing that brings a smile to our face it could be pizza. It could be macaroni and cheese it could be ice cream. It could be coffee. So active listening is what I, I just active listen and sometimes people just need a sounding board to hey this is this is what I'm going through what advice do you have. So listening is number one, number two patients. I don't have patients. That's another skill set I'm trying to refine people in the audience can shake their head that know me very well. I don't have patients. I'm working on it, but I did have to activate patients in this case because not everybody thinks like I do. Not everybody interacts the way that I do. And that's where I started diving into how do we have all voices heard. Experiences I don't view them as negative because it helped me become a stronger leader to hear all diversity of thought and to hear all diversity of opinion and diversity of ways of interacting communicating and growing. We all have a different path, and I just took it as a learning experience more than anything. Thank you so much Megan and I think testimony to what a great presentation this is we're we're seven minutes past and we've still got a full room and I'm pretty sure those students that just left are going to be late for the next class but heard some really good things. So let's thank Megan for an absolutely fantastic presentation. Thank you. Thank you.