What a day.  We went to three different sites.  All three of them I absolutely loved.  We first went to Croke Park Stadium and learned about the official Irish sports: Gaelic Football and Hurling.  And as a sports nerd I was loving it as I felt in my element when talking sports and strategies with Keon (our tour guide.)  Keon told informed me about the rules of the game and how the GAA (the sports league) operates.  He took us into the locker room which was amazing.  Keon told us that the GAA has 32 teams for both Hurling and Gaelic Football and each team represents a county in Ireland.  And no players get paid.  To me, this is insane.  In ways I find it remarkable that these athletes are willing to sacrifice so much time to represent their county.  There must be a great deal of passion for any Gaelic or Hurling fan has for their team must be so high considering that all the players play for their home team.  It is a completely new way of looking at sports; back home the NBA buys the best players.  Taking a look at the GAA, there must be some stakeholder conflicts, and there must be a balance to keep the ethos of their integrity and sponsorships who are paying for ads

Then we went to the Irish times, the largest newspaper company in Ireland.  I got a much different perspective of industries, as the newspaper industry is declining.  Onna, our speaker admitted to such, but gave optimism for the Irish Times because of their ability to adapt and innovate.

The final company we visited was Davy.  Three different speakers spoke all from different backgrounds.  The first was named Niall Kelly.  He came from money management and stock broker background, and to me that is super interesting as that might be my main focus, investment.  We spoke what felt like thirty minutes after all the presentations about the economy and where it might go, how to prepare for the eventual bear market.  In addition I had a pleasant talk with him about where he is from and built a relationship, which is a nice feeling.

Marah was second to speak.  She gave us a background on her social enterprise: to help and inform women about finances.  Although I could not necessarily relate to her idea personally, I believe it is a wonderful and great idea.

The final person to speak was “The Positive Economist” Susan.  Susan was a sensational speaker.  Susan was preaching life advice left and right.  She talked about herself but made it relate to the entire class.  I felt motivated afterwards.  Susan talked about personal branding. What makes you different than the rest of the population.  If you can express that and sell yourself to your peers then you’ll do well.  She asked us what are three things that you are.  Take those things and make that your brand.  How do you want people to view you.  She later talked about what it means to innovate.  Innovating is taking things and tweaking it.  She mentioned that you cannot be afraid to be wrong, and you need to take your failures and make them a success.  What Susan said to me is something I hope I will never ever forget.

All I can really say after about the day is thank you.  Thank you for teaching me and helping me out.  Giving me advice, keeping me in my element, and making me see things in different perspectives.