I decided to do something exciting and branch out and do something no one in my family had ever done. I applied for a university work exchange program which took me to London. I packed up my bags and decided to move to a city of 8 million people with no job, no house, nothing - not even enough money to survive for very long. But I did it. I had obtained a six month work permit, so I bought a plane ticket for that same time in order to force me to stay in London the whole time.

I got to London and it was one of the best experiences of my whole life. It taught me a lot about myself and it was a good growing experience to try and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Do I want to go back into television? Do I want to teach? Do I want to try the corporate world? It gave me the time and the challenges to help that process. I thought that if I can survive, find a home, find a job and do that all within three days of when I arrived, well then I can do anything. I can't think of words to describe it, but that was the experience that pushed me over the top and made me believe that I could accomplish anything.

Then after I came back from London I went into depression [laughs] and thought "where should I live now?" I had talked about the Midwest and had actually moved everything down to Omaha, Nebraska. I thought I'd try it out because I had some friends there.

Well, the day before Christmas, my aunt told me "I have a place in New York if you want it. London has prepared you for New York, so why not?" I said okay and moved to New York on an 18-wheeler semi truck. I have a friend who drove trucks to Brooklyn every week and he offered me a free ride, so that was a different experience for me. That was in January this year and that's when I found the job with Chase.

I think I'm still testing the water [as far as career paths are concerned]. I think salary has drawn me to my current position, most definitely. But now I'm reaching a point where I need to look at personal happiness and fulfillment, whether it's in the business world or education world. Part of me really wants to go back and teach, so right now I'm kind of torn. A part of me wants the business word just because of the reality of paying off school loans and paying the bills. But then I go back to my parents who are in their mid-50's and are unhappy with their career choices. I swore to myself that I would never, never do that. Make yourself happy first. I don't want to come home from work and say, "I hate my job. I don't want to go back tomorrow." So whether it's in the business or education word, I really feel that I need to take the steps to find that happiness.

Success for me is doing something that stimulates my own intellectual growth. Something that makes me feels good. And I think what makes me feel really good is watching others grow, whether it's training people in the business world or teaching them in education. I think these will be the two fields for me, teaching and training because I like to see that growth. Success is where the heart is and following your dreams and goals.

I'm not afraid of ambiguity. I'm a definite risk taker. I think you grow from every risk you take. Some of my peers from the Midwest are more stagnant and planned. It has to be A, B, C, D. With my friends from London or New York - and even a few of my Midwest friends who have come out here [to New York] - their attitudes are different. They are comfortable knowing that they may leave their jobs the next day and do something else once they stepped outside the controlled and defined boundaries.

... I really think I'm a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl. I get a high from challenges. If I were to get really angry or upset at work, I'm the type who could quit tomorrow without another job and be okay with the risk. I love risk and challenges.

I think most people are afraid to step out of the norm because we've been taught that material wealth is what you need to make you happy. I feel a lot of people aren't breaking that mold, they're following the steps. I think universities and schools are producing machines. It's not about the students, it's not about if you want to be a basket weaver. It's about what you can produce for a company. What kind of bottom line can you bring? Are you a fax machine? Are you a computerized machine? That's how I perceive education. It's not only society and the business world, but the education world that is driving this train of thought.

I think what you guys are doing is spreading a different message. I'm not trying to get any points [laughs], but stories like this need to be told. We need strong voices. My roommate and I often joke that we want to become motivational speakers for young women ... I remember in college there is such pressure and stress to have a boyfriend and to be engaged before you leave college. You have to be married by 25. You have to have kids. I think you need strong voices saying there are other ways...

I can't think of an ideal sentence and this is kind of a harsh statement, but it's something my Mom said to me. She said, "When you come into this world, you come in alone and when you go out of this world, you go out alone, so it's up to you to build that formula of success and not to rely on another person or material wealth to make your happiness. The power is in you and that's where it has to start."