As someone who grew up in a low income and immigrant household, being invited to speak at the Peninsula College Fund's Career Day at Visa was such an humbling experience. It's also refreshing and inspiring to see tech brands like Visa taking the lead in furthering this cause and in the process positively shaping the future of such a deserving, yet underserved group of determined and talented students. I entered Silicon Valley with no ties to tech—both of my parents never attended high school. Through personal branding and platforms like LinkedIn, I have been able to develop a meaningful network of mentors that has radically transformed my career and life. While low income students may not grow up being taught the importance of networking, college is the best time to change that for the better. tl;dr (too long; didn't read): Treat your personal brand as a tapestry of experiences and relationships, not a transactional tool. When done with purpose and authenticity, your personal brand will compound over time, and put you in the power position to be discovered and unlock disruptive opportunities. Thanks for the invite Sonia Sng ! Fantastic program Denise Villamil & C. Phillip Powell, MPA . …see more