This week in CEO, we had two workdays, two business visits, and a stress relief day. On Monday, we practiced our 30 second pitches for the National Pitch Competition, which I think was really helpful and definitely helped me to change it up and tweak some things. On Tuesday, we met with Mayor Patty Gregory and role played being a part of the city government in the council chambers. I think it was very unique and interesting to see how it's played out, and from this I took away how important it is to give everyone a voice. I appreciated how they let the public come in and speak on issues personally, and how multiple people have to agree or object to things for them to happen. On Wednesday with Geri Boyer, we learned meditation exercises. From this, I understood the importance of taking time to yourself and treating yourself well. I realized how significant stress could be on your body and took away new breathing exercises that I used later that day when I pitched to the board. From pitching to the board, I realized that confidence is key. My pitch to the board went way better than my 2 minute pitch, and I think it was due to the breathing exercises and being calmer when doing it. On Friday at the Country Club, we learned lessons on golf and dining etiquette. I enjoyed this business trip and I think the best lesson I learned from it was that adaptability is very important. Even though we don't use etiquette like at the Country Club daily, being able to adapt to it and change on the fly is very significant, and I enjoyed learning that lesson.

Jaylen Gordon, Session Two