Where are you from originally?
I’m originally from Renton, Washington—south side of Seattle. I’ve been living in Las Vegas since October of 2009. I also did an internship with the hotel company that I work for now in the summer of 2008. After I graduated, I decided that I wanted to move back.

Who do you work for?
Holiday Inn Express in Henderson. We have a small management company outside of Washington. They own 13 hotels, and I work for one of them.

What school did you attend?
I attended Washington State University, which is in Pullman, Washington. It’s about 5 hours from Seattle, right next to Idaho. I got my degree in Hospitality/Business Management, and I’ve been living here ever since I graduated.

What are your interests outside of VYP?
Outside of VYP and working in general, I like to go out with friends and have fun. I go to the Strip every now and then, but I like to visit local places. Stoney’s is one of my favorite places to go; I’m a country girl. I like to go hiking, working out, getting sun and being outdoors.

What’s your favorite book?
My favorite book is one I just read called, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carneghie. It’s a really popular book; it’s been around a long time. It teaches you how to care about others before you care about yourself. I like self improvement books; books on how to network, etc. It’s fun to get some training/background on topics like that.

What’s your favorite movie?
I like movies like The Notebook, Superbad or popular ones. Crash was a good movie. Most recently, the Hangover is one of my favorites; it always makes me laugh.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
I think my greatest accomplishment as of today is graduating college in four years and actually finding a job. Director of Sales & Marketing are usually a decade older than me, for the most part. I’m very young to have the position that I have. A lot of my friends are still jobless and still trying to find jobs in the market. Being able to graduate with a good degree and actually finding a great job is my biggest accomplishment.

What is one of your favorite VYP moment?
All of the networking events that I’ve attended have been great. There have been a few people that I’ve met that have been good business contacts; people that I can go to in the future to work with. But also, meeting people your own age that are looking for new friends. I recently met a girl at a VYP event, and we ended up hanging out at the Hard Rock pool for a girls day that was a lot of fun. I think just networking and meeting new people is my favorite.

If you had any advice for future/fellow VYP members, what would you tell them?
I would tell anyone involved with VYP to go to as many networking events as possible. Even if you're tired, just go and check it out. If it's not what you thought it was, you can always go home, but at least go and see who is there, because you’ll never know who you’re going to meet!