A Weekend in Stuttgart!!

Stuttgart, Germany

The weekend I got to spend in Stuttgart with the other scholarship students was such a great experience!

We all came in on Friday and we got to meet with a Vice Admiral of the US Navy, who is the Deputy Commander of the US European Command. He came to talk to us about the importance of leadership. It was a great opportunity to meet with someone and hear them speak about leadership, I think it's often something that we forget about when we're going through our college careers. It's an important thing to remember that it's not always a natural thing, that it's something that can be worked on.

Some of his tips:
-Accomplish the mission. Everything else of value is in support of mission accomplishment.
-Focus on executing the fundamentals of  of your job, everyday. Work two sets of priorities- yours and your boss'.
-Develop your network- professional and social. Work for the best people you can find. They will get to the top and pull you along-  then YOU pull someone good along too.
-Always be adding to your goodwill reservoir.
-Practice patience in dealing with others.

But the 2 that I think are great to remember:
*It's never as good as it seems, nor as bad- so don't go to emotional extremes.
*To be successful it takes two qualities: common sense and good judgement. Use both and you'll go far.

It was such a good talk to hear!

After we got a chance to get to the Frühlingsfest- a BIG fair/carnival going on in Stuttgart. There were a bunch of people walking around in the "traditional German" costumes and there was plenty to see! We got to ride some of the rides and take in the fun. 

On Saturday, I started the day with a jog (BELIEVE IT!) with a couple of the others then we did a tour of a museum and had some free time! Ah- free time at a seminar!! We took advantage of the time and walked around the city center a bit. Stuttgart is such a beautiful place! Of course, we found a Starbucks and enjoyed some treats in a sunny spot!
Saturday ended with an amazing dinner with the Stuttgart club. There we received our certificates of participation and enjoy a little recognition for our accomplishments! Amazing things! We got the chance to do a little of the networking building- always a good thing!

Sunday concluded the seminar and we made a great day of it! We had some breakfast then we went to the Mercedes Benz museum! We did a self-guided tour and got to see all the different things. So awesome! I'm not such a big car fan, but I really enjoyed the museum. The lighting in in the building is amazing and I was able to take a TON of pictures, imagine that! ;)

It was a great train ride home after a long weekend!