My Summer @ Google: A lesson in personal branding at BOLD Symposium
October 5, 2012
Introduction: Over the summer we host a variety of programs and internships for technical and non-technical students. We’re relaunching the My Summer @ Google series to give you an inside look at each of these programs, hearing from the students themselves who participated. Today Bryan Dominguez, a current freshman at Cornell University, recaps Google’s BOLD Symposium for High School. BOLD Symposium is an enrichment program designed to provide high school seniors with valuable business skills before starting college.
When I found out that I was nominated to participate in Google’s BOLD Symposium, I was ecstatic. I had been interested in Google since visiting the company’s offices in Cambridge, MA with the LEAD Summer Business Institute at Tuck, so you can imagine how excited I was to travel to the office in New York City for BOLD Symposium.
I was the first student to arrive at Google on the morning of BOLD Symposium and I was immediately introduced to Demian Caponi, a current employee on the University Programs team and a Cornell alum. It was nice to see that although the Google staff and student body was so diverse, I could still find similarities that brought us together. During the program we did a resume workshop and were given the opportunity to network with Google employees. The excitement that these employees brought to the table truly set the atmosphere for the rest of the day. The wealth of knowledge that they shared with us was beyond anything I could ever illustrate in this blog.
It was all such an enriching experience that to choose one single aspect that I liked the most would belittle the greatness of everything I learned. However, the part that I remember the most would be the personal branding overview and workshop. I learned that personal branding is a part of who you are, like an invisible tag, listing everything you are made of. For me it has been a long time since someone had told me it's important to illustrate yourself in the eyes of others, the way you want to be seen. It is so important to understand, but also easily forgotten. The beauty is that the key to controlling it all comes with knowledge. My personal brand plays a key role in helping me shape the I, who hopes to one day positively impact the world. As I look on to my future at Cornell, I hope to use this new gained knowledge not only in my classroom, but in the new community I hope to surround myself with. It is my duty to act like a lighthouse to my community of equal minded minorities who seek growth, providing them with my little light of knowledge that may one day prove to be bigger than we all might have expected.
My experience at Google’s BOLD Symposium is one that I will never forget. The memory made and knowledge gained at the Symposium is truly one that has opened my eyes to a world that celebrates differences. The beauty of BOLD Symposium is that it places you outside your comfort zone in an environment where knowledge is waiting to be picked up in every corner. Symposium equips you with the tools to be a great leader as you head back to your communities or off to college. As I begin my freshman year at Cornell, I feel confident because I know I have created a personal brand that is true to who I am and I’m ready to put it to the test!
I am honored that the LEAD Program recognized my personal brand and give thanks to them nominating me to participate in the 2012 BOLD Symposium for High School, and thus allowing me to see Google as more than just a search engine but an ever revolutionizing company with endless possibilities to expand.
Interested in BOLD Symposium? Learn more at www.google.com/students/bold.
Posted by Bryan Dominguez, BOLD Symposium participant
I was the first student to arrive at Google on the morning of BOLD Symposium and I was immediately introduced to Demian Caponi, a current employee on the University Programs team and a Cornell alum. It was nice to see that although the Google staff and student body was so diverse, I could still find similarities that brought us together. During the program we did a resume workshop and were given the opportunity to network with Google employees. The excitement that these employees brought to the table truly set the atmosphere for the rest of the day. The wealth of knowledge that they shared with us was beyond anything I could ever illustrate in this blog.
It was all such an enriching experience that to choose one single aspect that I liked the most would belittle the greatness of everything I learned. However, the part that I remember the most would be the personal branding overview and workshop. I learned that personal branding is a part of who you are, like an invisible tag, listing everything you are made of. For me it has been a long time since someone had told me it's important to illustrate yourself in the eyes of others, the way you want to be seen. It is so important to understand, but also easily forgotten. The beauty is that the key to controlling it all comes with knowledge. My personal brand plays a key role in helping me shape the I, who hopes to one day positively impact the world. As I look on to my future at Cornell, I hope to use this new gained knowledge not only in my classroom, but in the new community I hope to surround myself with. It is my duty to act like a lighthouse to my community of equal minded minorities who seek growth, providing them with my little light of knowledge that may one day prove to be bigger than we all might have expected.
I am honored that the LEAD Program recognized my personal brand and give thanks to them nominating me to participate in the 2012 BOLD Symposium for High School, and thus allowing me to see Google as more than just a search engine but an ever revolutionizing company with endless possibilities to expand.
Interested in BOLD Symposium? Learn more at www.google.com/students/bold.
Posted by Bryan Dominguez, BOLD Symposium participant
