It was extremely inspirational to hear Laura Foti tell us the story of how she has gotten where she is today. At still such a young age, is it both impressive and daunting to see the amount of success she has already achieved. Currently Laura works for Deloitte and calls herself a “digital native”, but her path to this point was not direct. Before coming to college Laura took a year off and lived in Argentina. While there, she wrote about her experiences for a local newspaper back in the U.S. She soon decided to share her stories with more people and asked a local Argentinian newspaper if they would publish her work. She wrote about various topics from the structure of the Argentinian family to the custom of sharing a latte. After a year in Argentina, Laura returned home to attend Syracuse University and study Public Relations at Newhouse. She was specifically interested in helping the health care system. Laura’s father is disabled from Rheumatoid Arthritis and she therefore has a personal connection to the cause. Though met with some disapproval originally, Laura graduated and got a job with Deloitte. Though she is not working in Public Relations she is still a storyteller and still attempting to improve the health care system in any way possible
Laura’s focus on the importance of storytelling really resonated with me. She insisted that the key to networking and achieving your goals is to meet a lot of people, tell them your story, and make sure to listen to theirs. What I feel is often forgotten is that telling stories is how we all connect with one another. Stories aren’t simply for entertainment purposes but are actually the basis of all interactions with others. For example, Laura told the story of how a simple conversation about running and cycling created an invaluable connection between her and the CIO of the company she was interning for at the time. Telling a story as simple as what you like to do in your spare time can resonate with someone else and lay the foundation for a deeper connection. Laura also brought up the point that all companies, not just media companies, need good communicators and storytellers. She mentioned the fact that after her freshman year she interned for a baseball team in Cape Cod and managed their communications. Though at first this may seem like an odd choice for a Public Relations major, it is perfectly logical. Every company or organization communicates, and therefore could use the assistance of a professional communicator. Even Laura’s current position seemed like an odd choice to one of her professors at Newhouse. Yet, Laura explained that though she is now in technology and not Public Relations she is still telling stories. Specifically, Laura’s position entails helping to bridge the gap of communication between the users and creators of the technological problems.
Hearing Laura speak was very eye-opening. I feel I now appreciate the impact of storytelling more, and see where it can lead if done well.