Finished this glittery beauty today. It finally feels real that I am graduating 😭 #psugrad

A post shared by Taylor Lacey (@taylornlacey) on May 7, 2015 at 3:29pm PDT

At almost two years post college graduation, I wanted to share three things that I've learned working in the real world.

1. The biggest thing that you can do to further others in life is to give your time and mentor others. I have had the greatest mentors in life - whether it was women older than me in school or executives I've met at work. All of these people give me great advice and teach me skills to further my life in the work place. My work mentor just taught me the best ways to do conflict management and one of my mentors and friends taught me all about STEM outreach. For me, I give my time to the Girl Scouts, NSBE, or whatever organization can use my skill set to further advance its members. Sometimes it is an early Saturday morning or an after school activity, but you will never regret spending the time to help others get a foot in the door or in STEM.

2. Figure out your post graduate style. I know when I got out of school, I was not sure what kind of clothes that I needed for work. I work in manufacturing so I generally dress pretty casual but when we have a customer or corporate in the plant, I dress business casual and when I have work functions or recruiting, I dress formal. I bought so many things that I have given to Goodwill but I have finally found what I would say is my work style. I wear a lot of dressier pants and wear a shirt that fits the occasion. What works for you and makes you happy is what you should wear to work and in life.

3. Network, network, network. All of college we spend meeting new people in clubs, at parties, and in class. There are a ton of people that you have connected with in life.  I try to connect with anyone I know at the same conference or the city I am traveling to currently. I try to see all of my best friends once a year and my family as much as possible. I am such a huge advocate of keeping relationships alive but I also realize that sometimes you have to exfoliate those toxic friends or negative people from your network so that you can meet new people. If you can find balance between these two things, you will basically win at life.

Usually for breakfast, I have coffee with honey, an apple or banana and a protein bar. On the weekends, I make breakfast sandwiches but this is a fast filling breakfast for those busy mornings. (I tend to not be the happiest in the morning so this was my attempt at a smile. It was more like talk to the apple, friend.) 2. Make lunch something simple but delicious. Enjoy your midday break.

I usually study after class so I bring lunch with me. Tuna with hummus on cucumbers is one of my favorite fast easy lunches that gets better the longer it sits. Pack a fork and knife and it's good to go.

When I have my longer day on campus, I bring a mason jar salad piled with goodies. This salad had moroccan lentils, chia seeds, peppers, homemade vinaigrette and spinach. An apple was the sweetness and I had a baby apple juice with it. It takes two minutes to make but it tastes AMAZING.

When I'm studying, I tend to eat yogurt or snack on grape tomatoes or carrots. I like light snacks that aren't too bad for my diet as well as healthy.

There are those nice weekend nights where I have a little time to cook. This recipe is so simple. Radiatore pasta, a Parmesan Basil Recipe Starter, three Dorot Chopped Basil cubes and a ton of parmesan cheese and garlic. I always doctor up jarred sauce but they really are so convenient. I made enough pasta to last me like 3 meals. It was so enjoyable. Hopefully, these tips help you to live a healthier happier college life.