Student connects with Lt Gov Guadagno by cell phone

By Ashley Zahabian

On October 15th, 2014, as part of Women Entrepreneurship Week in NJ, I had the opportunity to meet several women entrepreneurs; what an incredible experience! I can talk about each and every woman I met, as they were all incredibly helpful and inspiring, but I’m going to focus on just one: Kim Guadagno.

As Lieutenant Governor of NJ, I’m sure she has an incredibly busy schedule, however, she made the time to come to Montclair State to speak with students and entrepreneurs, such as myself, about her experiences. As a 19-year-old entrepreneur, I held so many unanswered questions.

As I am currently working on opening a business myself, it was such an inspiration to hear Kim talk about her busy schedule while being a family oriented woman. I always felt pressured because I didn’t want my work ethic to interrupt my family life, as I know the vision I hold for myself entails many hours of consistent work. She specifically emphasized that there is always time for what you make a priority, and if family is your priority, then there should never be a worry about not having time.

Students and entrepreneurs were honored to listen to Kim speak; however, to add to this great experience, being at the event gave me the opportunity to get her personal phone number and reach out whenever I needed to. Her passion to help others was incredibly evident when I left her a voicemail and she called me back, willing to help me with my business.

As she kindly led me to the right people to help me in what I needed, I couldn’t help but feel so thankful for the opportunity Montclair State University opened for me. I wanted to thank both the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship and Kim Guadagno for the wonderful experience!

Ashley Zahabian is a sophomore Economics major in the School of Business, and is taking two ENTR entrepreneurship courses this semester.