To say I had a blast at the KEY Leadership Conference would be an understatement.  

The day I arrived; I was not expecting to make friends as quickly as I did. My roommates, Karl, and Dakota are some of the nicest people I have ever met. The first night started off with a bang. My air mattress exploded from a frayed cord, which to be honest, was a cool experience and a lesson in electrical safety! 

Over the next few days, I learned so much. Some of the topics we learned about were safe driving, the dangers of social media, investing in our future, and so much more. These topics really opened my eyes to my own future.  

We also got to take a nighttime tour of the Kansas State Capitol, which was pretty neat. We got to go to FreeState and see how the energy was distributed and the dangers of electricity and what kind of careers are out there. I also got to go up in a bucket truck! On the second to last day, we went ax throwing, something I was not good at. I barely could get the ax to stick to the board.  

On the last day, we got to meet the man behind the Kansas City Chiefs Mascot suit. His story really reached me. He fell from a zip line during a stunt practicing for a game and broke six ribs and had many injuries. He was very humble and reminded us not to take life for granted. I got to do the griddy with the KC Wolf, something few people get to do!  

This summary only scratches the surface of all I want to say, but if there was one thing I took away from this conference, it would be the tight friendships I made. These are people I want to surround myself with. We all keep in touch. We will have a reunion in the future. Overall, I had a fun time, and I am very thankful for this experience and opportunity.