Lozafina CEO Shares Entrepreneurial Journey with Future Leaders at UNO’s Mammel Hall

There was something full-circle about standing in a room of students at University of Nebraska at Omaha and sharing the kind of lessons I once had to learn the hard way.

At Mammel Hall, I had the opportunity to speak with members of Public Relations Student Society of America and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization about entrepreneurship, public relations, and what it really takes to build something of your own.

I told them the truth.

That entrepreneurship is not always glamorous. Sometimes it looks like long nights, uncertainty, sacrifice, and betting on yourself before anyone else does. Sometimes it means building with limited resources but unlimited belief.

Sometimes it means hearing “no” enough times that you learn how to create your own “yes.”

I shared how Lozafina was built through grit, relationships, and a commitment to doing meaningful work for organizations that make a difference. I talked about the power of reputation, the importance of showing up prepared, and why your name should mean something when you leave a room.

Most of all, I wanted those students to understand that success does not belong only to people born into privilege or handed a roadmap. It also belongs to first-generation dreamers, to students figuring it out in real time, and to people willing to outwork fear.

I’m grateful to Grace Cyiza for the invitation and above photos, and to Erin Wyler, a wedding photographer, and Renee Black of planit inc. for sharing the stage.

The future looked bright in that room. Not because these students had all the answers—but because they were asking the right questions.