Aaron Murphy

Last week I had the chance to attend the SMIFC Conference in Chicago with a group of College of Business students from The University of Akron. It was a two-day event at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, and it brought together students, faculty, and industry professionals from universities across the country.

A huge thank you to Dean Terry Daugherty for making this opportunity possible, and to Eric Brisker and Mary Becker for traveling with us and keeping the whole trip running smoothly.

The talk that stuck with me most was Caleb Callahan, CFP®, CKA®, CEPA®'s, Finding Your Path. He is the President of Valmark Financial Group and an alum of The University of Akron. He spoke about building a life worth living on four pillars: faith, family, community, and meaningful work. Although we were all there with the focus on improving our knowledge and skills relating to work, he made it clear you should not build your life on the last pillar. Work gives you a way to earn success and serve others, but faith, family, and community are the framework around everything you do. He also said not to be afraid to fail, because failing often shows you the way to your destination. His call to action was simple: find someone who is where you want to be in 10 years, ask them the important questions, and let them help you map the way.

I also enjoyed hearing from Bob Girton, founder of August Grace Advisory and an Akron alum. After his speech, Bob took time to stick around and answer questions, showing his care and consideration for current UA students and students from other universities.

Outside of the sessions, I got to see a little bit of Chicago too. Pizza, great restaurants, trains, and a taxi ride. We also had the opportunity to watch the UA Men's Soccer team beat DePaul 2-0, which was a fun way to cap off the trip.

Grateful for the people, the conversations, and the reminder to build my life on faith, family, community, and meaningful work…in that order.