Matrix Monday!

Yesterday was one of the biggest days of the year in the communications field -- the Matrix Awards! Each year, New York Women in Communications honors successful women within the industry at this ceremony, and this year's lineup was star-studded to say the least. I was fortunate to be invited to the luncheon, and I got to hear some inspirational stories and advice from women that I really admire.

The big buzz surrounding the event was an appearance by none other than Oprah. Her best friend, Gayle King, was honored for her work at O Magazine and Oprah presented the award to her. She gave a lovely speech about Gayle and called her an "MSF"; mother, sister and friend. Awww!

The most inspirational speech came from Doris Kearns Goodwin, an incredibly intelligent historian who has written best-selling books about U.S. presidents and her other love: baseball. She shared stories about her youth -- both about losing her mother at an early age, and about reinforcing her love of history through the ritual of giving her father play-by-play stories about the baseball games he had missed while at work.

The funniest speech by far was that of Tina Fey. She was honored for television, and her award was presented by Seth Meyers. By the time Tina and Seth were finished, the entire Waldorf ballroom was laughing at jokes about Tina and Sheryl Crowe's almost identical dresses and at stories about how Tina has succeeded in the very male-dominated business of comedy writing.

I have no idea how they will top this year's Matrix Awards, but I'm already looking forward to next year!

Upcoming Events with New York Women in Communications

When I first moved to New York in hopes of becoming involved in the communications field, I didn't really know anyone who could help me out. During my freshman year I saw an ad for an event run by New York Women in Communications, and I decided to check it out. The event featured speakers from different areas of communications talking about how they got to where they are now, and the best part was that they were willing to hand out their business cards and answer your questions.

I ended up joining NYWICI, and I can't even begin to express how much the organization has helped me over the past few years. Not only have I met a lot of really amazing people who are so eager to help me, but I also received an incredible scholarship and internship experience from them last year.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks, because there are some really cool events coming up! This Wednesday, there is a Round Table event where I'll be listening to the advice of professionals in two of my areas of interest: travel writing and online publishing!

In early April, NYWICI is holding a Night Out with Kate White, the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan. Last year this event was with Candance Bushnell, author of Sex and the City. The event takes place at the Diane von Furstenberg store in the Meatpacking District -- really cool space! In addition to hearing Kate speak, I'll get to catch up with some of my friends from the organization over cocktails!

Finally, in late April are the illustrious Matrix Awards! Last year, I got to attend Matrix as a scholarship recipient which was amazing! The awards are given to communications professionals in different categories -- this year NYWICI is honoring women like Tina Fey, Sheryl Crowe, Ina Garten, Marissa Mayer, and Gayle King. And yes, Oprah is presenting the award to Gayle. I'm so excited to see what all of the recipients have to say this year!

I'd strongly suggest joining NYWICI if you want some great connections in the communications industry. I've gained so many mentors and friends through them, and the events are always a really good time! They can be a little pricey if you aren't a member, but student members especially get great discounts to them!

Brooklyn Skillshare and Brooklyn Brainery

One of the things that I love about living in New York is that if you have an interest in anything, you can most likely find other people here who share your interests. Something that I didn't know before I moved here was that if you don't have an interest in something, it's really easy to find new things to be interested in here. Did that make sense? I hope so, but let me explain.

Back in October, I heard about this awesome program called Brooklyn Skillshare that was taking place in (duh) Brooklyn. A warehouse in Brooklyn, to be more precise. Basically, it was a day full of classes on some pretty random topics taught by local people who simply wanted to share their skills. The classes ranged from Henna Tattoos to Maintaining Your Bicycle to Digital Music Recording to Raw Foodism, so there were plenty of things to interest both me and my boyfriend. We paid the suggested donation of $10 to get in, and learned a lot about some random topics that we never would have thought to pursue on our own. It was a pretty awesome day, and only cost us $10 plus the subway fare. How else would I have discovered the many wonders of the raw food diet? Who would have known?

Now, the idea has expanded into Brooklyn Brainery! This month is the first "semester" of Brooklyn Brainery classes, which meet once a week for four weeks. Each class is an hour and a half long, giving you six hours of learning time on one subject. They are still taught by locals who are sharing their passions, and some of this semester's subjects include "Meat" (yes, seriously.), "Scents and Sensibility", and "Optical Collusion". The classes are only $25 for all four weeks, so if you love learning it is well worth the cash.

Check out the schedules for Brooklyn Brainery here, and keep your eye on the Brooklyn Skillshare page for the next event date!