The most important lesson Savannah Benitez has learned at PNW is how to cope with strange situations.

“Across my college experience, one of the most valuable things I have learned is to be comfortable with getting uncomfortable,” said Benitez, a senior Marketing major.  “There are going to be so many moments where you think to yourself that you can’t do something, but the truth is you can.

“You’ll surprise yourself as to how many things you can do once you start putting yourself in uncomfortable situations that are necessary for growth,” she said. “Then you realize everything will be fine and it makes you feel proud of yourself for stepping outside your comfort zone.”

Benitez credits her personal growth to embracing uncomfortable situations as opportunities to grow, even when she doubted herself.

Those experiences made her more confident and shaped her for the world after graduation.

“I was really shy when I started college, but expanding my network and doing things such as giving my ‘elevator pitch’ to so many professionals has helped me develop as a student,” Benitez said. 

Looking back, she said that opening herself to scary situations became a positive experience and opened the door for further opportunities.

“The things I once thought were scary have become a strong suit for me because I was able to open myself up and grow from those situations,” Benitez said.

Benitez particularly found her professional selling class daunting, but she overcame her shyness through it.
“As someone who was really shy, I was put into a professional selling class where we had to speak to professionals and give our pitches to them,” she said. “It was a really scary situation for me since I had never done something like that before, but it helped me grow into being okay and feeling more confident with talking in a professional setting.”