Hilary Corna, author of “One White Face,” came to Binghamton University on Thursday to discuss how young professionals can prepare themselves for the global environment.

Corna shared the story of how she bought a one-way ticket to Singapore to pursue an international career after she completed her undergraduate studies. Shortly after arriving, Corna secured a job as senior executive officer for Toyota in Singapore, and for three years she managed a team of people and worked across six Asian countries.

She said she believes that the decision she made to go to Singapore was the right one for her and urged students to chase their goals, regardless of the consequence.

“No matter what you are doing, there is always an opportunity to grow,” Corna said. “So seize these opportunities. And I believe young people need to do it faster and quicker because as you grow older, things get more complicated. I believe that it is a crucial skill set to analyze situations, gauge risks, and then make decisions.”

Throughout the presentation, Corna spoke about how she received “dares” from the universe that she chose to take and she said that others must learn to take dares as well.

“The dare from the universe is just this intuition that you get this gut feeling,” Corna said. “We always know what is right, and we always have that perspective. And it is just up to us to act on these feelings and pursue what we love.”

Corna shared her three simple steps on how to gain success in pursuing their dreams with students.

“I think the process is important,” Corna said. “Letting go of fear and realizing prioritization and risk management. Know what you are willing to risk, and then campaigning to others and telling them of your dreams.”

She said her journey helped her realize who she was and what was truly important to her.

“It was a challenge, it was something against the odds, but I did it. I wanted to challenge myself,” Corna said.

By daring herself to achieve her goals, Corna said she ended up successful and now wants to inspire students to pursue their dreams.

Ying Wu, a junior majoring in mathematical sciences, thought the presentation was inspirational.

“I think it is pretty meaningful, to hear someone’s story,” Wu said. “When she dared herself it encouraged me to do what I want to do, despite the obstacles.”

The event highlighted that not only do people have to set goals, but they also have to take steps to achieve them.

Janell Salmon, a junior majoring in human development, said Corna’s presentation helped her plan ahead.

“My dream is to travel abroad and learn Spanish, and this event helped me realize that in order to achieve this goal I have to actually crack down on that, and build on the things that I already know,” Salmon said.

Gwang Lee, a senior double-majoring in anthropology and biology, said the presentation was excellent.

“It was awesome and really inspiring,” Lee said. “I want to start a business, and I learned that in order for goals to happen sometimes it may take sacrifices and going against what other people say.”

The event was co-sponsored by the Binghamton University Globalistas, SUNY Global, Career Development Center, Office of International Programs and the International Connections Club and was attended by more than 70 students.