I had just finished Peace Corps at 25 years old in the Dominican Republic and returned to my hometown Kansas City. I got my first professional job at Sunflower House, A Child Abuse Prevention Center, giving presentations about how to prevent child abuse.
During that first month I attended a child abuse prevention conference and when I returned my boss asked me what I thought about the experience. Rather than sharing about new research or insightful workshops I attended, I responded with:
“I was so impressed with the keynote speaker and her speaking skills! She was really confident and had me completely captivated. I want to speak like her!”
My boss immediately told me that there was something called Toastmasters that I could join and Sunflower House would pay for it.
I went to a few meetings and was so nervous every time! I shared with my parents about my new public speaking journey and I found out that my grandfather, Mario Ascarrunz, who immigrated from Bolivia in the 1960’s was part of Toastmasters in his little town of Ponca City, Oklahoma! If my grandfather could do Toastmasters with his thick Spanish accent, I definitely could, despite my nervousness.
Since then, I’ve never turned back. Little did I know at the start of my career that I would use public speaking throughout my entire career.
Now I have my own business, Urban Hikes Kansas City www.urbanhikeskc.com and I give narrated urban hiking tours around Kansas City and people love them! I show KC’s hidden gems, tell the untold history and take my groups places they haven’t been before. I have my portable mic and am talking for 3 hours straight, of course with a few breaks as we huff and puff up some big Kansas City hills!
One of the reasons why I had the courage to take action on this business idea is because I’ve built up my confidence speaking in front of others within the safety of my home club Bootstraps Toastmasters. As an entrepreneur, I often get interviewed for features, podcasts or radio shows and I’ve been comfortable with answering questions on the spot due to my Table Topics practice. Toastmasters has also helped me to start and end on time, which folks on my urban hikes expect, although it isn’t my nature.
I look at Toastmasters like going to the gym, but for public speaking. If I stop exercising, my body will stop being as able as it once was. If I stop going to Toastmasters, my speaking skills will also slowly diminish.
My grandfather, Mario Ascarrunz, passed away the year before my Toastmasters journey started, but if he were still here, I know that he would be proud to see that I am in a club and also using my Toastmasters skills as an entrepreneur.
Lisa Peña is President of Bootstraps Toastmasters Club 2022-2023 and owner of Urban Hikes Kansas City www.urbanhikeskc.com
This is just excellent. A really inspiring example of communication and leadership skills honed in Toastmasters and finding expression in someone’s work and life. Way to go!
Awesome story, Lisa! I really enjoyed how much Toastmasters has prepared and equipped you for this great journey. Perhaps one day you might slow down – and realize you have all these great recordings to make a book! Way to go!