FINALLY!! It’s almost the end of the semester!! Did you think it would ever get here?!?!
You know, growing up I never really knew exactly what I wanted to when “I grew up,” and honestly, I still don’t. Sometimes that scares me because there are days where I am so unhappy with my current job, yet I’m not sure what I should look for in trying to find a new job. I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but after graduating with an A.A. in Elementary Education, I decided that was NOT for me at all. Fortunately, with the Interdisciplinary Studies, I have learned a lot more about myself, personally and professionally. My areas of study, Sociology, Education and Public Affairs, have allowed me to explore so many different areas that I have been able to explore myself. I thoroughly enjoy combining these programs and have found they work together very well.
Currently I work for a FL state park and I used to LOVE my job, back when I planned events, did programs for kids, worked with and recruited volunteers and did a lot of “office/public relations” type of stuff. Then, my job description changed and I became more of a maintenance worker, leaving the stuff I really liked behind. Without realizing it, my “old” job fell right into my IDS program areas—I was able to give programs (education), work with the community and plan programs (public affairs) and get into the minds of others in trying to find what makes them tick, convince them to volunteer or give me resources for the park (sociology).
Over the past year, my career goals have altered quite a bit. I have decided that I want to find a job that fits me best, something in the field of public relations and/or marketing, especially within a non-profit. I have also decided that I may apply for the Masters program, Non-profit Management. I am truly looking forward to graduating this May with my IDS B.S. degree, allowing more doors of opportunity to open.
If there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it would be to make sure your program areas are something you really enjoy and not just because it seems easy or convenient. You’ll do best if you love what you’re doing, whether it be academic, professional or personal.
I have to laugh some—it’s amazing how our goals and desires in life can change dramatically over the course of a few years! Have you experienced changing goals and paths? Or have you always known what you wanted to do?
Do you currently work? Does your IDS program fit into your current professional life? Give some examples.
I look forward to hearing your responses, and being the end of the semester, if you have any questions, comments or stories you would like to share or there’s something we didn’t cover, please feel free to bring it up.
I hope this has been an enjoyable and helpful experience for you, as it has been for me.
:o)
Kadie
Hello Mentees =)
Sad Day...the semester has come to an end and our lovely conversations are drawing close to closing. It has been a wonderful semester getting to know each of you. I hope that you have gathered some insights from us as I know we certainly have learned from each of you.
I just wanted to encourage each of yall to never give up on any goals. I don’t care if its 1 or 101 goals you have set for yourself...complete as many as you can. It’s never too late!!!
I know for me...I entered this program because I had changed my major what felt like 100 times. I was frustrated and just simply wanted out of UCF. I now have most all my prerequisites out of the way for either an Education degree or a degree in Health Sciences. I also have a fine little minor in Psychology. I have learned over time that my major isn't so terrible after all. It’s not a solidified certificate, but it is beneficial for me to go get more education and work using either of these passions I have. Don't give up on any goals or passions you may have. God has given you the aspirations you have and I believe you should use them to the fullest capability =)
If you have any questions or if you want to discuss anything further...please feel free =) I know I’m not going anywhere =)
I’d love to know also...along with Kadie...if you are using the education you are receiving in this IDS program?
Looking forward to hearing from each of you =)
~Rebe
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I can say that at the moment my minor, entrepreneurship, works perfect for me. Like I said before my goal is ti have my own business. It is very easy to say it, specially write it, but the truth is that I am scared. Actually I'm really super scared. The entrepreneurship minor for ids goes straight to the point, which makes it prefect. Th only thing I don't like at all is that so far, most of the courses are in web streaming or on-line. That frustrates me because I believe that in this case, entrepreneurship, courses should be on a regular classroom scenario so there can be student/group/professor interaction.
ReplyDeletePaloma Peraza
Like I said before my path has changed many times and it will still change. I believe that sometimes you have to go a little bit off the path, so you can miss it and see how much you love what you do. And that's what life experience is all about. Falling off the horse getting back on top. At least that's what my experience has taught me.
ReplyDeletePaloma Peraza
Good points Paloma!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of business do you want to own? Does it incorporate the other areas of study you have? I agree with the necessary interaction. You would think that in a class such as those you would have the most social interaction....odd.
Rebe
Of my areas of study the only one that is directly related is entrepreneurship. Of my other the two areas human behavior kind of goes, because I'm interested well, in peoples behavior. why the act certain ways, and since my clientele will probably be women, I'll be taken some women psychology and such. my other area is public administration and for that I plan to take urban planning and nonprofit.
ReplyDeletepaloma Peraza
hello!
ReplyDeletei agree that this semester did go by quite quickly. although there were some times when i didnt know if i would make it to the end. i have thoroughly enjoyed our conversations.
i have to say that my current job does not really use any of my areas of study. but the reason i came back to school and did the IDS major was to change my current status. i am looking forward to applying all these new skills that i have acquired. i agree with you Rebe, God has given me skills and aspirations and i hope to use them to the fullest!
Good luck to all of you!
Dora Peters
It's amazing how fast this semester has come and gone. I still find myself thinking that I have plenty of time to study for my finals when in fact they are next week! At the moment I am not using any of my IDS components in my job. But then again I pretty much hate my job so this is a kind of indication that I am on the right track not studying anything to do with my current job.
ReplyDelete~Ana Zuniga
For the future though, I plan on pursuing a career where I don't really have to explain my bachelor's degree. I need a Bachelor's as a stepping stone onto grad school. Therefore although my concentrations are not necessarily related, they all have given me knowledge that I have enjoyed acquiring so I do not regret anything.
ReplyDelete~Ana Zuniga
Like most of you, I too have changed career paths a few times, and I have to say that I will probably do so again in the future. It's been shown that with longer life expectancies, people cannot stay in one field their whole life and still feel fulfilled, they need at least three different ones. So even though this might mean a slight shift in job duties like Kadie described, it can mean all the difference.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I am planning on changing paths in the future!
~Ana Zuniga
Ana,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you currently do for work? What do you plan on studying in grad school?
Good luck to you!! I've really enjoyed learning about you throughout this semester.
Kadie
Dora--
ReplyDeleteI, too, wondered at times if I would make it through this semester. The Cornerstone and Capstone courses are very demanding, so I still am struggling to catch up and finish my other course. I definitely recommend not taking a ton of other classes and try to take something a little laid back when taking your capstone experience. I have to say, the mentoring project has been really interesting and enjoyable for me.
But, it's the end of the semester!! YAY! Rejoice!! Plus, I graduate this semester, so double YAY!
Good luck with everything!
Kadie
Again, everyone, I wanted to say how much I have enjoyed this mentee group and that I appreciate you guys helping to make the semester more enjoyable for me.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU!
Kadie
Kadie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advise. Conveniently, I only have one class left and its capstone. YAY! and I will be double YAY-ing like you next semester hopefully. I am looking forward to the experiencing the capstone class. I have learned a lot in this class but you are right when you say it was very demanding! You guys were great advisors and I look forward in helping cornerstone students if and when I get done with this class.
Dora Peters
so I was thinking back to all our blog chats. Which one was your favorite? Mine had to be the philosopher. I wonder if there was a way to make some of my friends take that. I know they would enjoy it a well. I liked this blog because it gave me insight into how people think. You guys all taught me a lot and i am thankful for that. I also plan on implementing various changes to how I look at interviews from what I have learned here. Keep on trekking folks. We'll all get to where we are goin' soon!
ReplyDelete-Dora Peters
I currently work as a bona fide, certified pizza delivery specialist. This employment fits extremely well into this IDS program of ours and I’ll tell you how. First of all, I feed the hungry, simple as that. Feeding the hungry falls into the humanitarian efforts category of the interdisciplinary man. As well as feeding the hungry, I also clean the store. Everyone knows as well as I do that cleaning goes hand in hand with environmental sanitation which can also be part of the Interdisciplinary Man. Lastly, though not leastly, I build and construct pizzas. This can easily fall into a field of culinary expertise. There we have it, three programs of study easily connected to interdisciplinarity.
ReplyDeleteGalen Michael Macpherson I
I actually cannot wait to wake up every morning and use all the useful tools and tricks I picked up from being in this wonderful interdisciplinary studies class. I now know that I can match things up in my day to make them more interdisciplinarized. For instance, I can make coffee (food technician) pick out the morning vitamins (nutritionalist, pharmaceutical engineer) and watch CNN (political researcher) and just know that I am using my interdisciplinarity to the fullest. I love IDS!
ReplyDeleteGalen Michael Macpherson I
Dora,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I really thought the philosopher was pretty neat, even though him and I had our differences. But yeah this blog has been pretty fun and exhilarating, thinking of three paragraphs to jot down real quick every Friday. The responses I have read from the others in this blog are actually quite inspiring. Through this method of communication, I have learned about all sorts of peoples lives and how they adapt and react to day to day changes and problems. Most of you guys are still working on what is best for your life and what is going to make you happiest overall. If everyone were as hardworking and dream oriented as you guys are, we'd have a pretty cool world, though much more competition. Peace out fellow mentees and mentors, keep your bodys' rockin'.
Galen Michael Macpherson I
I can honestly say that this major is working for me pretty well. Changes in my goals? Not so much...but changes in the paths I've decided to take to achieve them? Absolutely. Like I said in previous postings, I use to be totally about IT and computers and thought that it was 'the thing for me'. Now though, I see that I have other interests. Originally I came to this program because it was the easiest way for me to graduate on time and fulfill my contractual obligation to the Army. Now, I see that I'm actually enjoying it and enjoy the freedom that it offers me. My areas of focus (Computer Science and Humanities) are both things I am interested in and both contain not just classes, but skills that I believe I needed to cultivate in order to be a successful Officer in the US Army when I do finally commission in December of this year. I have always known what I wanted to end up doing, (Army Officer) and hopefully, when I do get my commission, I'll be just as satisfied with it as I hope I will be.
ReplyDelete-Totiro N Clark II
Galen,
ReplyDeleteBona fide and certified pizza delivery specialist? I like the way you put it, haha. Thats great dude. Its also great how you have taken your job and managed to find the aspects of it that are Interdisciplinary. I dont work now, but if I did, I would do exactly as you have done and looked to see how my current life incorporated the ideals and concepts I was learning about in my major. Are you looking to be a nutritionalist or a political researcher in the future perhaps? Anyway, good luck with everything you're involved in right now man.
-Totiro N Clark II
Dora-
ReplyDeleteYea, I really liked the Philosopher too. I have yet to make any of my friends take that little quiz, actually. Philosophy is something that I'm kind of interested in and when that ended up being one of our assignments, I was pretty excited. The capstone students taught me a lot this semester. Some of it I was kind of familiar with, but the vast majority I was completely new to. Good luck to everyone with exams! I hope you all had a great semester!
-Totiro N Clark II
hey yall!
ReplyDeletePaloma,
Being in any kind of business you will want to understand people's behaviors =) That is very valuable =) If you want to take a good women’s psychology class...take Women's Mental Health (CLP 3184) with Professor Ming. I enjoyed it so very much!!!
T-Clark,
I love your attitude toward your degree. I am impressed and inspired by your excitement to use your degree even when it will be used possibly later in life.
Everyone!!!
Im so proud yall have enjoyed this semester! I hope you all have learned a lot through this cornerstone class. It has been so fun getting to know you all!
~Rebekah!
Hey Dora!
ReplyDeleteI also very much enjoyed the virtual philosopher; I liked how it made me think about decisions and scenarios I normally wouldn't think about. I am also glad that I don't have to make those decisions often--especially the life saving one!
I also enjoyed the blog on interviews and resumes. They helped me think about my experiences and future experiences with job hunting. As I mentioned, I am graduating this semester and I have also been looking for a new occupation, so that blog was particularly helpful in current predictament.
Everyone--
I had an interview this past week, and it turned out to be with the owner/manager and practically only employee. I expected an interview with lots of questions, examples, expectations, etc. I'm so new at this, that when we were sitting there and he said he really didn't have any questions for me, but do I have questions for him, I was totally stumped!! I tried hard to come up with stuff, but every interview I have ever been to prior to this had pages of questions, an interview panel, at least 6 other interviewees, etc. This was a total change and shock for me, but now I know that I really need to be ready to shoot back questions. In the past, I have always formulated my questions off of the questions they asked me. Anyhow, just thought it may be helpful for you guys to think about potential questions prior to your interviews.
Kadie