Striving for excellence!

What activities did you participate in?

I watched Kelsey Anderson give her presentation on undergraduate research. I also participated in self disclosing activities. These activities required the individuals to open up and publicly speak on behalf of ourselves. Some of the activities involved role playing and others were simply talking about yourself. My particular assignment was to "speak about myself for 20 seconds." We went all around the class with similar activities.

What you learned from the activities that will help your professional development?

I learned that it is hard to talk about yourself on command. Especially when it's associated with the pain of being forced to talk in front of the class. However, it couldn't be more relevant than this period of my life right now. Between filling out resumes, applications, interviews, starting an internship and applying to real-life jobs, it's just the perfect activity for practice. You must feel comfortable and confident about the characteristics that make you, you! It is what will make you *me stand out and win over the clients, application board, supervisor or future employer.

What you learned about myself this week?

I learned that I was somewhat negative about the idea of having to go up in front of class to follow through with the activity. I feel as if the apprehension hindered my performance and response to the question. I learned how I react under the pressure and that my answer was consequently affected. I remember my answer had about 10 too many "uhm's" as well as laughing to break the tension. Knowing this will help me with awareness to change these fillers for the future.

What you did to "strive for excellence" during that class?

To strive for excellence, I found myself really connecting to what Kelsey Anderson had to say about Undergraduate Research. I have been looking into studying abroad for years, however, always pushed it off because of the financial issue. However, after listening to Kelsey Anderson and her inspiring presentation, I realized what a perfect solution. It just reminds me that there are other options out there. It makes me want to strive to see how I can go about paying for Graduate School using scholarships and potential other means that are out there!