Yes!
Research Assessment #2
CONTACT ME
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
APPLICATION TIMELINE
9/28/20
WEEKLY BLOGS: BEGINNER'S LUCK
Personal growth in the form of professional development
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9/28/20
Early on in my ISM journey, I can confidently say that this experience has been incomparable to any other. As my peers and I have been working diligently on a variety of research reports as well as other tasks pertaining to building our professional portfolios, I have learned so much about myself and the career in Corporate Law that I would like to pursue in such a short period of time. For instance, this past week, my class and I have been working collaboratively on revising our interview questions for the upcoming business symposium and finalizing our resumes. In this sense, I cannot emphasise how incredibly grateful I am to be surrounded by a diverse group of individuals that are capable of formulating and holding engaging, productive conversations. Having previously been intimidated by the high competitiveness level of the Frisco ISD District and the significance placed on statistics, it was refreshing to share conversations with people who were unafraid to discuss both their achievements, talents and flaws. By doing so, it immediately deconstructed an overbearing facade that we all similarly shared of other students and beliefs of our own imperfections.
To elaborate further on the resume drafting process, I have previously applied to a fair amount of leadership positions, internships and job applications that require a cohesive resume. After scouring the internet for online resources on resume building and sharing a draft with family, I made what I believed to be a well-versed description of my achievements. Yet, more valuable changes have been applied to my resume in these past two weeks than in the past six months due to my classmates as well as Mr Pirtle, our ISM advisors’ advice and constructive feedback. In relation, having participated as an interviewee several times, it was very insightful to learn about the structural reasoning behind common questions such as “tell me about yourself” and “describe your greatest weakness” in an academic setting. Moving forward, I would like to continue developing my ability to respond confidently and thoughtfully to these questions through my search for a professional mentor and future in-class practices.
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Overcoming a childhood fear
10/05/20
As I navigate through my ISM Journey, I continue to learn so much about myself as well as my peers. In correspondence to the theme of collaboration in my previous reflection, it has been insightful to hear more about the motives behind some of my classmates long-term aspirations as we spent this past week further fine-tuning our personal interview responses and taking the time to verbally practice reading them aloud in a conversational setting.
It should be noted that I have continually struggled with any form of public speaking throughout high school. Remarkably enough, I hold a certain level of confidence in interviews and answering free-response questions in a high-stakes environment that I lack when prompted with a speech or script to follow. I believe this stems from an irrational fear of disappointing others, whether it be my teacher or teammates in a group presentation and an inherent fear of humiliating myself. As Zoom-based classes have only recently become our new reality, I have not truly acclimated myself to practicing speaking in front of others virtually. While Mr Pirtle made efforts in providing us with a cooperative platform, my nervousness was unarguably heightened. As with much adversity we face, I do believe I can gradually overcome this fear with practice and time.
In the upcoming week, I have established several objectives for myself. I will allocate a suitable amount of time to prepare for my interviews to present myself in a positive light. However, should I not perform to my standard, I will not beat myself over it. As this point, it is just as important to be genuine in the individual I hope to convey to interviewers.
"I feel like a proud mom!"
10/12/20
Following much anticipation, the week of interviews was finally in the midst. My class completed our weekly dose of practice on Monday as I grew manic with the thought of Wednesday lingering around the corner. How could I exude self-possession when I was in doubt of my ability?
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By Wednesday afternoon, I gained composure, having practiced my responses like a habit. Levelling the shoulders of my blazer and adjusting my screen, I logged onto the Zoom conference. Immediately, I was faced with a dozen pixelated boxes of like-minded, nervous adolescents dressed to impress. Before anyone had even uttered a word, I could not describe how incredibly proud I was of every single one of us at that moment. Personally, if anyone had asked me just two years ago what I envisioned my senior year of High School to look like, it would not be conversing to a screen about my experience and long-term aspirations. Yet, here we were, lined up and ready for anything.
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The interview process did not go exactly as planned, initially scheduled for three separate meetings with different professionals within 15-minute intervals. I only had the opportunity to speak to one individual, but I genuinely cannot describe how grateful I am of its outcome. Promptly after I responded to the introductory question “tell me about yourself”, she cheerfully exclaimed, “I feel like such a proud mom!” Having faced my fair share of interviews for both work and leadership positions, I had never been in a place where I could interact with a professional without fear of rejection. I could not believe how well the conversation flowed and how engaged she was, all and any fear of humiliation just about wafted over me as I shifted my focus solely on our interaction. Now, I recognise that not every interview that I experience in ISM, let alone my future professional journey will be as successful as this one, but I am so excited to see what is in store as we move forward in reaching out to professionals.
A shout into the void
10/19/20
As the weeks of ISM fly by, my classmates and I are now in the process of truly branching out and beginning to connect with professionals in our chosen field. This past week was intensive as much of it was characterized by practicing, practicing, practicing our conversational phone skills, finalizing our contact list, formatting our cold emails as well as voicemails as we prepare to connect through different mediums.
While both phone and video calls share many similarities in preparation and the ability to converse well, they also have significant differences. Some may even argue that professional phone calls are “easier” as the realm of video interviews becomes more prevalent, an implicit protocol has been created and standards have increased. Both parties are generally expected to dress professionally, ensure the camera is placed at a flattering angle, consciously select one’s location and background. Although this may seem tedious, video interviews also commonly provide a positive energy that cannot be matched through phone calls. A large part being, a degree of personalization is lost when you are unable to gauge the other party’s facial reaction and body movements during the conversation. As a result, I am increasingly nervous to conduct phone calls on a wide-scale in order to reach the video interview phase.
As a whole, I am still incredibly enthusiastic to begin the process of networking. I cannot express the invaluable experience ISM has provided me thus far from the sole standpoint of mentorship within my class and cannot wait to extend it to professionals within my chosen field.
Thirty five gold stars
10/26/20
When I was in elementary school, I would inherently associate the idea of gold stars to prizes and achievement. It rests atop the academic and athletic medals that we so proudly presented to our friends and family, scatters the night sky and boasts itself atop of our Christmas trees. Several years later, I find myself linking it to happiness when I see it light up my email inbox.
This week, I starred and sent a little over 30 cold emails to professionals across the United States, called numerous firms, conversed with dozens of receptionists and left several voicemails. Boston, New York, Houston, Dallas and San Francisco proved to be common locations. I gradually grew anxious in hopes that one firm would call me back or that one email would light up my inbox. After a long week of no replies, I received three stars this Friday and celebrated in incandescent happiness. While no one likes to admit it, we do find joy in others validation of ourselves. Through university acceptance letters, in marriage proposals and even in mere competitions we make amongst our peers. I will admit that when I did not receive any news from various firms and professionals that I contacted, I felt small. How insignificant could I possibly be, if I was not even worth responding to with a rejection? In this sense, I believe the initial lack of communication I received ironically taught me a valuable lesson in communicating with others. Maya Angelou once said that “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I hold this statement to be true. However, I also believe that just as important as our choice of words is, the lack thereof can have the same consequential impact on the recipient.
Moving forward, I say with pride and immense gratitude that I have four separate informational Zoom interviews scheduled with professionals this week and plan to attain several more. I genuinely cannot express how thankful I am to these individuals who are allocating time and effort to speak with an aspiring student whom one day hopes to achieve just a quarter of what they have. As a whole, I am incredibly excited to learn from them and hear their experiences in this field.
