Introduction:
I have already been doing my practicum for about a month now and have done a lot. From mock interviews to updating some information sheets discussing the majors at Mississippi State University and what you can do with those majors as far as a career goes. However, the most of the following is from this past week since beginning Practicum class. In my reflection, I will discuss how I have felt up until now about working with the Career Center.
Week 1 Activities:
-Worked the Transfer Student Orientation on Monday morning: Handed out Career Center handbooks and gave useful information regarding the resources the Career Center offers, which include Internships, Co-Ops, Resume Critiques, Mock Interviews, and even a website that has job postings that is updated weekly.
-Worked Freshman Orientation Wednesday and Friday morning
-Met with Scott Maynard (Site Supervisor), the Career Center Director and discussed some Current Legal Issues involving unpaid student internships and benefits as well as discussing some goals for myself and expectations I had during my Practicum as well as goals and expectations established by him... Also discussed the Learning Contract assignment that is due Tuesday
-Met with Cassandra Latimer (Project Supervisor), the Career Center Associate Director and brainstormed some more project ideas for me for the rest of my practicum tenure
-Revised and updated the "What Can I Do with a Major in...?" Sheets for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Art, Architecture, and Design, and the College of Arts and Sciences
-Met with each Department Representative Counselor to check my updates and revisions to the"What Can I Do...?" information lists.
-Searched the Connections webpage on the Career Center website to see what was available as far as part-time jobs, and full-time careers go
Reflection:
So far, I have absolutely loved my practicum experience. The people I work with are absolutely amazing. They received the Best Office on Campus for a reason last year. I love working with students to help them better their resumes and their interviewing skills. Most of all, I love helping them find their path professionally. Dreaming about a career when you're younger is one of the most amazing things a child can use their imagination with. The career development with everyone is an awesome experience. For instance, when I was younger I wanted to be a storm chaser. Then I discovered they didn't receive life insurance, so I decided to do broadcast meteorology. A few years after that, while researching schools, I discovered the closest one at the time was in Wisconsin. Mississippi State's did not exist at that moment in time. So I decided upon basic television broadcasting. However, because of my experience in Housing & Residence Life and Greek Life during my undergrad, I decided to get a Master's Degree in student affairs. As you can see, as my environment changed around me, so did my career path. Funny how things turned out the way they did. I have always wanted to run for office though, and I still want to do that one day. Hopefully you'll know me as Mayor McAbee! :)
I have learned so far that I am great at counseling students on their career as well as life in general. The people I work with have told me they have heard me with students and they say, "Wow, you did an awesome job." I honestly got caught off guard when they told me that. It took me so long to figure out what I wanted to do, and I have finally learned that career counseling is my cup of tea. I love working with the RIASEC model developed by John Holland and also the Myers Briggs Test. Seeing student's outcomes to these assessments have been a great learning experience. Some of their results you would not think would show up just from looking at them.
Throughout my experience, I have learned so much about the majors that are offered at Mississippi State and I thing I have pretty well memorized the Colleges discussed above. When freshmen were coming up asking questions regarding their major and what they could do, I found myself actually knowing the answer. At first I thought the update on those lists were just busy work, but it was actually beneficial to recruitment for the Career Center and also to my knowledge in the Career Counseling realm. Because, I always say... How can you counsel someone if you don't have a knowledge of what you are wanting them to achieve.
I look forward to this week, because i have about ten mock interviews to conduct and most of them are for ESL students. This is going to give me a great opportunity to increase my knowledge multicultural as it relates to career development.
Can't wait to report and reflect next week!
-Jacob McAbee
No comments:
Post a Comment