Homework #11

Exercise 1:
One of my steps in my planning wall was to apply for internships at forensic science labs. This part of the planning wall didn't take long to complete so i choose to do another step in my planning wall and that was to research different labs and find out the addresses for these labs.
To much of my surprise I found out that there is a crime processing lab right across the street from the school on west campus.This was great news to me because I have an actual address and I have a starting point. Since it's so close I can easily walk in and ask to speak to someone and I can get another contact this way. Applying for another internship was slightly harder to do this week than last week because I was trying to find one I qualify for based on my major. I found a couple that accepted math major applicants and I applied for a small internship in New York. Now I'm waiting to hear back from them and I will apply to yet another one next week.

Exercise 2:
My buddy was Georgia and we began our meeting talking about what it is that we wanted to do and we each talked about what we've done so far. Georgia wants to go into public relations and so far she's been applying to internships and she has heard back from two so far. The next step in our meeting was a problem/solution session in which we found out that we have the same sort of problems. We both are feeling a bit frustrated with the fact that we can't easily find contacts in our field. We both know what we want to do but we just can't seem to find the right people to get us going on the right track. Georgia gave me some advice on how I might be able to get better contacts. She helped me to realize that I can get better contacts from the contacts that I already have and that I should ask if my contacts from law enforcement might know someone who is more closely related to my field of interest. I gave her some suggestions as well and gave her the name of one of my previous professors that might be able to point her in the right direction. Our hard times session rolled into the third step of the buddy system meeting which was networking. Georgia knows of some people who might be willing to talk to me and I have a couple of friends who are connected in that field and I'm going to talk to them to see if I can help her find more people for her interviews.
This was a really helpful meeting because we both ended up helping each other out with our similar problems

Assignment #10

Exercise 1:
One of my first steps on my planning wall was to research internships and apply to at least one. I thought that the process would be very tedious and boring but to my surprise it was very exciting. Now I know I have found something I really want to do! For the first time in all my success as a student, friend, employee etc., I found myself actually getting excited to take the neccesary steps to move forward. To much of my surprise as well I realized that I don't have to change my major as I was repeatedly told. Although I realize now that additional schooling is necessary, I am glad to know that I don't have to take a completely different path, which was what I was trying to avoid. At the beginning of the semester my goal was how to become a forensic scientist without changing my major. I have figured out that I will have to go back to school, but the good news is I can work in the field while I'm working on the appropriate master's degree! Now I will apply to more than one internship and continue to build my network. My path seems to be unfolding right before my eyes and becoming more clear as I move forward.

Exercise 2:
This is the first time in my college career that I am beginning to make active steps towards completing my goal and sure enough, I did a lot of shaking. I've actually realized that I've been shaking for four years and my fear of success is the reason why I haven't made any moves up until this point. Examlple, Fear is the reason why I have been falling behind on all my classes this semester. What sense does it make for me to suddenly not care about school when I'm so close to being done? This was a powerful exercise for me because I had no idea how much fear was taking hold on my everyday decisions. I noticed it right away when I continued to put off contacting my interviews and researching interships. I would become immediatly and urgently busy and continued to tell myself "I'll have to do it tomorrow." When I got online to research interships I conveniently got distracted with e-mails and "let me check my myspace real quick" that turned into hours of chating and youtube videos. The amazing thing is I recognized it this time and I was able to stop, realize what was really going on , laugh about how funny it was that I was actually feeling resistance, remind myself of my goal and get back on task. When I actually started doing what I was supposed to be doing I found that it wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be and I actually had a little fun doing it.

Homework #9

One of the things I commited myself to doing this week was to contact the chief of police. I had his contact information but I was too nervous to contact him right away so I made a promise to myself that I would contact him this week. After many failed attempts I finally got in contact with him and to my disappointment I did not get much help from him mainly due to the fact that our conversation was cut short due to his busy schedule. However I did feel good about the fact that I made a commitment and followed through. I still plan on contacting him again this week in hopes that we may be able to talk a bit longer. A second commitment I made was to contact an actual forensic scientist. This task was not completed for some of the same reasons but with a little more persistance I know I can overcome this small hurdle.



Role Model Interview
This week I interviewed Cheif Ernest Brown. The conversation started out by me asking him about the path he took to get to his current career and it ended up being a converstation about careers in forensic science. Our conversation was abruptly ended because he was so busy but he did give me a few helpful hints about the field. Most of his advice was a "what not to do" list which was really helpful for me because I was doing most of those things so I actually learned something. We do have to finish our conversation sometime this week so I'm anxious to learn a little more about the field and how I can get into it.

Homework #7

This week I interviewed Frank, sterile processing manager at Sherman Hospital in Elgin Illinois. Most of our conversation was about how he achieved success and some of the obstacles he encountered during his journey. Frank achieved his success by "working his way up the cooperate ladder." I found this very interesting because I always thought he had went to school for at least six to eight years to get to where he is today. He started out as an engineering major and left school three years in to pursue a career in management. Money was his original motivation for wanting a career in engineering, but through working what seemed like just a minimun wage job to pay his way through school a passion for management grew in him and thats how he found out what he really wanted to do with his life. About ten years into his career, Frank was loving his work and happier than he had been when he was in school. Unfortunately he found himself laid off and unable to find a job for an entire year. He went through a period of extreme discouragement and blamed his misfortune on his lack of schooling. Nonetheless, he eventually found the job he is working at now which he describes as "the best job he has ever had in his life." I interviewed Frank because he just always looked successful. I always imagined having a life like his and I thought it would be interesting to find out exactly how he got the life he wanted and to my surprise his journey was not as technical as I had expected it to be. He found something he liked and relied on his skills, intelligence, and his network to get into the career he wanted.

Understanding Yourself

Exercise 4
I am not sure what color I am. A soft green or a solid teal? I am intriguing and mysterious. I'm sophisticated but also fun and spontaneous. I am laid back, cool, and satisfying, like a class of cold water on a hot summer day.

Exercise 5:
I was pretty shocked for the most part. I've always thought of myself as being quiet, shy, reserved, and somewhat emotionally distant. From this exercise I found out that I have an interest in colorful things. Everything in my room is a different color, even the clothes in my closet!! I also seem to be pretty close to those around me. have lots of pictures of friends and the things they have given me over the years. I've found out that I'm pretty colorful and open-minded. I seem to have a big imagination as well. I've also found out I'm creative and inspirational.

Exercise 6:
John Legend
Leah is very creative. She has the heart of a child, genuine, pure and warm. She's very poetic and I can see that she is multi talented. She has an inspirational vibe about her. People feed off her positive energy. She has a intriguing beauty about her that fills the room. Kind of like an exotic flower. She smiles alot and people like it. Refreshing spirit.

Micheal Jackson
"When Leah walks in the room I instantly smile. She has a warmness about her that makes you do that. She's very likable. People like to be around her. I like her voice. Its very soft like a mother or your conscience. Her calm attitude is a sigh of relieve. She's very comfortable to be around. She has the best laugh I've ever heard, its cute. She's funny and colorful too.

Jennifer Aniston
Leah is very stylish. She's sexy and sophisticated, beautiful as a rose. She makes people laugh and she's very wise. Amazingly articulate in a fun, down to earth kind of way. Everyone loves her conversation. Everyone can relate to her in some kind of way. She's strong and uneasily intimidated. Definitely a leader

Johnny Depp
Leah's a blast!! She's always smiling and making other people smile, or laugh should I say. She has lots of friends I can tell. She's easy to like. She's fascinating you can never get enough of her. She's compassionate and fun. Classy and spontaneous. Her smile lights up the whole room. Her energy is contagious.

Exercise 7:
20 things I like to do:

1. sing
2. listen to music
3. play object find games on my PC
4. talk on the phone
5. sleep
6. jog
7. drink (non alcoholic beverages)
8. shower
9. crack my knuckles
10. drive
11. look at pictures
12. look at myself in the mirror
13. smile
14. daydream
15. watch plays
16. shop
17. wear clean socks
18. play sudoku
19. eat
20. make others laugh so hard they cry

Exercise 8

My ideal environment would consist of my own group of entertainers: musicians, circus crew, magicians, stand up comedians etc. They would be ready to happily entertain me whenever I wanted and they would always know when to leave me alone. I would live in a quiet world with just enough noise so I wouldn't feel lonely. Every one would be smiling most of the time because too much smiling might me scary. Every time I asked a question someone would reply "You know. . . that's a really good question!" and people would want to talk to me but they wouldn't be too pushy either. There would be no such thing as the Internet or text messaging so it would make it easier for people to talk to me face to face. Everyone would be really lazy too and the only diet would consist of oranges, Chinese food, and green tea because those are my favorite foods. I would be the most healthy fit person in my world. People would knock down my door begging to know my secret. . . . .and I would never tell, just so they can keep asking. Everyone would be so interested on me because of it. The qualities that would emerge in me would be optimism, self confidence, intelligence, articulacy.

Exercise 9:

I wake up at about 9 am on a Saturday morning. My room is big and cosy, the floors are warm when I get out of bed and step on them. I have a ton of energy and i stretch and smile ready for my day. I have alot to do today but its not much at all. I walk down the stairs and my house is just like my room big and cosy, even the kitchen is as comfy as the living room. I have a bowl of special K cereal with freezing cold milk and a cool glass of water. I watch TV for about 30 minutes, check the weather, grab my mp3 player and head outside for a morning jog by myself, no one else is around and the air is cool. I go back in the house at about 11:00 or so and check my phone. I get the good morning phone call from my boyfriend and so many of my friends have called and sent text messages asking me what I'm doing today. I take a warm shower and get dressed. Its nice outside today so I'll wear some shorts and a tank top and sandals. I look really cute, comfortable and fun. I pull my hair into a sporty ponytail and get in my two door sports car and head to the grocery store and think about what i wanna cook for dinner. After I come from the grocery store I meet up with two of my best friends and head to the mall to go shopping for my mom's birthday. I'm throwing her a big surprise birthday party and my friends are glad to help me pick out decorations for the party. We laugh about the crazy week we've all had at work and we're glad to relax on the weekend. After the shopping is all done we go get our nails and hair done for no reason at all, just because. While I'm at the hair salon my boyfriend calls me and ask to take me out to dinner tonight and I tell him that I really had a taste for my famous lasagna and tell him to come over instead. He agrees because he really loves my cooking. Its about 5:00 now so I head to my dance lessons are about to start. The dance lesson today was great, I was so energetic and my dance teacher was complimenting my progress the entire time. After the dance lessons I go home and get dinner started and my boyfriends shows up a little early with my favorite cheesecake for dessert. I was so excited. We have dinner and the delicious dessert. It was the best cheesecake I've ever had. We sit down and watch some late night TV and fall asleep on the couch for a little bit until he gets up to go home. All the dishes in the sink have spontaneously disappeared and the food was magically put away so I'm really glad I don't have to do that. I call my mom and I'm so excited we get to spend time together in the morning. We talk for a really long time, until I fall asleep on the phone in my bed. I do this every night with her and we always joke about it when we get together on the weekends.

1.) I am taking Leadership for Change to fullfill a general education requirement. However I chose this particular class because a fellow student recomended thiss course to me.

2.) I hope to gain a better understanding of my goals in life. Although I am aware of my long term goals I'm taking this class in hopes that I will learn skills and gain habits that will help me put those goals in motion.

3.) As a small child I remember being fascinated with airplanes. At the time a flying mode of transportation was something I could not fathom and I remember spending hours trying to figure out how many people could fit in a seemingly small plane. I lived most through my sight. Everything I found fascinating as a child was something I saw. I loved to play with my barbies as a child an I loved to daydream about getting married and having a family. I never told anyone about playing "house" with my brother. We used to be similar to a soap opera version of the power rangers. Unfortunatley it doesn't feel like there is still a part of me that loves those things. Some of those early dreams and fantasies might indicate my ability to dream. Even to this day, I have a tendency to live in a dream world more than reality.