Background

In this first entry, I thought it'd be nice to give readers a little more information about myself. As you can see above, I graduated from SUNY Brockport with a bachelor's degree in English. I concentrated in Literature because I loved the idea of being able to get graded on something I do every single day anyway: read! I was originally a social work major (for one, very long semester). After my first ENL course, I changed my major to English. Towards the end of my junior year, I realized I was only six credits shy of finishing a minor in Psychology, so I added that too.

My first year at Brockport, I got a job by networking - I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time though. In fact, I've gotten all of my jobs through networking. As a freshman, my suitemate was a Delta student. Because she had had a different freshman orientation than me, she had been informed of America Reads, a literacy program that provides students with internship experience at the local middle or elementary schools. She gave me Rob DiCarlo’s contact information because he is the Associate Director of Career Services and the internship coordinator. Through the America Reads program, I earned six upper-division college credits, got paid through work-study, and made a lot of contacts for the future. Then, when I was ready for a change, I contacted Rob DiCarlo again. He had taught the course necessary for America Reads students so he knew me very well after two years. Luckily, he had a position open at the Career Services office for an assistant. He offered me an application and, after an interview, he hired me. I’ve been working at Career Services ever since.

Internship Experience

I did a brief internship with a non-profit organization in Rochester over the summer of 2008. I researched internship openings on JobShop, found the place and position, and applied. I also talked to Rob about the opportunity. He knew the lady who would be my supervisor and referred me to her. She brought up his name during the interview, which gave us even more to talk about. I'm not sure if that contact got me the position - my interviewer and I talked for over an hour before his name even came up - but using my network is something I should practice anyway. The internship ended up being very beneficial. I authored articles for, edited and formatted the agency's newsletter each month, which provided me with a nice portfolio in the end. I also had the opportunity to attend a conference in lieu of my supervisor. I met new contacts and learned to speak up for myself.

Another interesting, and unexpected lesson I learned at the conference: Don't be too picky about your food in a professional context. I'm an extremely fickle eater. I won't explain in depth, but at the conference I was forced to either go hungry or pick at the whole wheat wraps oozing with lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes. I decided to try the wraps. As the youngest person at the conference, I didn't want to call attention to myself too much, or at least in a non-professional matter. I found out later that SUNY Brockport has an event each year (perhaps even each semester) to teach students how to eat in a professional setting, usually at a dinner or luncheon. Maybe that is something I should look into!