To Spring 2009 Students

To be successful in Business Writing, all you need to do is apply yourself and complete your work by the deadlines. Doing the client project is not as cumbersome as it first seems. Remember you'll have teammates who are there to help you. The book has excellent examples for each piece of writing that Angie requires you to do--use them and you'll do great! Using the blog is really simple. You can dress it up as much or as little as you like. It just needs to be functional. The hardest part of blogger for me was remembering to do the posts on time--Sunday night can slip up on you quickly. The portfolio is a little bit trickier so get started on it early so that if you have questions, you'll have time to ask Angie for help. She is easy to get in touch with and is very helpful, but to get her help, you can't wait until the last minute.

If you do the work assigned to you (including the reading--watch out for daily grades) you'll do just fine in Enlgish 304. Good luck, and enjoy Angie. You're lucky to have her. :-)

The Client Project

The client project has taught me a lot with how to successfully work with a team to complete a task. I would typically prefer to work alone because sometimes it just feels easier to not have to worry about aligning others schedules, and it's easier for me to take the responsibility rather than depend on someone else to do the work. This has probably been the biggest challenge for me--trusting other people to do the work they say they will. I'm always hesitant that they will not do their work and my grade will be compromised.

The best part of the group project has been getting to know Crina, Danni, & I'John. They are all wonderful people and I'm so glad I've gotten to know them better. This semester I have 3 of my 5 classes with Crina, so it's been good to have that relationship.

I think I've learned to be more patient with people and that will be helpful with the next group project. I've also learned that people do generally do what they say they will. This project has helped me become more confident in other people.

Dual Coding

This picture kinda pumped me up! It made me remember high school basketball, especially running from the locker room onto the court. It was such an adrenalin rush! The words build up excitement and pride. The red lettering to me denotes passion. Athletes are passionate about their sport and want to excel. (Part of me also thinks about how in Bible times they covered their doors in red blood during passover, though I'm not sure yet how this connects). We believe is hopeful too. It lets all who enter know that someone has faith in them. I guess that could be the connection--faith. You gotta have faith.

Miscommunication

I work at CVS as a pharmacy technician. Since school has started, I've really scaled back on my hours. Typically I just work on Mondays. One week though, my bosses scheduled me to work on Sunday. I had told them I was willing to work on an occasional Sunday, just to let me know. Well, no one let me know I was scheduled. So, at about 12:10 I received a phone call asking me where I was, did I know I was supposed to work. I had to hurry straight into work. I felt so embarrassed that I wasn't there on time! There were no "reprocussions" other than that. The pharmacist working was very chill about it and so was my manager.

Mock Interview Reflection

I wasn't really sure what to expect before my interview, but for some reason I really wasn't nervous at all. I guess because it was a mock interview and it didn't really affect my future. When I've interviewed for a real job in the past, I have been nervous. I feel like that because I wasn't nervous, I was able to really be myself. Actually, the interview was kinda fun! I enjoy the uncertainty of not knowing what question is coming next.

One question that threw me was: "What was the most meaningful experience of the Health Science program at Clemson?" I really didn't have an answer to this question. I'm not sure there has been one event that has been really meaningful in that it reshaped my life; however, I remember how I felt after my first ever health science lecture. I remember after leaving that class how excited I was to finally feel like I had found my niche. I tried to use this as my most meaningful experience. Hopefully, this answer was successful and didn't look like I was grasping at straws.

If I had to do this interview over again, I don't think I would really change much. Had this been a real interview, I would have felt really good about it and would have been hopeful to receive a call back. Thankfully I've been blessed with the ability to answer interview questions with ease. Overall, I feel mostly comfortable in interview settings, almost like this is my time to shine and work the audience. Normally, I just try to have fun with interviews! I think I would have prepared better questions to ask at the end of the interview. I had forgotten about that part, so I had to make up something on the fly.

I learned to just relax and be myself in an interview. I felt how much easier it is to interview if I don't get nervous. This to me was the most important lesson I learned. I also learned how to write a cover letter. I didn't realize this was a necessary part of a resume.

Presentations

I really enjoyed the presentations. It was so neat to "see" into everyone's lives and just see things that are important or interesting to each of us. I loved Cammy's presentation on her animals. I just thought it was so cool! I mean, I got to pet a squirrel! That was just so cool. I thought Danni's was really neat too. I liked how she included music in the background of her presentation; that was very creative. I think music is a very important aspect to education. I think children need it to be well rounded and to help them with cognitive abilities. I thought Emily's presentation was really good too. It was so informative. I don't know much at all about cow showing so it was just neat to learn about it. Plus, cows are just so cute! I think one reason this presentation was so good is because cow showing is something that she really enjoys doing, and this was evident in her presentation. It made me want to go to a show!

On Anything

These topics that have no direction, no limitations, no topics, drive me crazy! My initial thought is, "Sweet! I can write/present on anything!" Then, when I actually sit down to do the assignment, I feel clueless as to what I should write about. I end up staring at my computer screen, not sure of what to do. It's kinda sad actually. I wish I didn't desire to have so much structure in assignments. I guess knowing what is expected makes a project easier because there are guidelines to follow. Without guidelines, it's hard to know what type of work will receive the better grade. An open assignment should give me the freedom to be creative and take whatever ideas I have and run with. More projects should be open like this in grade school to encourage creativity and reward the students who truly work hard on them.

Completing an unspecific task is kind of liberating. It feels good to know that I completed a project that was completely my idea, to know that it has "my flavor" to it.

Cover Letters

I thought this article was helpful in explaining cover letters. I thought it was kinda weird that the examples seemed to be so boastful. The example letter seemed to be really arrogant almost, especially the PS part. I thought using a PS was unprofessional. I mean, I know when applying for a job it's important to play up your talents and qualifications, but isn't it also important to be yourself? I'm not the type of person that likes to brag about accomplishments so writing a cover letter is going to be difficult for me. It just feels so unnatural. I wish I had a secretary or something that could do it!

Interview Articles

I read the article about the most common questions asked during an interview. I thought this interview was helpful to know what questions to expect but at the same time, we had already discussed most of them in class. I think that answering these questions will be tough. I'm not really sure I know how to "practice" for them either. I know I need to figure out how to answer the strength and weakness question. I've even been asked that question in interviews for different things in Clemson.

I also read the article on questions to ask the interviewer. I thought this was really helpful. I always feel like that moment is so awkward in the interview because before I didn't know what was appropriate and what wasn't. I think now the difficult part will be knowing when to ask which type of questions to which person.

I thought these articles were helpful, but at the same time, I feel like at some point you have to just accept that you can only prepare so much for an interview. The employer is going to hire you based on your personality. Isn't it key to let that shine through more than have all the right answers? I guess ideally, I would want to have the right answers but also feel comfortable just being me.

in 10 Years

Right now 30 seems so far away.  I know the next 10 years of my life will contain some of the biggest changes I'll have seen yet.

For starters, I hope to be married.  I want to strive to protect my marriage at all costs.  I don't want to be another divorced statistic.  Staying married to the same man for my whole life is important to me.  In addition, probably by 30, I'll be considering having children if I haven't already had one.  When I am a wife and mother, I want to put my husband and family first.  

Career wise, I plan to go to pharmacy school and become a pharmacist.  I don't know if I'd rather do retail or hospital pharmacy yet, but I do want to have flexible hours that allow me to be home for my family.  

I want to have a beautiful home on the river somewhere in the Low Country of South Carolina.  I love the Charleston area and parts south of Charleston like Beaufort or Bluffton.  

I also hope to travel, and not just for pleasure.  I have a passion to go on a medical mission trip.  I want to use my education to help people who really need it.  In the health field most jobs do this, but something about traveling to a country that desperately needs help really calls to me.  Before I die, I want to know that I've made a difference in at least one person's life.  I want to be someone my children and grandchildren can look up to.  (I do want to travel for pleasure though too--hello Bora Bora!)

Web 2.0...the machine is Us/ing us

I think the author of this video definitely hit on some sensitive subjects.  Do we use the machine or does it use us?  I think the title of the video attempts to grasp this idea.  We feel like we use the machine, the internet, but could it be using us?  Every time we add a blog post, create youtube video, or post pictures on facebook, we could be letting the machine link us to other people and ideas.  

Web 2.0 has a major role in the work force.  For those who are preparing to enter into the workforce, the web is a major resource.  It helps potential employees to find jobs using online headhunter services.  In the workplace, it helps connect employees in similar fields--it provides networking.  The web allows for video conferences and makes communication instantaneous (email).

When the video says we'll have to rethink everything, I think it means that we'll have to rethink the role the web has in our lives.  For instance, emailing is so much easier than actually mailing a letter through the post office, but is email appropriate for every occasion?  That's what we need to decide.  It's okay to email a relative you don't see that often, but is it okay to send out e-wedding invites?

So this is me

I am a junior and a Health Science major.  I am planning to go to pharmacy school once I graduate.  I live with two of my best friends and our puppy Sonny.  Sonny is  an English Springer Spaniel.  He's about 6 months old, and he's absolutely adorable!

I absolutely love the beach.  I've grown up on the coast and it's a huge part of who I am.  No other scenery can top the gorgeous oak trees, the smell of the marsh and the moon-rise of the coast.  

I am also probably one of the only college students who can actually relate to the old MTV where the parents went to the same college with their children.  My mom enrolled this year as a grad student.  I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but I'm trying to accept it.  She's promised to not interfere with my life and so far she's held to that.

So, that's a little about me.  I look forward to getting to know ya'll this semester!