Embrace Every Opportunity

By: Shahd Khawaja

In high school, I was told that I would not be leaving the United Arab Emirates for university if I did not get a scholarship. You can imagine how my application process went after that. While I did study the hardest I could and receive the best grades I could, I had little faith that any university would give me a scholarship considering the number of outstanding students there are out there. Due to this, I applied to five random universities that demanded as little as possible (relatively speaking), did no research on them what so ever, and convinced myself that I would be attending a university at home.

Somehow, to my astonishment, I not only received the desired scholarship, but I was also invited to join a learning community that would allow me to research with a professor. While Purdue was not my first choice (it was IU), and while I did not know anything about Purdue’s liberal arts program or about Purdue for that matter, it gave me the most opportunities, so that’s where I went.

Before coming I was, of course, constantly lectured by my family. “Don’t do your laundry at night” and “Don’t forget to eat well” were things I heard almost daily the week before my departure. The one thing that truly stuck in my mind was some advice my father gave me. I’m not about to get emotional and quote him word for word as I really don’t recall what he said word for word, but I remember him emphasizing that while it may not seem so, the opportunity to study in another country and in a very good university is rare, and that I should acknowledge and take advantage of that in every way I possibly can. It was one of the few things they said that week that I took to heart.

I arrived at Purdue, barely even able to tell someone two words about my major, but I kept my mind as open to the new as I could. As the time passed, I came to love it and even added another major and a minor. One day, out of luck, someone recommended me to the ambassador program we have at Purdue that helps acquaint possible new coming students to the university. While I was not eager to speak in front of an unknown audience, I felt there was something to gain from such an offer, so I joined without question. I never had a real job before coming to the United States, so for a semester I worked at the dining halls (it was not fun), and while it was not the best experience I've had, I believe it was one of the reasons why I was offered a position working for L'Oreal this past summer. I finally, temporarily, end my list of random experiences with the Career Development internship which I am currently, extremely happy to be a part of.

My whole point is not to tell you about the things I've done, or how they've influenced me as a person. What I want to be taken from all of this is that to be something big, you have to start small, and I feel my experiences have given me a glimpse of that. Whether what comes your way is relevant or absolutely irrelevant to what you want, give it a try, because there’s always something to gain, and one day you may take a skill learned from each experience and use that to achieve your absolute dream job.

Three Companies Taking Marketing to a New Level

By: Maureen Corbett

The theme for this semester’s new LACD interns is “Making the Common Uncommon.” Here in the Career Development office, we've been brainstorming ways to turn our everyday services and resources into uncommon tools that will help empower students to grow themselves professionally. A countless number of companies try to do this on a daily basis, but only some succeed at truly standing out among the crowd. Read on to learn about a few that have done it right, and how LACD can apply these techniques to better serve Liberal Arts students:

Sephora

This well-known makeup company recently launched a mobile marketing campaign with the intention of seamlessly integrating their online and offline shopping experience. They've created a groundbreaking mobile app that provides services their customers didn't even know they wanted. They've taken makeup to a whole new level by equipping their staff with iPads, saving their customers' purchases history, and effectively incorporating technology into the shopping experience. LACD can build off this idea by providing services to their students that are innovative and effortless.

                                        Walgreen's

For me, picking up a prescription at the pharmacy has always been an intimidating process. I feel like something always goes wrong, whether I forget when a refill is due or my insurance information isn't up-to-date. This past year Walgreen’s recognized that I am not the only customer of theirs who feels this way, and decided to make a dramatic change. They developed mobile refill technology and created a whole new store layout which brought pharmacists out from behind the counter and made them more accessible to patients. In a similar context, applying for jobs and editing resumes can be a scary and intimidating process for some students. LACD can learn from Walgreen's by becoming more accessible to students and developing ways to more efficiently cater to the needs of those who are nervous about beginning their career paths.

                                                      FedEx

The launch of their We <3 Logistics campaign portrayed FedEx as a behind-the-scenes company that takes care of all the simple business problems to help companies run more smoothly. In the same way, the LACD office conducts behind-the-scenes work for students looking to develop their professional lives. We want to do our job so well that students can easily use our services and resources to go out and be successful and do what they do best.

In summary, great things are in store for next semester in career development! We are all geared up and ready to take our work to a whole new uncommon level. 

Unsure is okay

By: Shelby Oyer

When I first came to Purdue I had no idea what I wanted to do. I began my freshman year in the Undergraduate Studies Program feeling lost and pressured to choose a major. When someone once asked me what I was going to major in during my senior year of high school and I told her I didn’t know, she responded by saying, “Doesn’t that scare you?” I thought to myself, Well, it does now lady.

However, being undecided in your major is nothing to be scared about.

I began thinking I wanted to major in Financial Counseling and Planning because I am very passionate about learning how to manage my money and wanted to help others do the same. However, after a hair-pulling semester spent studying calculus and coming to the realization that I have no desire to solve a math problem ever again, I was back at square one.

If it hadn’t been for those videos we had to watch in my EDPS 105 class as part of USP, I never would’ve learned all about the English Department. I had considered majoring in English before—actually, I’d considered majoring in pretty much everything—but didn’t think it would turn into a job and that I’d end up wasting my knowledge and working in a completely unrelated field. However, after watching the video of Mona Quinn, an academic advisor in the English Department, speaking to a GS class about the English Department and the opportunities within it, I reconsidered.

The next semester, I CODO-ed into English with a major in Professional Writing. Don’t get the wrong impression though; it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine from then on. I’ve still had major doubts about whether or not that was the right decision for me. I have never once regretted my decision to join the College of Liberal Arts, though.

In Liberal Arts you have the ability to go down countless career paths! My major may say “writing” but I plan to pursue a career in marketing or advertising. Don’t let the title of your major hold you back and don't be afraid to change your major, no matter what year you are in college. It's okay to change your mind.

LACD provides countless opportunities to help Liberal Arts students find internships and prepare to be professionals in any field they choose. Liberal Arts students have skill sets that employers may not even realize they need. We have the flexibility to attend every career fair, including IR and SMEF, and find internships and perhaps even jobs thanks to the skills we obtain in our majors. 

So no matter what your major is, don't be nervous that you won't find a job. Be confident in the skills you possess and keep an open mind about the field you want to work in. You don't have to know what you want to do right now; this is still a time to explore all of the possibilities.

5k RUN! To End Homelessness

As a college student, I felt it necessary to spend my summer at an internship to help me figure out my future career goals, gain skills, and have an unforgettable experience, and this is how it went…

At 4:23 am I was unfortunately woken up by an unpleasant dream. I was at the 5k RUN! To End Homelessness and only 10 runners came out for the event! How could this be, what went wrong, why did didn't anyone come to the event I worked so hard on all summer? Luckily this wasn't real, and my alarm was set to go off at 4:27 am anyway-- dodged that bullet.

After quickly getting ready with excitement and nervousness for what was to come, my dad and I headed out to A Safe Haven to get the day rolling. Because I was the RUN! Coordinator, from the moment we arrived on site, I was directing people to move boxes, printing last minute documents, and waiting for this event to get started. I felt prepared and I felt ready, but in events, things are bound to go wrong. After running around the building in chaos and distraught, I found my way over to Douglas Park, where the DJ was playing upbeat music, and the runners were beginning their pre-race routine.

People from all walks of life gathered on July 14th for the purpose of ending homelessness. This cause is one that doesn't appear urgent to the general public, but today I saw 1,000+ people come out to start a revolution. 

I can't say everything went smoothly-- the waters weren't delivered to the right areas, the ribbons were misplaced on site, the Children's Fun RUN! was unorganized, and the music wasn't on schedule. These things were easily fixed with problem solving and improvisation. I sent volunteers on the hunt for ribbons, we caught the water issue before it was too late and got it delivered to the right areas, and I enthusiastically led the children in their pre-run stretching and held a mini-pep rally!

The RUN! Team was great, everyone worked together to pull this event off! We each had a hand in the event, which made it even stronger... the RUN! To End Homelessness wouldn't and couldn't have been successful without each member of the team.

So all of this being said, I would like to point out a few important lessons to take away from this experience:

1. You can’t do it alone

            It is important to create a team that you trust, trusts you, and you work well together. In a lot of situations, you aren’t the one to pick your own team—therefore being able to communicate, work with, and get along with others is a must.

2. Anything can go wrong at any time

            Having a back up plan isn’t an option… it’s essential. No matter how well prepared you feel or how ready you think you are, something is bound to go wrong, therefore knowing the steps to another plan is a great way to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best!

3. Staying organized is KEY

            Becoming familiar with lists, to-do lists, excel, and word documents is a great way to stay organized throughout your event planning/event. Not only do you get overwhelmed with minor details, but you also will be pulled in many ways during the event, so knowing what needs to be done and physically seeing those tasks will help you get a handle on things.

4. Stay positive: the end is in sight!

            Keeping an encouraging, fun, and loving demeanor is another important aspect in planning events. The day of the event is stressful, and there is nothing worse than someone barking orders and not leading in an approachable way. By keeping spirits high, your team will be energized and ready to go at 100%!

By: Janna Parke

Keep always your end in mind.

By: Neysa Herrera Cuello.

I have always had the desire to leave Colombia and inmerse myself into a whole new experience named world. Since I was I child, of maybe 13 years old, I had this relentless desire to become a lawyer, one of the better ones from Harvard.

By the time of my last year of high school, while a lot of my classmates and friends didn’t know what they were going to do with their lives, I thought I had everything figured out.  I got three things clear: I loved reading and writing I didn’t want to be related with math, I wouldn’t be a doctor as my mom wanted and, I wanted to be a lawyer. Even though I knew I wouldn’t study my major in Harvard because I wasn’t ready to leave my parents and Colombia yet, I knew I would do my masters in International Law there.

When it came time to fill the application for the University of Cartagena, I was sitting in front my computer stuck on this question: what major are you applying for? I didn’t know what to answer. When the list of majors deployed for me to choose one, I had this strange feeling and I couldn’t stop looking the Social Communication option. I was in a dilemma between law (my chosen major since I was a child) and Communication (an option that just came up). How could it be possible? I asked my mother who was standing next to me what were her thoughts about Communication and what if I’d take that major. She said: “It is you decision; nobody will carry the weight of a career but you. So, you decide how light or heavy you want it to be”. Those words have echoed in my head until today. It is my motto.

I remember how nervous I felt that day. My arms were literally shaking. I couldn’t stop thinking that I would die of hunger as a communicator; I would be unemployed, living with my parents my entire life, and, if I was lucky, I’d get a job where I ‘d earn just enough to survive. That day when I talk to my dad by phone I had to explain my unexpected decision. But how could I explain it if I didn’t understand it, either. I could say it was a gut feeling.  However, the hardest thing was about to come. When my friends got the news, they started judging my decision. Some of them said “How could it be possible that a girl as smart as you are would have chosen Social Communication. What a waste!” Some people who were a little bit nicer asked: “So you want to be a Barbie talking and buzzing about others people life in TV?” -I respect people that play that role, but that was definitely not what I wanted to be.

I have been listening this sort of thing along this five years of my undergraduate program. But since my first day of classes I just loved it! I love Communication, I love every single thing that I learn about it. I don’t care about people judging about it, anymore. I believe that every person can decide what path should take to achieve what they want. I wanted to influence other’s people life in some way, I wanted to have a voice to change aspects that I want to change in my hometown, in society, or in a company that I work with. Communication gives me that voice, that power to change things. I don’t picture myself in any other different major.

At this time, I have left Colombia to live new experiences and challenges just like I wanted to. I am not in Harvard studying law. I love where I am at this point: doing an internship in Communications at Purdue University, learning what I am passionate of, meeting new people, preparing myself for applying to get a job in Strategic Communications and overall, being an adult, far from my parents and family. So, I would say that you don’t need to plan your life like an agenda. Let everything to take place at the right moment but also, have where you want to end in mind and how you will reach it. That doesn’t make you a ship drifting into which the wind drags in different directions.

Welcome Back Students!

The Liberal Arts Career Development office welcomes you to the Fall 2013 semester.

Our Fall 2013 LACD Interns are settling in to their new roles and will begin posting here three times a week starting on Wednesday August 21st. We are also working on getting their biography information up on the site so you can learn more about each of them.

We look forward to sharing career related advice and tips with each of you!