End of the blog - closing remarks

The entry below this one is the one that you have to answer and discuss for credit this week. Remember that you don't have to answer all of the prompts, and Ms. Spraker cannot give credit to UCFGrad2020, or UTry2Park you have to sign your real name.

I think that closing remarks are important, and I didn't want them to clog up the discussion this week.

I just want to say it's been a great semester. Thanks everyone for great comments and discussions throughout the entire project. This goes for the other 4 mentors and the mentees too - All of the students here again give me hope that the next generation will be strong, innovative, and contributing members of society. I've taken lots of online classes, and really - some of the discussions and messages I see (there, not here) could have likely been better written if I put the laptop on the floor and just typed randomly with my toes.

Also, keep all your files and everything you did for your Cornerstone Class. (These are called artifacts now). I don't want to be the one that gives away the ending - but all those files you've created for your e-port, and your resume, etc. all come up again in your college career.

Byron Faudie

Professional Opportunities & Job Skills

Hello Mentees!  Guess what?  Sadly, this is our last blog posting for the semester.  Of course, we can look at the bright side – that means it is almost time to sign up for classes for NEXT semester! (You thought I was going to say the bright side was that this semester is almost done, right?)  Wow!  Where did the past 10 weeks go?!

This week, let’s look at this article about what employers are looking for in new candidates: http://www.quintcareers.com/job_skills_values.html  What do we see here?  I see two key things emphasized repeatedly in an Interdisciplinary Studies program -  “Analytical/Research Skills. Deals with your ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, and identify key issues that need to be addressed.”  and “Problem-Solving/Reasoning/Creativity. Involves the ability to find solutions to problems using your creativity, reasoning, and past experiences along with the available information and resources.”. As employers continue to explore new ways to squeeze more from their existing resources (including people resources), it becomes more important to find ways that we can leverage that need to our advantage.  As IDS majors, we are uniquely positioned to do just that.  Employers need professionals that are able to expand their thinking beyond a singular discipline and look at all facets of a problem to formulate new solutions.

In my world of engineering, I see this happening more frequently than in previous years.  Although my primary background is electrical, I can no longer focus my work only on the electrical issues to solve a complex design problem.  In the “Old Days”, electrical engineers attacked the electrical portion of a design, the mechanical engineers did the mechanical, and the industrial engineers just made all our lives miserable by pushing the schedule and budget.  Now however, designs are more of a collaborative effort.  There are more brainstorming sessions where everyone sits down and looks at ALL the aspects of the project and how they interact with each other.  This gives a new perspective to an issue when an electrical engineer might see how a mechanical design won’t coexist well with his electrical design, so he comes up with some modifications to make it work better.  The mechanical engineer might now assist the industrial engineer in planning the scope and schedule of the project because he knows that you have to wait 8 hours for the concrete to cure before you can start the next part of the schedule. The integration of disciplines becomes an enormous asset to the company because through this partnering and understanding, new creative solutions to problems can be realized.

What are your thoughts on employers looking for people able to diversify themselves and branch out into other disciplines (such as an IDS major), versus looking for narrowly focused, single discipline candidates?  Do you think they might see more value in someone with an IDS degree versus a single major?  Here are some other questions to ponder.  Feel free to answer any or all that you like.

·         How have you used your interdisciplinarity in your professional life?

·         What has been your professional history?

·         What are your strongest and weakest job skills?

·         What can you do to develop and improve upon your weak skills?

·         Identify two professional clubs or organizations that are useful to your chosen career. 

·         How have internship or externship helped your professional development?

·         Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life

·         How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?

·         How have your career goals altered?

It has been a great semester, and the Mentor group thanks you for all the awesome conversation on our various topics!  May the rest of your semester go well, and good luck on your IDS degree and future career!

PS – Remember to sign your comment with your full name in order to receive full credit!

John Seybert

Topic 9!

Alright guys, it looks like everyone enjoyed my first blog posting so much, they commissioned me to write another one! I kid, but, I hope everyone took a long look at last week's topic about the ePortfolio. I know that topic was a major stressor for me during my Cornerstone experience. This week, we'll be discussing our personal philosophies, career goals, and the academic opportunities that relate to your goals.

No matter what job you work, your personal philosophy is going to 'seep in' to your work. In example: authors will always use their personal slant in their writing. Your personal philosophy is an important part of your life, so you're always going to want to share it with everyone around you. The next important step is deciding just what your personal philosophy is. Once you identify your philosophy, you can see how it relates to your future career.

So, take a few moments to sit back and think of what drives you. It could be the desire to help others, the desire for material possessions, or even the desire to 'out-do' your family members. Regardless of what it is that drives you, identify with it and make it yours.

The next part of this week's blog is identifying whether or not your philosophy is interdisciplinary, or if you can MAKE it interdisciplinary. This is important to note, because you're being trained to look at things from an interdisciplinary standpoint. When you tackle problems from this standpoint, you can generally overcome them due to the extended coverage provided by each discipline, as well as the increase in critical thinking.

Finally, after you've identified what your philosophy is, and whether or not it is interdisciplinary, you have one last option to consider: what academic opportunities are available to me? There are a host of different internships, partnerships, and post-graduate options available to you. You should do the research necessary to identify what those options are, as well as what you need to do to obtain those opportunities. Using the Experiential Learning and Career Services offices, you can find a host of opportunities available to you.

Here are a few topics to discuss this week, but remember, you don't have to answer ALL of these questions:

1.Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life

2.How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?

3.How have your career goals altered?

Have a great week!

Topic 8

Expressing yourself Electronically

The Making of The E-Portfolio

The e-portfolio is a documentation of your learning and work experiences, that is put together to highlight your knowledge, skills and abilities. It is a story written and told by you, with the goal of developing a purpose and delivering it to a specific audience. The purpose of the portfolio is going to be either professional or personal. If you will be looking for a job, then your purpose will be professional. If you will be applying to graduate school, then your purpose will be personal. Once you have decided your purpose, then you can focus on the story you want to tell, along with the experiences and skills you wish to highlight.

Your portfolio should contain a message that will be specifically tailored to the needs of your audience. For instance, if you are looking for a challenging career: Why should they hire you? What sets you apart from the other candidates? What skills and talents of yours could this company benefit from? Your e-portfolio experience will consist of uploading and revising artifacts that will emphasize who you are and what you are capable of.

What are artifacts? They are a type of evidence that you can use to showcase your interdisciplinarity. Artifacts consist of pictures, papers, projects and any other work that is unique and reflects your best abilities. You will be introduced to the e-portfolio in the cornerstone course and be required to upload all of your assignments and projects to the portfolio workspace. It is a good idea to keep a variety of your work, not just the assignments form your IDS classes. Also, do not be worried if you are required to upload assignments that you do not particularly like, or feel are unnecessary. Ultimately, you will have the final say with what documents will go into your portfolio. It is also important to mention that you will not be putting random assignments into the portfolio. Instead, you will choose work that will highlight a specific experience of some kind, whether it be based on volunteering, your job or something to do with your education.

In the beginning, the e-portfolio can seem a little overwhelming. But, you may find that taking it one assignment at a time is a good way to approach it. I recently began writing my portfolio story and putting my artifacts together. At first, it was very confusing. But, after playing around with it for a while, it kind of became fun and I began to see the benefits of it. For two nights in a row, I was obsessed with changing the templates and editing my story and images. Honestly, for me it was a lot of trial and error. It is not hard to put together but, it can be a time consuming project. I now feel that the finished product will be worth it, and I am hoping that this portfolio will give me the something extra I will need to stand out in my job search.

Click here to view my e-portfolio(note: this is not the finished product)

http://portfolio.ucf.edu/portal/tool/20987ab4-74f3-4c3f-8093-0477836678f2/viewPresentation.osp?1=1&id=2455C611FB6BF8D1562AF99DCABA6280

Note the elements of my e-portfolio:

Purpose: to find a job after graduation.

Audience: Prospective employers

Message: I am eager to find a challenging job, where I can utilize my best skills.

Parts:

1) About Me:

Intro

Personal Statement

Resume

Course of Study(List of classes taken)

2) Content Pages with Artifacts:

Painting a Purpose

Downloading a Dream

Learning as a Leader(Yeah, it's about this mentoring project. I ran out of ideas, but I am glad I

included this)

Note: That all my artifacts reflect the experience that I am highlighting.

When you are creating and modifying your artifacts, make sure that you read the feedback from your professor, so you are aware of the revisions that you will need to make.

These artifacts are a reflection of who you are, so make sure that they are creative and reflect your interdisciplinarity. If you plan to look for work after graduation, then your portfolio can have a similar feel to my own. However, if you are planning on applying to graduate school, you should focus on making your portfolio a tad more personal. For instance, if I was applying to graduate school, I would probably touch on my experience of being a mom to a 3-year-old, which is not something that I would present to a prospective employer. Remember, you are trying to stand out, so take this time to put a unique and personalized spin on why you would like to pursue graduate school. Why are you different from other applicants?

Now that you are more familiar with the e-portfolio, answer the following questions:

Did you notice the images that I used in my portfolio? They were all used to enhanced my story and were relevant to the things that I was talking about. What are some images that you think you would use to enhance your portfolio?

Are you thinking about applying for graduate school, or starting a career? If you will be looking for a job after graduation what type of work are you interested in pursuing?

What is an experience that you would want to include in one of your content pages?(If you are unsure, you can always use the mentoring experience as one, like I did.)