Life after college...
Some things have changed and others haven't. I graduated in May, walked across the stage and went back to work on Monday, full time. I spent my last semester juggling work and school, but I have to admit it was fun at times. I really enjoyed learning American Sign Language, and the professors I had were amazing. It was fun to end my college experience with 4 GE classes, 1 elective and 1 business class that was more of a fun class then anything else.
Was it stressful at times? Absolutely. But was it worth it and would I start all over again, if I had to make the choice today? Yes I think I would.
As I reflect back on the past four years of my college experience, I have to admit that the good far outweighed the bad.
Freshman year I realized that just because you enjoy computers, doesn't mean that you should become a programmer. My first semester I was a computer science major. The problem, I realize now, wasn't that I didn't understand programming; it was that I never understood the business process that I was supposed to create. So the next semester I took a few different classes. One of them was financial accounting, where little did I know it, but I would meet my future boyfriend's mom. I would let a drunk guy sleep in my bed (while I slept on the couch) and forever be accused of something that didn't happen. That guy is probably one of the only friends I have left from that year. I applied for Orientation Leader that summer and got rejected.
I was upset, but vowed to try harder. The next year, I tried upper division classes, mostly because that was what I found interesting. I took a marketing class and became better at contributing to group projects. Little did I know just how many group projects being a business major involves. And while I disagree with the idea that your grade should be based on your group members efforts (or lack thereof), I will admit that I learned how to pick better team members and when it is preferable just to do everything yourself rather then rely on substandard efforts of others. It may not have been the lesson intended, but it’s what I got. Although I didn't get along with my roommates this year, there is one who made the effort and for that I am grateful.
That summer, I reapplied to the role of orientation leader, and although I have never really figured out why, they gave me the job. The summer didn't go as planned, I nearly got fired, but I learned to work with people, and gained self confidence in my self and a level of comfort making small talk with others. Those of you who know me, know that I am quiet, at least at first, but that I also have the ability to talk too much, once I am comfortable with my surroundings. I also met someone who although very different from me, became a good friend.
That fall, as a result of needing to pay for gas on the car I had bought for myself, I got a job. I also was living off campus for the first time. The job that I got that fall eventually led to my current job, in the same office. That year, I dealt with a difficult professor, and learned that sometimes, it's better to quietly disagree then get worked up over something outside of your control. In the spring, I met the person who has been my significant other for a year and half so far. It's hard to imagine that a year and half later we are still going strong, and completely strange for each other.
My final year, I entered the semester burnt out from working the majority of the summer and the events from the previous year. I hit the semester hard, I had two psychology classes to finish my minor, two business classes, and my capstone class. Capstone was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It may sound strange to word it this way, but it was one of the only groups in my life where I have ever felt like the weakest link. I had a team willing to work hard and do whatever it took to succeed. The other group project where I felt like a weak link was my motivation project that semester. It was however an incredible paper, primarily because we got to meet the person who invented goal setting theory. My final semester was GE courses, an elective and one class to substitute in to round out my emphasis in marketing: organization behavior. I wasn't really as interested in marketing as the data research behind it. I finished strong, but the important thing was that I finished.
Four years ago, I don't think I imagined being done with school. School was the kind of something you just did; it wasn't supposed to end. So even though I walked across that stage, with a job in hand (and knowing most of the staff sitting behind the president), or perhaps because of it, my experience as a student at California State University, Channel Islands, was now complete. I walked away a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business, emphasis in Marketing and minor in Psychology. And into a job where one of my primary functions is computer related.
Was it stressful at times? Absolutely. But was it worth it and would I start all over again, if I had to make the choice today? Yes I think I would.
As I reflect back on the past four years of my college experience, I have to admit that the good far outweighed the bad.
Freshman year I realized that just because you enjoy computers, doesn't mean that you should become a programmer. My first semester I was a computer science major. The problem, I realize now, wasn't that I didn't understand programming; it was that I never understood the business process that I was supposed to create. So the next semester I took a few different classes. One of them was financial accounting, where little did I know it, but I would meet my future boyfriend's mom. I would let a drunk guy sleep in my bed (while I slept on the couch) and forever be accused of something that didn't happen. That guy is probably one of the only friends I have left from that year. I applied for Orientation Leader that summer and got rejected.
I was upset, but vowed to try harder. The next year, I tried upper division classes, mostly because that was what I found interesting. I took a marketing class and became better at contributing to group projects. Little did I know just how many group projects being a business major involves. And while I disagree with the idea that your grade should be based on your group members efforts (or lack thereof), I will admit that I learned how to pick better team members and when it is preferable just to do everything yourself rather then rely on substandard efforts of others. It may not have been the lesson intended, but it’s what I got. Although I didn't get along with my roommates this year, there is one who made the effort and for that I am grateful.
That summer, I reapplied to the role of orientation leader, and although I have never really figured out why, they gave me the job. The summer didn't go as planned, I nearly got fired, but I learned to work with people, and gained self confidence in my self and a level of comfort making small talk with others. Those of you who know me, know that I am quiet, at least at first, but that I also have the ability to talk too much, once I am comfortable with my surroundings. I also met someone who although very different from me, became a good friend.
That fall, as a result of needing to pay for gas on the car I had bought for myself, I got a job. I also was living off campus for the first time. The job that I got that fall eventually led to my current job, in the same office. That year, I dealt with a difficult professor, and learned that sometimes, it's better to quietly disagree then get worked up over something outside of your control. In the spring, I met the person who has been my significant other for a year and half so far. It's hard to imagine that a year and half later we are still going strong, and completely strange for each other.
My final year, I entered the semester burnt out from working the majority of the summer and the events from the previous year. I hit the semester hard, I had two psychology classes to finish my minor, two business classes, and my capstone class. Capstone was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It may sound strange to word it this way, but it was one of the only groups in my life where I have ever felt like the weakest link. I had a team willing to work hard and do whatever it took to succeed. The other group project where I felt like a weak link was my motivation project that semester. It was however an incredible paper, primarily because we got to meet the person who invented goal setting theory. My final semester was GE courses, an elective and one class to substitute in to round out my emphasis in marketing: organization behavior. I wasn't really as interested in marketing as the data research behind it. I finished strong, but the important thing was that I finished.
Four years ago, I don't think I imagined being done with school. School was the kind of something you just did; it wasn't supposed to end. So even though I walked across that stage, with a job in hand (and knowing most of the staff sitting behind the president), or perhaps because of it, my experience as a student at California State University, Channel Islands, was now complete. I walked away a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business, emphasis in Marketing and minor in Psychology. And into a job where one of my primary functions is computer related.