The last session I went to was directed by George Micalone about communication. We did the usual of what is communication and the different types and then we went into some interactive activities which were kind of fun. I have done both of these activities before, but I think they are still good at showing the importance of communication. The first one we did was telephone. We went through all the people, probably around 25, and played telephone. The first time we did it without talking, and as always the message got completely messed up. The second time we did it with other talking in the room, same outcome though. We did it both ways to show that it was easier to focus on what the person was trying to tell you without background noise. We also discussed that us as humans tend to fill in the gaps when we don’t get the whole picture. That was about right in the activity. The second original sentence was different but similar to the first. I learned that we tend to try to connect the sentences when they are similar. We tried to formulate in our heads almost the previous sentence. Interesting. The other activity was with a partner back to back and one person is trying to describe a picture that they have in front of them while the other is drawing it. It really shows the importance of description and listening. Every time I hear that I think of my first day of programming in engineering 160. You have to program like you are talking to a 5 year old. Step by step. Listening is very important in everything especially working in groups. I will definitely do some form of these activities in the fall with the incoming students. I don’t really think I had any questions coming out of this session. It was a good, interactive way to end my day at ISLE.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
ISLE-Interviewing-Week 3
I went to this session because interviewing is something that I struggle with. Ironically I had an interview the day before…that might have influenced it just a bit. I don’t really know what I thought I would get out of this session. Maybe how calm down before an interview or something along the lines of that, but now that I think about it he kind of did do that. The more prepared you are the more comfortable you will be. Anyway, a lot of the session covered things that I already knew like how to dress and don’t forget to do research. I did however learn a few new things that I am surprised no one has ever told me before. One large example of that would be a closing statement. It sounds so simple but at the end of an interview you are supposed to basically ask for the job or repeat why you should be picked for the job. Sounds so easy right? Why didn’t I think of it? I guess a smaller thing that I am happy about as well is what to research in a company before an interview, such as locations, major products, key people, competition, and philosophies. It is kind of nice to now have a starting point. I can say that I am now a little more prepared for my next interview, what great timing considering the agricultural career fair is this Wednesday and the engineering one is the Tuesday after that, and my major just happens to be Agricultural Engineering. I hope to perform well in my interviews so that I can get an internship and hopefully the incoming students will think I am more credible with the information about interviews. I think that I need to back up what I say about them. I don’t want to be part of the 85% of college grads that move back home. I want to know where he got that stat from because it seems really high, but that is what he said.
Have a good week everyone!
ISLE-Be Remarkable-Week 3
I am going to split up the sessions from the ISLE into different journal sections. I don’t think you want to read everything I have to say about that day. It was a day full of knowledge. Now to start…
Oh what to say about David Coleman. He was a pretty good speaker. I didn’t want to wake up that morning. Saturday is the only day I get to sleep in, but he made it worthwhile. He was funny and I think he really made a connection to almost everyone in the room. I didn’t quite know what he meant by being remarkable until he gave us an example of what a remarkable boyfriend is. Oh my gosh I wish I had that! You can tell by that story that there are not many remarkable people in the world. How many boys do you know will bring a warm lunch to their girlfriend on a busy day and carry their bag to their next class, give them a kiss and say “I’ll walk you home after your last class.”? I got to say that would completely make my day. Anyway to get to the point, he really made me think about my character and reputation. It does matter to me how I look to the incoming students, my professors, and my future employers. Not to mention my other peers. I want to have the good character to achieve the good reputation. David Coleman had us stand and then sit down when the statement he said became true to us. I went down about half way through. I think that writing down my own weakest link list would be a really good idea to see where I stand. I think that a good activity in the fall would be to do the same thing. I think it is important to have good character. I was reminded that the things you practice are a large part of who you are. I think I’ll start mine right now (feel free to steal some if you are writing your own)…
I have gone faster in the left lane to make the car trying to pass me on the right angry.
I have showed road rage in my car toward other person when it might not have been there fault.
I have cursed in front of small children
I have skipped church to sleep in
I have talked behind my roommates back
I have purposely missed my mother’s phone calls because I didn’t feel like talking to her
I have been jealous of my friends
I have forgot to feed my fish
I have said that I couldn’t babysit because I wanted to sleep in
I have turned the heat up in my apartment so that I could be warm at the expense of my roommate
…Well here is the start to my list…trust me…there will be more.
One of the questions that I have is how did he get so good at giving speeches and feeling confident in front of all those people? I really could use some of his tips. He also had some great insight on what a true friend is and who cannot be your friends. I want to ask him some more personal questions on that.
Underprepared vs. Underperforming-Week 3
This was actually a really interesting session at the Learning Community Mini Spring Institute. It was about students who come to college underprepared and those who are prepared, but underperform. I think that talking about this is one that will really help me to understand that everyone is coming from different backgrounds. We had an interactive session where we had to choice whether we agreed or not with a statement that had to do with the subject. 2 of the statements, I had a stronger feeling toward. The first was “The problem lies within the High Schools ineffectively preparing students for post-secondary education.” I disagree. I think that a lot of high schools are trying to effectively prepare students for college. I might be biased toward my answer because I had a high school that I think did a very good job of preparing me for college. I can’t remember if it was Chelsee or Karen that said that the grade in high school was affected by the way her teachers knew her. I do agree with what she said, but I think the point of high school is to get you an introduction to the material you will have in college. I think that as long as you are doing the material and getting something out of it. High school, I guess, is doing its job. The other statement was “The problem lies within Higher Education’s unrealistic expectations and its lack of communicating skills.” I completely disagree with this statement! I think that that point of college is to prepare us for a career and I want to get the best education I can to be prepared for the next level. The expectations cannot be lowered because career cannot be lowered. I don’t think that its lack of communication skills is a problem either. If a high school wants to be successful, it would know the expectations. I also think that it isn’t a problem in most classes because that is what a syllabus is for. You should know your expectations in the class within in the first week. I may be adamant about this because I am in engineering and I rely on the education I am getting here. I need it so that I can do well in a career. I really did enjoy this session and hearing the different backgrounds that some of the other peer mentors come from. I think I do have a new perspective on how incoming students are coming in from high school. I think it will help in the fall to realize that not everyone came from the same kind of high school as me.
Myers-Briggs-Week 3
Although this is not the first time that I have done the Myers-Briggs, I still find myself intrigued by the outcome. I also like that this test went much deeper than the ones I have done in the past. The overall test seemed almost weird to me. Some of the questions were…let’s say different. It is amazing how much you can learn about yourself by the answer to a question like soft or hard? Wow.
As usual I tested as and extravert, but unlike the previous time, this time I am not clearly an extravert. I am actually in the moderate zone. In the facets I am in the midzone for gregarious. I can see that. I like the way it say I “like large-group activities or one-on-one conversations at different times”. That pretty much nails it. It just depends on where I am and what it’s for. I am reserved and outgoing depending on the time. I am also out of preference by being reflective. I agree. Not much else to say. I like to think about what I have done and how it works or how it will help me. Overall I think that I am shifting a little in my preference. I find myself acting differently in different situations.
I am in the sensing side. I have 2 facets in the midzone, 2 in the preference, and one out. My favorite part of this one is in the description of concrete-abstract, it says, “ may get stuck on a fact when under pressure and have difficulty seeing the larger context”. It bothers so much in class when I don’t understand how the professor did something and I get stuck on trying to figure it out and miss the rest of the problem. I just thought it was funny. I also liked the activity we did in class on this facet. It was really cool to hear what others saw in the picture and how they reacted to it.
Before I tested as an ESTJ, but I also know that I was on the borderline of the T and the F. Now I have slightly shifted to the feeling side. For me this makes since that I would shift back and forth, but it is made clearer by the facets. I am not in the preference of feeling for any of the facets. I am actually out of the preference for logical vs empathetic, but I am shifted to the preference on the compassionate, accepting, and tender facets. Weird huh? I don’t think I completely agree with some of the descriptions. I guess that is what comes from being on the line.
No question on being in the judging. I like to be scheduled, I like to plan, and I like to start early when I can.
Wow I did not mean to write that much about my preferences. I would keep going with the rest of the packet, but I just think in my head and save you the pain.