Grad school is opening my eyes to new careers

This week I worked one day at my internship and had my regular school week. I got back my paper on The Spina Bifida Association's grassroots lobbying program SPEAK, and I got an 85. While this is a good grade I am disappointed because I thought I would do much better. My professor said that the paper could have been written better and after reading it again I agree with her. Perhaps I got caught up in my passion for what I was writing about and concentrated less on style and I definitely won't do this again. My professor also wished that I used outside sources instead of just the SBA website to get my information. I agree with her on this point too and I think this was another consequence of taking the easy way out and writing what I know.In regards to the title of this post, from taking two classes that are totally unrelated to eachother, I have the opportunity to explore many aspects of the communications field. I know that I want to do something with non-profits but I am not sure what specific job would fit me best. Yesterday in Government Relations and Lobbying we had a speaker come present to us about the use and importance of social media in advocacy and public relations. I am an avid user of a few social networks and I could definitely see myself doing something with it in a career. I also see this type of work becoming more popular as technology takes over the world.

Putting lessons into action

This week I worked at my internship as well as went to school. I did a speech for class this week on why it is important for companies to hire individuals with disabilities and I received another grade of 90% percent. I am very happy with  this because this is a topic I am very passionate about since I am currently looking for full- time employment. At my internship I have been doing lots of work on the computer including building a database on Excel. I am also starting to learn my way around a program called Constant Contact, which is a website that companies can subscribe to that creates great looking email blasts and newsletters using different templates. I am very excited to learn this skill because I think it will look great on my resume, especially wanting to enter the non-profit sector. I also plan to introduce this program to my local Spina Bifida chapter to help with their public relations.

I'm full of good news!

Since I last wrote something very significant has occured in my life. I had an interview a little over a week ago for an unpaid public relations internship at a local non-profit organization, and I ended up getting the position! I am so happy to finally have something that resembles a job even if it is temporary, unpaid, and part-time.  I am so thrilled to finally get some experience in my field and hopefully this position will give me the opportunity to learn new things, make tons of contacts, and maybe it will turn into something long term down the road. Another piece of good news, I got a paper back that I wrote for Government Relations and Lobbying and I receieved an 86. I am very happy with this grade for my first grad school paper, although the over achiever in me wishes I got an 'A'. My professor told me the main issue with my paper was organization. I was not surprised to hear this because it has always been an issue for me when I write. Hopefully the more papers I write at the graduate level my grades will improve. Last piece of good news, I was supposed to do a presentation on Mondy for Speech Writing, but my professor gave me the option to go next week and I gladly accepted. I was really tired and was wearing a skirt that was hard to move around in which is very important in public speaking. I was prepared to deliver a good speech on Monday but now that I have extra time I can perfect it even more.