I feel very grateful for the JRM 599: Senior Capstone: Entrepreneurial Media class. I think it was the perfect opportunity to work on all of the materials I need to have ready for my upcoming job search. Getting all of that together was something I knew would be on my plate eventually so doing it for a class was a welcomed surprise.
The professional brand presentation was definitely my biggest stressor but I’m happy with the way it turned out and I’m excited to receive feedback! I think it was a very worthwhile exercise because now I have a better idea of how I can tell my story. I have a tendency to default to talking about school when I tell others about myself, this helped me to go beyond that. I now know how to link my hobbies to my career goals and how to tell my story a little more creatively.
My online portfolio was one of the pieces I was most nervous about getting together for future job searches. It’s nice that we were able to work on that as a part of this class. I had already had one created but this was helpful in finding the energy to fine-tune it and add my work from the last year.
The creative project has really just been fun for me! I was initially stressed about coming up with an idea but I’m so happy with the one I chose. Creating the posters is pretty much a creative outlet for me and I enjoy doing it when I have free time. I also have loved writing the blogs about some of my favorite restaurants because it’s easy, I love them and they mean something to me. This is the kind of writing I really enjoy doing.
The mentors were also a great idea. Although I didn’t get to stay in touch with my mentor as much as I would have liked to (I just got busy!), when I did meet with her it was great. She was very helpful in letting me bounce ideas off her and then giving me feedback. She also helped me a lot in coming up with my creative project idea. She was really open and honest about her past jobs and her current one which I really appreciated. She also just gave me some confidence in my future.
My biggest takeaway from this course was simply how grateful I am that all of these crucial pieces of my personal package were school assignments. The resume, LinkedIn profile and online portfolio were all things I imagined having to do on my own time. There’s nothing like a little deadline that gets me going on something! I really enjoy blog-style writing so I’m glad that was something that continued. Overall, I think it’s an extremely useful course. It was also just fun to be in a room with all of my fellow journalism seniors, the energy was comforting. I think I will miss the funny conversations and camaraderie that I find in that group the most.
Ruthie's Writings. 