Category Archives: Employment

Career and opportunities

Just A Day

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The past few weeks have really been an endless train. Each day is full from start to end – I don’t even know how I have been able to take a breath. School is like a thick head of hair in desperate need of a haircut… It just keeps growing and growing and I’m really looking for that chance to sit down and cut it back. It would be a lie to say that every day has been a good one; Truth is that some days, especially recently, have hit me hard. But I am surviving, and I will be okay. I just need to get things balanced — then I can redevelop my lifting strategy at the gym, re-dedicate myself, and work towards seeing further results.

Working during school is going great. I am surprised how painless it has been to manage both. I love the Hallie Ford Center. I sometimes feel too protective of it — like when students start slithering through the building and making themselves at home. One of the other few negative traits about me is that I feel compelled to please everyone — and that things need to be just right for them to be acceptable. This is slowly being curbed as I learn more about working and the everyday life at the Hallie Ford Center.

But it’s been a while since I’ve last written — so I thought I’d share something that has kept me pushing forward with my head up high.

You are who you are. Remember that you’ve made yourself to be what you are right now. Whether you are happy about it or not, staring back at your mistakes is not going to help you change. Your actions have already affected you. You will make more mistakes, so think about them now and live a proactive life that constructs you to be as you dream to be in the future. There’s nothing stopping you but yourself.

Published from my iPad.

Onward We Fall

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In about a month classes begin again. I have never been more eager for this time to come. I usually hang onto every last minute of summer, but this time it’s so different.

Working indoors from 8:30 to 5 every weekday, I suffer when I’m not outside. I crave to have the sun shine on me and to enjoy the relaxation it brings. I miss the people about, and the hangouts with friends. But I have also come to look past this and to realize how fantastic these near three months have been.

Work has not only been awesome, but also inspirational. In our everyday lives we get in sort of a rut when we travel the same path too long. And for me that path was school and unemployment. It has been pretty much the same thing every day. Classes, hang out, study a bit, hang with friends, bed, repeat. I mean I had great times with friends and all, but in general it has been the same routine. At first it’s really nice and feels great to live like that, but over time you don’t realize how much it brings you down. Working has completely reignited me — and I think this fall term at school will be the best ever.

And as for this season, I really don’t know how to explain why I crave the cooler crispness of fall. I just think about sweatshirts, hoodies, falling leaves of all sorts of colors, people on campus, coffee, tea, hanging out at a café, reading, working, applying myself. It just sounds so inviting. I think this is one of the rare summers where I can actually say I feel I made the most of it — and we’re not even done yet! There’s the road trip to Grants Pass this weekend, maybe a family outing, our grand opening at the Hallie Ford Center — who knows what else is in store! I think I am simply content with the way things are and am confident in the way they will continue to progress.

Onward we fall, in just a month, to another stage of our lives — where people return, the lights go on, and we get down to work and to building memories. I am so ready to make this the best.

Image provided by Oregon State University

The Connection

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Possibilities are growing more visible, and so is my excitement. I have thought that my only path to interning abroad was a list of opportunities on some website. But, just like in other life applications, I’ve come to step back and re-imagine things.

Thanks to a conversation with a nice visitor at the Hallie Ford Center, I have realized that I should look into creating my own bridge to success. Why follow an internship option that so many others may participate in? Rather, I should strive to make my own way. I need to sit down and write what I want from an internship. Where do I really want to go and what do I want to do? I create a solid list of interests and desires and I take it to the experts and I say, “This is what I want. Can we make it work, and what are my next steps?”

College is fantastic. You’ve got advisors that know your academic path and what you need to do to accomplish it. You’ve got someone to aid you from the beginning to the end. But let’s push the envelope… Let’s build our own bridge — a unique one with just your name on it. And let it be that special, personal connection between what is the general pool of education, and the actual applied field that holds your passion.

I’m ready to make my own way. I’m ready to pull my resources together and see what I can construct. I have the university, Hallie Ford Center, a knowledgeable, helpful supervisor, and a slew of faculty core directors. There are opportunities awaiting creation, and I’m on my way to bringing them into actuality. Next week, my supervisor and I are sitting down and having coffee to “talk about my future”. I don’t know if this is in regards to work during the school year… Or something more. I think I’ll make it more — and I’ll have some research and notes together for when we meet.

The adventure begins.

Published from my iPad.

Spare Some Change

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The past 2 years have fostered so many beautiful, unforgettable changes in my life. I am thankful for the strength and support I have encountered along the way. In these 21 months, I have taken the image of who I want to be and have done my best to sculpt it into reality. There are some odds and ends, but they will resolve in time.

In the past couple of days something new and inspirational has harvested. I was daydreaming in the shower, like I usually do, when a provocative tagline came to the tip of my tongue.

Spare some change.

You may think of a street dweller asking for money — but dig a little deeper and you’ll find the meaning. We need to open up a little more to the idea of change. I sometimes believe we hang on to “the daily grind” because we fear what we cannot change. We are afraid in the things we cannot control or the fate we may face in time. But right now… Right now it wouldn’t do too much harm if we could just spare some change in our lives. Stop worrying, and start planning. Maybe this means you loosen up, or maybe this means you get down to business.

Why should we fear change? Every decision we make in our daily lives should be working towards a better, sustainable tomorrow. If we are afraid of tomorrow then we are not doing enough today to ensure our comfort, confidence, and success. We have such a large say in what tomorrow will look like. Like our physical health, we can take control and succeed because we are at the helm of control.

I have embarked on a fourth phase in my life. I am thrilled to be recently employed with Oregon State University as the only student assistant at The Hallie Ford Center. We moved into the brand new building last week and it’s not just a fresh start for the healthy children and family programs but for me as well. It’s an all new stage in my life and it feels incredibly invigorating to be working and engaging with others in the variety of ever-changing tasks I perform. I like going to work and I embrace the challenges I am dealt.

But I am also excited to be forecasting for a fifth phase of change to come in time. I enjoy my public health academic major and I am eager to see myself in a dedicated career. I am still uncertain about a primary focus, however. I am not sure Health Management and Policy is something I am cut out for. It feels extremely over my head right now and each term I just face a queue of more predestined classes. I’ve been sort of fishing for some inspiration, and while working at The Hallie Ford Center has already proven to be a great start, I’ve actually been acutely interested in taking my studies abroad.

Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia is on my front page. I am at the drawing board laying out blueprints for achievement and success. The schematics require some focus and extensive planning, but I really think it’s worth it — and thinking, reading, and researching about studying abroad fires me up and I get very excited. It feels right. I think I need to do this… I need to do it for myself. I can’t let it pass me by.

Studying abroad is normally seen in college sophomores and juniors… But I’m going to be a senior. I’ve thought about this and I’ve felt that my opportunity has been passed up. But then I think about what people have told me… College is your chance to explore and make your own way. Why do I have to follow the same path everyone takes? I already know I won’t be graduating the end of my senior year due to a late switch to public health and a reevaluated approach to the classes I’m taking. This has been somewhat discouraging, but I am living my own adventure so let’s live it up!

Some people get “senioritis”, an uncontrollable eagerness to finish school and graduate. But I’m experiencing the opposite. I’m on what seems like the last leg of college and I’m not ready for it to be done. I feel like I haven’t experienced all there is to be had. I’ve gone three years with the same routine of forecasting and attending classes. It feels a little stagnant, though. Studying abroad is not just a temporary fad I have. It’s a revelation that I need to act upon. During these last three years I have witnessed so many people travel to other countries as part of school, They post beautiful pictures and tell of engrossing stories. I have longed to be in their shoes — to sit in that classroom, to see the scenes, to meet the people, to truly live that dream. I will not get another chance if I don’t do it today.

I believe studying abroad at Deakin University is right for me because it is an outstanding opportunity to thrive. Life in Melbourne will be a fun and an academically enriching experience. I will enroll in a span of human development and family science courses taught by Australian education professors. I will meet new people, have incredible experiences in new activities, and explore an urban paradise. This is what I’ve always wanted. I want it so bad and I am ready to work for it. I am more than ready to spare some change.

Published from my iPad.

Turning the Page

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I’ve been thinking about the future.

So much of my time is consumed with thinking about the present — which classes to take, where to live come this fall, my academics, friendships, my personal mindset. But I’ve recently been exposed to thoughts of who or where I’ll be after college. When I was asked this by a friend, I immediately answered that I would like to work in Portland and live at home for a short time until I got things going and would find my own place. But… I think about it and now think more deeply about life after school. We are about half done with college. It’s never too early to look ahead and set new goals, dreams for our upcoming selves. It can be like turning the page in a novel and seeing things before they happen.

Perhaps Portland is not my destined location; perhaps it is. But what if I dug deep and, instead of going with what’s simple and most direct, took a leap into the dreams? Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be?

I wouldn’t mind being somewhere with better weather. But I also don’t think I’d favor a small suburbia town like Corvallis. Yet, at the same time, a large town like Portland is even daunting. The weird people, the traffic, parking, and sketchy areas. But I know I want to go into public health. It’s still so strange to me how I’ve been pursuing the wrong major up until this most recently-completed term – and then pretty much without taking any previous course or giving any prior interest, just jumped into the public health field.

So, I want to work at maybe a hospital, institute, or state organization to work/manage/create health programs. I’d like to cover, perhaps, something in healthy/fit lifestyles or HIV/AIDS awareness. However, these are just initial thoughts. I’m sure many other areas of health interest me. But where I want to work is still a big brainstorm. Should I stay near home? Should I follow my heart and let it lead me to new lands?

I think a lot my confusion can be solved.

I need to travel. I crave so much to see the world. Maybe if I got this necessity for adventure out of my system I could then feel more like settling in somewhere I’m familiar with… Like Portland. It would be quite great if I could travel within my employment company — fly out to attend conferences and interact with foreign populations and policy.

Writing this has actually spurred an idea. Maybe I should look into studying abroad through OSU. This will give me extreme hands-on experience and help me figure things out for the future. I think I’ll look into it right now. Study public health on the east coast? Europe? Australia? Ok… A little ambitious, but I’m still going to check out the possibilities.

Oh, man! Now I’m feeling so ready to turn that page and start writing my next chapter in life. What a good day!

Published from my iPad.