WP Carey Spring Career and Internship Fair.

Career Services Blog

Last month I attended the WP Carey Spring Career and Internship Fair. Even though I am not a WP Carey student, I really wanted to talk with a medical device company called Stryker. I was first introduced to the company through my girlfriend. She graduated in 2012 and has been working as a sales person for a payroll company. Even though sales is not my first career choice, I have only been considering it because of the amount of growth, both financially and professionally that is available.

I didn’t realize it, but Stryker was using the career fair as a first interview. The recruiters liked our conversation and invited me to a more formal interview. It was my first time doing an interview with a company from a career fair and it was very interesting. First of all, I wasn’t being interviewed for a specific position. I was interviewed by a recruiter just to see if I would fit in to the company culture. Now, she recommends me to the department she thinks I would be best in. I am not sure if it is an industry I want to go into but I will see where the interview process leads me.

Biking

Free Write: Biking

I really want to bike more. When I used to take classes on the downtown campus I would ride my bike from my place in Tempe and would take 30 minutes each way. I absolutely loved it. Recently though, I am taking all my classes online and now that I live where I work, I don’t really have a commute anywhere.

I enjoyed biking so much that I trained to make the trip from Tempe to Tucson. I did so by riding from Tempe to Peoria around 3 times a week. The first time I tried to make it to Tucson was freshman year. I didn’t make it and only made it half way. I was pretty disappointed in my self but I tried again my sophomore year and made it in 12 hours. It’s been more than a year since I have even been on my bike. I really want to start again.

Awhatukee

Free Write: Awhatukee

It has been a couple of weeks since we moved in, and just as I had thought it would happen, there are still unpacked boxes in our den. It is extremely hard to finish unpacking because we simply have too much stuff and haven’t established were anything goes! I really like our apartment though and it has more of a home feel than our last apartment. I would have rather moved into a house but not being tied down to a lease is what makes the most sense right now.

I love Awhatukee! I had never considered living here before, but it is so new and my neighborhood has everything close by. It I think that when I do decide to buy a home it will be in Awhatukee. Last year I was house shopping but couldn’t decide on what area of the valley to live in. I even was working with a realtor and had gotten approved for a good loan but in the end I couldn’t decide.

It was also really hard to decide since I am still in school and am unsure of where my career will be. I don’t want to be tied down to a house if I have to move to a different state. However, even if I do stay in the valley, I would want to be close to work! That’s the one down side to Awhatukee, even though the neighborhoods are close by to shopping centers, grocery stores, etc. Awhatukee is generally far away from everything else. So I will keep considering where I want to end up, but for now Ahwatukee is nice! 

A Diverse Community

Free Write: 

A Diverse Community 

In addition to the individual growth I experienced at camp. It also gave me a community to belong to which was unlike anything I had ever experienced. While at camp, you have life-changing conversations and open up to the other delegates about very personal experiences. Inevitably you become close friends with the other delegates who originally started out as strangers.

One of the core strategies of the camp is to bring together delegates from a variety of different backgrounds. So I ended up building close relationships with people who I would have otherwise not have had the opportunity to meet. It was a completely different setting than I was used to. Often times high school, work, and even church I was only exposed to people of a similar background than me. Anytown was the first time I connected with like-minded people who came from different backgrounds.

It only helped enrich the experience and added depth to our conversations. I was able to learn how other races and genders experienced prejudice from those who felt it first hand. It deepened my compassion for those groups even more since I was able to put faces to the struggle. My main objective during this internship is to enrich the experience for current delegates.

My initial experience as an Anytown Delegate

Free Write:

My initial experience as an Anytown Delegate

I was first introduced to Anytown in high school. As a student leader,  I was eager to engage with any leadership development programs I could get into. What I found with Anytown though was much more profound than anything I could have hoped for. Ironically enough, I was not searching to have such a mind opening experience. I was just looking for another leadership experience.

What I found however, was much more. I was challenged to question my understanding of myself and my community. As a delegate, I confronted issues regarding stereotypes, disabilities, gender, occupations, faith and religion, body types, sexual orientation, class and privilege. The week was profound and life-changing, deepening my appreciation for others.

I was inspired to get deeper involved with the organization and help others have the same experience I did. The first step was to become a camp counselor that next year. Since then I have participated in 6 camps. Once I came to ASU I looked to be more involved so I worked out an internship role where I not only acted as a counselor but also had a hand in deepening the organization mission outside of camp.

Moving

Free Write: Moving

Since I have been in college I have moved every single year. Every time I move to a new place I vow to never do it again. But alas, I have done it again. I am a leasing consultant at an apartment community in Awhatukee, and I get a discount off my rent in addition to not having to designate a lease term if I live on premise. 

So, when our lease was up at my old apartment my girlfriend and I decided to move to Awhatukee. Moving is such a nightmare! I don’t understand how we accumulate so much unnecessary stuff. Every time I move I go on a tossing binge and just get rid of everything I don’t need. But year after year I still end up with so much stuff!

We ended up renting a U-Haul and had my parents help for a day. We actually finished in around 4 hours. It was great. However, I am unsure of how everything will fit. We moved to a bigger place but its always hard to get settled in and decide where everything goes. So far so good but we will see!