College brought a wide change in my scope of perceptions of how people run businesses, ethics in the work place, and the vast economical influences of customer service. After my internship ended in 2004 at a non profit youth job center in the loop, I learned the values of society, family, community, and work experience. Providing mock interviews for youth ages 18-24 in 2003 showed me the talent, skills, and potential of the young work force.
The internship was only 6 months and as my hopes for another position with the agency, there wasn't anything available at the time and I learned in a letter of reference that I needed more work experience and that the agency was leaving me with a positive reference acknowledging my sincerity. There was Harold the pipe fitter who took a radiant picture with safety goggles on and mad front cover that summer of one of the agencies news letters. Here hundreds of youths coming in for entry level positions and I was able to experience watching them critique their resumes, cover letters, interview skills, and all the proper adjustments of getting the job in this countries unstable economy.
I was only 23 and learning about the workforce in Chicago. The youth were applying for entry level positions with retail, construction, industrial, and many other service and trade positions. The internship pushed up a career path that I would have never imagined. In 2009, after tedious research on resume building, cover letter writing, patterns of job application requirements, a dozen interviews after submitting a hundred or more applications and resumes via email, fax machine, and mail, I still had a lot to learn and work on in my career field of choice. To fill in the gaps of my resume I worked with make up sales and other pyramid companies doing foot work.
Networking with youths, my university, co-workers, friends, family, and colleagues is an on-going experience of growth and with all the fast changes taking place daily, career building is a job worth the rewards. After another company closed, I was using the internet job search engines, spending a few hours a day in the libraries, and talking to my family about my next career step. I stayed in touch with the temporary agencies and worked one day to six month projects as office fill-in, floater, and greeter for ceremonial events.
I stayed in touch with Tilda in Germany who studied accounting, as well as her sister Fiori They were gorgeous friends with Albanian features and beauty. Its been ten years since I've seen them in person, but we see each other on social networks. It really isn't the same at all of course. Then there is Salma from Turkey who studied financial planning. She taught me about marriage in her culture, the ceremonial procedures from the delicacy of colors in the dresses to the sacred rituals of her family and the grooms. I remember her clear as day, her jet black hair, radiant passion for her family and fiance to be. She was very lively and we giggled a lot together on campus when she drove me around to classes sometimes.
My friend Jen who graduated high school with me from the same high school a year later met me over on campus to study Special Education. Today she is married and has one daughter. She lives a few hours from Chicago and I have not visited her in 9 years although we catch up with friends and family matters every Christmas. I learned a lot being away from home on campus 9 years ago and see that I've carried much of my actions to things there today. I surround myself with books, notebooks, college goers, colleagues, and university alumni news to keep up with what was and what is today with the changes in things such as tuition, and campus career development directions.
Lastly, College brought a wide change in my scope of perceptions of how people run businesses, ethics in the work place, and the vast economical influences of customer service. After my internship ended in 2004 at a non profit youth job center in the loop, I learned the values of society, family, community, and work experience. Providing mock interviews for youth ages 18-24 in 2003 showed me the talent, skills, and potential of the young work force.
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