Miss 1 Month

Did I mention that I graduated? It's been a month and it's been great. 

Miss My Heart is Beating Really Fast

I just finished my last final and my heart is beating really fast.

As I was filling out the last 5 questions on my bubble sheet for my econ exam, I almost started to cry. I can't decide it if was out of happiness because I will never touch economics again, or if it is because I am sad that my undergraduate degree is over.

Either way, my heart is beating so fast.

The teachers, people, jobs, classmates, friends, tests, papers, assignments, activities and opportunities that I have been part of here will never be forgotten.

Thank you BYU-I.

Miss Choices

Choices, choices, choices.

Is it ingrained in us to know how to make the biggest choices we will ever make in our lives? Does it just come naturally? Is it an instinct? I'm not so sure.

I am at one of those crossroads in my life where I have to make choices. Which job do I take? Should I go to grad school? Should we move? How much money should we put in savings? When should we start having kids?

My mind is a whirlwind.

A few criteria to consider when making big choices:

• Who is involved? When you make your decision, be sure to realize who is involved when you make this decision. 
• Is it time sensitive? If your choice is time-sensitive, you should set an even earlier deadline for yourself.
• Try it on. Someone once taught me that if I am considering a choice but not fully sure of it, to try it on and see how I feel. For example, if I was trying to decided what school to go to, I would choose a school and start pursuing it and if it didn't feel right, I would then know for sure to rule it out. 
• Talk it out. I am famous for this. I have a choice and I talk it to death with my poor husband, family, friends  teachers, random strangers, etc. Talking may help you come to conclusions you never realized. It may cause you to over think, so you this technique with caution. 

Miss Time Management

Lat night I was up until almost 3 a.m. My poor husband.

On Sunday, I visually plan my week. I plan what assignments are due, what tests to take and what study groups to hold. I also schedule my tutor, configure my work hours and other outside activities that I am involved it. There are so many things to consider and usually my head is spinning by the time I am done figuring it all out.

Last night, it was keeping me awake and I was very frustrated. Thank goodness for great husbands. He taught me a great principle: Plan Monday.

We went over what I am planning to do today and even planned on planning Tuesday on Monday night. It really helped me calm down and get a grip.

When you have a hectic week coming, plan one day at a time and manage your time on a daily basis.

Miss What If

I bet you think I am going to talk about something sappy right? Like, "what if all my dreams came true!?" No. I am not talking about that.

I am talking about the what if calculator for my classes. Each of my classes have an online grade book that I can access to see all my assignments and submit assignments. It has completely phased out paper and it's awesome. I look at it several times a day but every other week I use the "what if calculator" feature. This feature calculates what your grade will be if you got a certain percentage on a project or paper or test.

Since the semester is concluding and I am graduating, this calculator and I have developed a close relationship. Not only do I use him daily, I think about him often. Today, for the 3rd time this week (it's Tuesday, mind you) we met again.

Here is the verdict on my final tests and papers in order to recieve decent grades:

                  Exam Grade               Final Grade
Economics:       40%                         80%
Law:                 87%                         90%
Media Writing:  50%                         80%
Finance:            60%                         80%
Mass Media:     65%                         90%
DNA:               70%                         80%

I am not to ashamed to admit that I am looking at the least possilbe grade to pass. After taking 19 credits this semester, my shield is down and I am vulnerable and I am okay with that.

Good thing I have my man, what if calculator, to make me feel better.

Miss Frog Diet

Have any of you heard of this book? Well, I need to read it, and then do it.

Tomorrow, I am going to 'eat the frog' before the weekend. There--I said it. I am now accountable.

Miss TBI

What does TBI mean? To Be Interviewed....Clever, right?

At this transitional time in my life, I have been interviewed, a lot. This past 6 months I have estimated I have been interviewed about 6 times and I have interviewed others 3 times. This surprised me but I am pleased because the more practice, the better.

Yesterday, I went to another interview. (I will tell you what is was for at a later date, hopefully) The day before an interview, I usually prepare by going over interview questions. You can find typical interview questions on any given site you find when you Google: interview questions. I usually talk out loud to my poor husband or I talk into a mirror. I am not always that prepared but most of the times I am thinking about it constantly for days or hours before and that prep alone is enough for me sometimes.

For this interview, I prepared by answering this list of questions. (I am super lucky to be able to work in HR and be present in interviews and hear the questions they ask and learn about how they evaluate candidates. This alone has prepared me so much for the future.)

Consider these questions before your next interview:

• Tell us about gifts or talents that you feel you have been blessed with that apply to this job.
• Tell us about a time where you had to be the bearer of bad news.
• Tell us about a time when people disagreed with you, but you knew you were right.
• Contrast: Tell us about a time when you thought you were right, but later found out you were wrong. 
• Tell us about the most challenging work relationship you ever had.
•  Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. 1 being someone who likes things organized, stable, routine, normal, regular and typical. 10 being someone who is wildly out of the box, creative, bold, fearless, forward thinking, zealous, ambitious.
• Tell us about the worst professional decision you have ever made.
• Comparing the importance of policy vs. customer needs, who would you be the advocate for?
• Tell us about the last time you extended an apology in a professional setting. 
• Tell us the worst professional decision you have ever made.
• Tell us about a time that you collaborated with a team.
• What was the nature of the project?
• How did it turn out?
• How did you ensure the project got done? 

Some other tips for interviewing are:

1. Arrive at least 5 minutes early. If you arrive more than 10 minutes, they won't know what to do with you. Give yourself enough time to take off your coat, introduce yourself to the receptionist or secretary and take a deep breath. Too much time may psych you out.
2. Prepare. Talking in the mirror can help you see your facial expressions. Body language and tone are huge. You need to sound competent no matter what job you are applying for. Make sure your body language and tone are appropriate for the job description.
3. Research the company. Know when they were established, their history and their mission. They will most likely bring it up and the more you know the better. Show interest in the company and they will show interest in you. 
4. While in the interview, listen. Don't worry about what you are going to say next. If you practiced, it will come to you. If you need to stall, ask for a moment to think. It is better for you to explain the silence rather than be too quiet or answer too quickly. Find a balance.
5. Be yourself. (Insert cheesy grin here) In the end, they are hiring YOU, not the fake person you interviewed as. It always helps me to think, "If I am not the best fit for the company, I don't want to work there." You will  not be able to put on a face very long. 

Finding a job that is exactly what you want to do and fitting the requisites is not easy. Getting an interview is even harder. If you get one, be present and be ready.

Miss College Event Planner

Last semester and this semester, I have bad the privilege of being on the events board for the College of Business and Communication. Every semester, we plan a summit for the students in the college to attend and hear from working professionals in their desired field. I can still remember the first summit I attended. I learned so much and every semester the event helps me define my career even more. (There is something to say about empathy, to me. It means a lot.)

Last semester, I got to host the keynote speaker, Robert Whitman, the CEO of FranklinCovey. It was REMARKABLE! The whole day I kept pinching myself. Within the first 10 minutes of meeting him, he offered to set me up with a job at one of the Wynn hotels (that he a partial owner of) as an event planner! It was incredible. Throughout the day, he soaked up his time with the students. He is such a humble man.

I ended up being invited to reminisce with him and his Harvard buddy and BYU-Idaho's president, Kim B. Clark.That was unforgettable.

He spoke a university forum in the afternoon and shed some words of wisdom about success. He based it off the principles below-

It was so inspirational and I reflect upon these principles almost weekly.

This semester, I get to host Curtis Peterson, who is the Planning Analyst for the Idaho and North America Central Areas of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The event is next week and I can't wait to meet him and the other speakers.

Check out who is coming this semester.

Mrs. Scared to Death

Hi, All. I'm back.

Semester is done and here are the results...

Not bad. It got me a partial academic scholarship (never thought I would say that) in addition to my full-ride leadership scholarship that I have again for next semester.

I'm pretty happy with the results-all things considered. Being a newlywed, taking 17 credits, working 20 hours and then being director over an events program (volunteer)...it got crazy. In fact, Nephi and I almost cried driving out of town on our first vacation. We were so happy, relieved and had some legitimate bagagge and angst against this semester. The hard part for me, personally, was that I had so many classes to work on, it was hard for me to just enjoy one. I gave about equal amount to each class, in the end, but didn't fancy one over the other. I did learn a lot and felt immense growth and more drive towards graduating and starting a 'real job'.

This is where the real tears come in...

No more excuses, it's time to start applying for my first 'real job' post graduation. My emotions race daily with the thought of what is going to happen in December when I graduate.

Am I going to be one of those graduates who has a job lined up and walks into the office first Monday after graduation? Am I going to be one of those graduates that wakes up the day after graduation, grabs the classifieds and starts applying? Or, am I going to be one of those graduates that is going to start applying early, to 15 + places, get 2 interviews and have nothing to show for it except 15 different cover letters?

I fear all 3, especially option 3.

Ambiguity in life plans has never been my strong suit. I am working on it but I do have a strong belief in a system that has worked for me in the past - work your butt off, pray, be good, follow-up and be yourself and things will work out. This theory has proven to work, however, I am still scared to death...

This is where I am at. Thinking every waking hour about where I will be in 5 months. How I will support my husband. How I will feel accomplished. How I will stayed motivated when pushed down. How I will hold back all the tears.

I don't know, but I am willing to find out and prove my theory, right.

Wish me l u c k. (And let me know if you hear of any job openings in eastern Idaho)

Mrs. New Job. Well, kind of.

Since January, I have been working for University Communications as a project manager. It's been such an incredible experience that it is hard to explain. I have grown so much! Job, after job, I always think I can't learn more than I did in the past job or internship-but I always do!

Some of the principles that I have learned is:
*The client is not always right, you just need to make them feel that way.

-I know immediately, all your heads turn to your neighbor and scoff, “Psh, PR. A whole bunch of spinning is what she is doing.” My response would be, yes and no. Yes, this job is PR and no we do not spin the truth –we just give the client a new perspective.

*I am a student, but I am powerful.

-For example, as an intern, there were many moments where I felt like I was treated like a 'intern'. I had to prove myself over and over again and in the end, I felt like I still struggled to win them over. Here, I feel like my work is worth something and with every project I do well, I gain more respect, trust and stewardship. I love that feeling.

*The mission of the University is to serve the students.

-Each project I work on, in a roundabout, is always for the students. Your now nudging your neighbor thinking, “Duh, you work at a university.” Bust seriously. All my clients are sincere about helping the students understand the message they are trying to convey. It’s not about power or position. It's about people.

*My peers are amazing.

-I work with a team of graphic designers and web programmers, all students, all amazing. They shock me with their talents, daily. I have learned so much from them, not just about design principles, but about talent and expressing your talents. I want to be like them when I grow up.


Those are just a few of the many principles that I have learned here at University Communications. This job really was a miracle and I feel good and fulfilled in this position.

Now, along to my ‘new job, well, kinda’ scenario. My supervisor, I guess you could call her, was the Project Coordinator for University Communications. Instead of her just managing print, she does web, video and photo as well. She has a student project manager in each area that she works with but mostly she manages the bigger projects and the face-time. Fortunately, we worked in the same office and became great friends. She is a great example to me and I loved working with her. Recently, she was offered a new position on campus and she felt it was time for a change in her life and switched departments at the end of July.


With her leaving, there was an obvious vacancy that couldn’t be filled immediately. The job posting just closed and they are currently seeking a new employee. So, how have we been surviving? Me. Ahem, humbly. I am now in her position. And since school is out for the break, I am also the photo coordinator and the web coordinator. A doozy, eh? Nah. It’s been great.

I attend meetings with the director of University Communications, weekly, as well as manage projects in web, print, photo and video. I meet with the managers of each of those departments weekly as well and make sure they are all on top of things. Yes—it’s weird giving assignments and deadlines to men quite superior to me in age, status and pay grade (especially pay grade). But, they are all WONDERFUL to work with. They only enable me to be better. The other day during my meeting with the director he said that he doesn’t look at me as a student, but as a full-time working professional that is to represent University Communications. Wow—that was nice to hear.

Although I will only be in this position a few more weeks, I again, see it as such a miracle. Again, I have learned and grown so much. I hope this trial period is preparing me for something greater in my life. I know, wherever I apply and work [post graduation] I will be prepared because of the experience I have had here.


There is my new job summary and a small tribute to University Communications. Thanking you.

Mrs...photographer!?

Yes. I haven't blogged in forever. It's bad. I wish I could blog. Daily. I have enough to say, just not enough time. One day. Soon.


FYI, I have a photo blog. I am taking a digital imaging class that has taught me how to take pictures and edit them! We invested in a DSLR Cannon Rebel camera and we really like it! Check out my blog and the work I have done this semester!

Stay tuned. I will be back.

Mrs Life is Cake

 

Here is my schedule for the fall 2011 semester. My LAST semester of my undergraduate studies. Only 16 credits next semester, opposed to my current 17. Feel free to feel sorry for me...lend words of encouragement...put my name on the prayer roll....etc. 

But really, life is cake with this man. 

These past, officially today, 2 months have been incredible.

I don't know how I lasted the last 23 years without him.

Miss Goal Setter

For the rest of the year, I have set a goal to make at least ONE effort a week towards finding a job after graduation. (Yes, I am graduating in December!)


Week 2/21-2/27: Begin working on revamping my resume and networking in Arizona.

I will be designing my resume in Adobe Illustrator. Check out my current resume.


Miss Support

Nephi's brother and sister-in-law are so inspiring. Please help support! I added a button on my right side-bar. Check it out.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Miss Reader

Here is my current read! I just started it today, finally. (Nephi gave it to me for Christmas.) I am already inspired! I love John C. Maxwell. I have read a few other books of his and they can truly change your life if you let them.

"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily...success doesn't just suddenly occur one day in someone's life."