During my first few years at Arcadia, I had no idea what I wanted to do in my career. Initially, I started out as a Chemistry major with a minor in Biology on the Pre-Forensics track (in the Accelerated Masters program). in short, I hated it. I’ve loved school and learning ever since I started attending at five years old, but once I ended up on this career path, I felt so miserable. Whenever it came to group, many of the STEM students would become very self centered and competitive. Which wasn’t a great environment for teamwork or collaboration. Instead, it was isolating, depressing, and the workload was too much for me. So, I decided to switch majors come spring.
However, I had no idea what I was even getting myself into. I truly just picked whatever major that sounded the most interesting and the one I felt the most passionate about, which is why I am here today. Though I don’t see myself working in the field of PR, being a part of a student run organization has been a highlight of my year so far. From the creative ideas when planning activities to visiting our client’s site to just being able to collaborate with the students I work with, I realized this is exactly what I was missing in my freshman year of college. The ability to work as a team with others, something I take great pride in doing.
Through this experience, I managed to learn a few things about myself. Despite being introverted, I do have a passion for working with or for other people. Many of the students and teachers I work with, even outside of the PR field, are some of the most influential and knowledgeable groups of people I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. I also learned that I seem to have a knack for event planning as well as writing, which seems small to me until I realize both actually take a lot of time, but again, they’re both something I enjoy greatly. So far, being a PR student has proven to me, in smaller ways, that my career can be filled with opportunities that make me feel more fulfilled rather than sitting in a room with faces I feel like I don’t recognize. Truly, I’m grateful for that.