Saturday, September 12, 2009

week 3- getting to know you...

Hey guys! I am a senior at UCf looking forward to graduation. My minor is in Hospitality Management and my areas are Criminal Justice and Education. I really enjoy all three areas for many different reasons. I started in Education and that was actually my major. My mother is a teacher and I had a wonderful childhood because she was always there when my brothers and I were off from school. One of my very long term goals is to one day become a teacher when I have children. I have also always been interested in the criminal justice department. My family is big into law enforcement. My Dad used to work in law enforcement and now has a private investigative firm, my brother is a detective in Port. St. Lucie and other family members are in that field of work also. With that being said our dinners were full of "cop talk" and I became interested. But for the time being I am most excited to use my area minor in hospitality as soon as I graduate. I am moving to Hawaii where tourism rules with high hopes of landing a good job in a fancy hotel or resort.
When I am asked about IDS or what I am graduating with, I really just give them the above in a nut shell. I tell them my three areas, which since mine are all over they always look confused so I have to give them the reasons I picked this major. People usually respond with "Well at least you focused on the many areas your interested in." or "You can do anything with that diversity." And its so true. That's is why for me IDS was a lifesaver. I did not have a very specific area that I wanted to study, so now I can do many things in those areas with a bachelors degree.
Cheyenne Black

16 comments:

  1. Hello IDS Cornerstone Students and Welcome!!
    Hello fellow IDS Majors Colleagues/Cornerstone Mentees.....My name is Lisa Beni, I am one of your Capstone Mentors, and a Senior near Graduation. I am an IDS Major where my Minor is English Writing, and my Areas are Psychology and Law. The way that it worked out, I just recently completed my Cornerstone Experience last summer, so I will help you as best I can as it is still fresh--from the summer.
    ...I was born in Venice, Italy—grew up in upstate New York—visited NYC frequently (for culture)—and been living in Florida over 20 years. My short-term goal is to get hired into Counseling-Outreach and research Graduate School as I live in South Florida now—thank God for computers.
    ...I would love to have a second Condo—in Italy--and traverse between Florida and Europe as well as explore other countries with Italy and Florida as my bases, not too lofty.
    Why IDS now?.....After working in an emergency room starting a Nursing career, I became ill.
    ...Upon recuperation, I had to plan and re-educate myself to select a field that was not as physical (as Nursing). My UCF Advisor suggested this IDS Degree Program for several reasons. It could utilize my people/counseling skills that were Healthcare-related. IDS could also showcase my diversity and depth, build and validate my past experience, and be relevant--housed in my Bachelor Degree to market multiple “working skills” in today’s workforce.

    ...This degree enabled me to ‘start over’ with a new career (dovetailing from nursing into forensic psychology and counseling…writing is a skill necessary in many, many careers).
    The IDS advantage allowed me to develop “3 skills” I felt relevant and valuable, enjoyed, and were marketable. This diversity is appealing where I can sell myself to an employer as multi-skilled, able to work in an interdisciplinary environment, and my skills are ready--and will not be obsolete during dicey economic times, an asset and selling point to the employer.

    ...An IDS disadvantage is that I wish I had this degree as an option years ago so I wouldn’t have to re-educate myself now. I feel had I completed this degree years ago, I would have had more skills to fall back on—supported by my Bachelor’s Degree.

    ...This IDS Degree will allow me to transition into relevant Interdisciplinary Healthcare pathways working with people in a Psychosocial and Community-based context.....I’ll do what I can to share my experience with you.
    - Lisa Beni

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  2. Hi Cheyenne! My name is Stephanie Osman, and I am a Junior. Being from the East coast of Florida, I chose UCF to stay close to home. I go home almost every weekend, which is nice because I live on the river, and am only 5 minutes from the beach.

    I have decided to declare minors in my areas of study for IDS, so technically I am studying 4 minors that make up my studies. They are; Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, Business and Advertising. I originally wanted to study business because I was going to take over my father's car dealership, but then I discovered law. My new goal is to graduate from UCF, and continue on to Law School.

    I look forward to blogging with you this semester!

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  3. Hi Stephanie,
    Welcome to our Blog. It sounds like you are positioned correctly in IDS because you have multiple talents to develop. It's a good thing that you already seem to want to position yourself for Law School, good luck. I am Lisa Beni, one of the Mentors and my fellow mentor, Cheyenne will be blogging soon!

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  4. From Mentor Lisa Beni,
    Hello "Cornerstone Mentees"

    ...Topic for this week: E-PORTFOLIO...

    I thought I'd get a couple of E-PORTFOLIO topic ideas started to discuss, that your Cornerstone class may have touched on.

    1.) How will your e-Portfolio demonstrate your interdisciplinarity?

    2.) What is the audience / purpose you're thinking of using?

    Lisa

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  5. Hey Mentees,
    I too will post a couple questions for you to think about. E- portfolios are a really helpful tool. Tell us what you think...

    What would you envision your e-Portfolio looking like? What would you like to stand out?

    What things are you thinking could be used as evidence?

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  6. Hello Mentees,

    E-PORTFOLIO

    Here are 2 more questions to help get started thinking about E-Portfolio:
    ................................................
    1.) How would you envision your e-Portfolio looking like?

    2.) What would you like to stand out?

    3.) What things are you thinking could be used as evidence?
    ..............................................

    Just post your comments so Cheyenne and I (Lisa) can help you. Thanks.

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  7. Hello Everyone,

    This is my first ever blog posting and Im not quite sure if Im even doing it right so, check, check, 1... 2... 3... is this thing on? My name is Joshua Schwenn and Im finally in my senior year at UCF. After a few changes with my major, I discovered IDS last year and never looked back. My areas of study are public affairs and legal studies with a minor in health, and I love how this degree lets me focus on all of them as apposed to just one. After graduation I plan on going into the private air charter business where I can feed my passion for flying. Im probably not the most tech savvy person in the world but am willing to learn and open to help and advise. I look forward to working with everyone throughout the semester and hope to make this one a good one.
    -Josh

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  8. In response to Lisa’s first topic, I believe that my e-Portfolio will demonstrate my interdisciplinary by showing the ones who view it how my past experiences and accomplishments in various fields qualify me as a well rounded problem solver. The audience I would like my e-Portfolio to appeal to would be possible business partners, investors, or future clients related to the air charter service. With a well rounded Portfolio, I hope to create an image of self competence that should give me a head start toward success.

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  9. In response to Lisa’s last three questions, I envision my e-Portfolio looking like a well balanced and complete profile of my attributes and accomplishments. It should have a record of what I’ve done in the past and show what I plan on doing in the future to make me a well qualified business prospect. What I think I would like to standout the most are my accomplishments in aviation and experience in the aviation business. I want people to see that I’m comfortable with every aspect of the air charter business and can handle any and all problems associated with its operation. Some of the things which I could use as evidence would be things like any FAA issued ratings certifying me to operate a particular plane or planes. Also I could use logged flights as evidence of past cross-country trips indicating adequate experience in a particular aircraft. Any or other documents of that nature should provide evidence that I have what it takes to succeed in the business.

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  10. Hi guys!
    I’m Amanda Lue-Sang. My family is Jamaican, but I was born and raised in Los Angeles CA. I moved to South Florida in 2004 where I completed my last two years of high school. The summer of 2006 I moved to Orlando, attended Valencia Community College for two years and received my Associate Degree in Psychology. I then transferred to UCF where I am now a senior. This would normally be a great thing, if I had any idea of what I want to do! I am formally a Communication Sciences and Disorder student. This all changed this past summer when I realized that I was completely unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, or if I really even wanted to be a Speech pathologist. So I decided to make a switch to Interdisciplinary Studies, where I could still keep Communication Sciences and Disorders as my minor and focus on two other areas that really interest me, Political Affairs and Social Sciences. I hope that these classes will give me some insight on what I would like to do as a career. When I’m not stressing about life and school I love to go to the beach, hang out with friends, and spend long weekends at home with the fam!

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  11. Well I have actually been having a really hard time explaining what my major is to other people. It’s almost like they have a hard time grasping the concept that this major is not easily defined. I usually just tell people I don’t really have a major, it’s more like I have three minors or three focal points on interest. I also try to explain why have chosen this major. I feel like it gives people a change to experiment with all areas of interest not just one.

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  12. I feel like there are many advantages to having an interdisciplinary education or degree. I feel like this degree seeking program is unique in that t allows its students to experience a variety of classes, interests, and fields. I feel that it leaves room for students to really decide what aspect of their degree they enjoy the most and help better prepare them for life and the work field. I do wonder if employers look down on the fact that this degree does not focus n one specific area??

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  13. Joshua,

    First of all, welcome to our Blog. I liked what you said about Interdisciplinary, "and never looked back" because that is how I felt. I felt like I had 3 skills (2 areas + 1 minor) and even more (after possibly traversing different degrees and switching around).

    Therefore, think of it as having three specialty areas--even more with your "flying" background.

    Cornerstone and this Blog helps us "think out loud" to get more polished on understanding ourselves and learning how to market ourselves accordingly. It sounds like you are on the right track.

    I have a somewhat similar combo: Law, Psychology and English Writing...

    Have you ever heard of "Angel Flights"? Just curious. There's an Airport in Leesburg (Lake County) that flies Angel Flights.

    I am Lisa Beni, one of your Mentors (Cheyenne will jump in soon). It's good to start a dialog and nice to meet you!

    Lisa/Mentor

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  14. Amanda,

    Welcome to our Mentor Blog. I am Lisa, one of your Mentors. You sound like you have an interesting background and just make a mental note that it can serve you well having lived in different states so far apart.

    Most of us in Interdisciplinary chose it because we were "unsure". The advantage of having 3 (2 areas+1 minor) "Skills" makes me feel like we have essentially how you worded it: 3 Minors. Sometimes if between changing schools and degrees we end up taking more classes--enriching our background more--even though it may take a little longer to get there due to "catching up".

    Hang in there, Amanda. It is a plus to market yourself to an employer prospect that you have "3 Skills" that you can use (rather than being just book smart). Cornerstone and eventually Capstone will help you gain more confidence and affirm that this degree is cutting edge and--you--we are ahead of this curve...
    ...Believe in "this degree, and yourself". That is the first step--and that will translate to others through your confidence in your career path.

    My BlogMentee Partner (Cheyenne) will give you another perspective soon.

    Welcome and we're in this together!

    Lisa/Mentor

    P.S. I think it's more appealing to 'sell' to an employer that you have "3 Practical Skills" rather than 1 skill (that could become obselete or edged out). It is smart to have depth and diversity in your background to an employer. The employer feels like they're getting more for their money and you feel more secure knowing you can do more than one job...

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  15. I'm not sure exactly on how I want the portfolio to look, but it definately needs to be different. I want to base mine on applying to Law School to put me over the edge of other potential students. It needs to include that I have the background of law, but that I add the Criminal Justice and the Business because they both effect law and types of law.
    My background of working in my fathers dealership will show a basic knowledge of business law, since I dealt with actual car deals.
    I also have interned at a Criminal Law Agency for 2 summers, which was very interesting. I visited the jail, courthouse, and all other places that I have to be comfortable in to be a Criminal Lawyer.

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  16. Stephanie,
    Keep all this background information as it all is important when you build your E-Portfolio, Resume and Cover Letter.

    As Law School is your post-IDS Degree goal, the other areas: Criminal Justice/Business Law (Advertising) are very relevant--it shows you've expanded your the depth of your knowledge/skills and make yourself more valuable having 'multiple specialties'.

    Your Criminal Law Agency "experience" is relevant and valid to document as well. It is good to explain how you've visited the jail, courthouse, etc. This Summer job shows that you have hands-on experience and exposure.

    It also shows you have poise and confidence in this field and want to learn--At the same time this job gives prospective employers assurance, that you are serious in the legal field enough to have add several "specialties" along the way...

    It helps when an employer wants to place you (i.e. if the job you wanted wasn't available) and could put you in an "available" position where you could work that until the better position opens up...

    If you start thinking that way, positively, along the way it will be easier to build your E-Portfolio as you have built your skills. The more confidence you evoke, the more convincing and appealing your assets will be for the prospects.

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