With twirling skirts and laughter ensuing throughout the air, the conclusion of Garba, an Indian festival in which men, women, and children of all ages congregated to dance in the revered rhythms Bollywood and religious music, commenced the onset of the festival season in Indian culture. It is now time, more than ever, to look forward to my mother’s homemade sweet tasting barfi recipes, and I cannot wait for the celebrating to begin!
In the same way, my ISM journey called for joyous celebration this week, and I made an important milestone in my growth- I scheduled my first interview with a business professional! After revamping my contact list and making it more reflective of my organizational abilities, I started to call professionals in the community this week. Although as nerve wracking as it was to pick up the phone and call a stranger, I achieved success on my second phone call. Ms. Jerome del Porto, the Vice President of 7-11, returned my voicemail and scheduled an interview a week later. Now, as I continue to cold call and receive the opportunity to conduct interviews, I can only hope for the same success. With business symposium in just a few days, I also hope to network and potentially find professionals in the International Business sector who can further add to my first hand experiences in ISM. My journey awaits!
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With autumn officially beginning last week, the intense heat and humidity of our mighty yet beloved Texas has finally started to succumb, accepting defeat to chilly mornings and gentle breezes. Much like the seasons, the intensity of my workload has similarly started to wane, allowing me to enjoy both the upcoming festivities and maintain my academics.
Just like the crimson leaves that will soon pirouette down an invisible breeze, enjoying their last dance before being embraced by winter, my ISM journey is entering a new stage: calling and conducting interviews with professionals in my field in hopes of attaining an interview. Furthermore, with the Business Symposium right around the corner, and after hearing about success stories of students meeting their mentors, the pressure is on to create a lasting impact on these professionals. As a result, I hope to brush up on my interpersonal skills and rake in opportunities to learn about international business from professionals. In preparation for these upcoming events, I polished up my resume by weeding out extraneous information and revamping it into a sophisticated design. Adopting a minimalist approach, I hope to call detail to the aspects of my professional life that truly matter without providing an overwhelming amount of information. As far a research goes, I have started to delve deeper into my topic by analyzing case studies that allow me to develop a holistic picture of conducting international business. Through this method of research, I have been able to learn more about specific events that can lead to a variety of consequences in the business world. In the coming weeks, I hope to expand further upon my research and use it to network with business professionals. With flu season right around the corner, it wasn’t hard for the germaphobe in me to find (and watch) my fair share of noses wiped on sleeves, sneezes that stopped one from speaking mid-sentence, and congested voices that made one sound like a character from an old French film. At the turn of every hallway, all I could do was imagine the number of viruses that were floating in the air, just waiting to strike their next victim. Unfortunately, for me, this did not serve to be enough to keep me from catching the vile virus- the same one that had alas affected my friends and family alike.
Nonetheless, as I persisted through watery eyes and an itchy throat, I made considerable progress in my ISM journey. Realizing that international business is a broad topic consisting of subfields specializing in brand management to finances, I decided to delve deeper into research and see if I could pinpoint my passion. After ample analyzation and much-needed introspection, I was able to put two and two together and recognize that marketing is my calling! As an enthusiast of channeling my inner creativity and using my previous knowledge of psychology to understand the market, I now know that by studying international marketing, I can reaffirm my passions and combine them with some of my other interests, such as education to form the perfect career. As the school year progresses, I find myself becoming used to the fast-paced routine of junior year. Despite the constant inflow of tests, quizzes, and projects, I have started to dedicate more time to ISM simply because it does not feel like “work”. Using my childlike curiosity that has lain dormant for quite some time, I am utterly amazed at how I have been able to take my passion and transform it into a career field that gives me pure pleasure. Like the constant buzz of a cell phone, with each beep adding to the gargantuan pile of unread emails, missed calls, and believe it or not, Pinterest updates, my week was comparable to technology’s tempting cycle. The seemingly facile tasks that still had yet to be checkmarked off of my to-do list had snowballed into an avalanche, and I stood midst the chaos! Nonetheless, following the wise words of Troy Bolton, the all-star basketball player from High School Musical, I got my head in the game and worked tirelessly to block all distractions and shoot for full points.
In terms of my ISM journey, this past week was characterized with ample progress. I researched about international business to truly understand what the career entailed in regards to the required schooling, work environment, and salary. Much to my surprise, I found that although the field of international business has an expected steady growth in the job market, it it ultimately experience in the field that allows high positions to be attained. Nonetheless, being motivated by competition, I hope that through ISM I can get the head start needed to stand out and thus build a place for myself in the world of international business. In addition to researching, I began to construct my website - the exact platform from which many others, likewise you, are reading about my (hopefully) interesting life. From the color scheme to the illuminated pictures of the world’s finest cities, my creativity flourished and it served as a way for me to relax from the ensuing pressures of school. In regards to my professional development, I created my contact list, which I will continue to use throughout the year. Finding the contacts of international business professionals in the area was not hard, thanks to tools like Linkedin. Aiming to gain a holistic understanding of international business, I have added professionals from multiple different subfields, ranging from marketing to expatriate services. Through these series of activities, one thing became clear: although I had previously struggled to find my passion, international business has proved to be what makes my heart sing - even if that did mean belting out the lyrics to High School Musical songs. As with the other hurdles that still have yet to be crossed, I am excited to see what each one has in store for me! “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both”
-Robert Frost Much like this poem which is much too adored by middle school teachers, I find myself at a crossroads in my ISM journey. With a variety of interests, it is hard for me to select one, especially since it dictates what I essentially do in ISM for the rest of the year. Having settled on Neuroscience as my topic of choice long ago, I do not have complete faith in switching to International Business. Yes, I want to live a fast-paced life invested in the medical field where I receive many hands-on experiences, but what will ultimately tip the scale: my love for children or my passion for the business? With more research and dedication, I hope to find the answer to this question soon. As we enter the world of professionals, I have spent the last week truly conglomerating who I am into what is now my introductory speech. Through this process, I have been able to better understand myself and what I want to do. However, it is now time to transition from a state of introspection to a mode of career research. In terms of a larger scale, junior year has been a time where my time management skills come to the test. To procrastinate or to not procrastinate, that is the question that I am faced with every day. Although the latter allows me to enjoy some of life’s pleasure, I find myself slowly inching towards the horrid and perpetual cycle of procrastination. Nonetheless, inspired by my dear friend, the tortoise, I am slowly and steadily making progress both in my junior year and ISM journey. Motivated by my goal to create change in the world and give way to a better tomorrow, I hope to identify my career subset in the upcoming weeks. Although there is ample uncertainty in terms of my ISM journey, I open heartedly welcome all the challenges that I have yet to face and all the questions whose answers remain unknown. |