This is my final week before I hand the series over to the lovely Kelly Lohmeyer. I’m sure you are all thrilled to wrap up my ramblings about graduate school! Last week I talked a little about learning curves in graduate school and how KU prepared me for this new adventure. This week, I’m going to talk more specifically about the impact of the SELF Program.
To gain the most from the SELF Program, you
have to be willing to push yourself to do something you don’t want to do. You have to find your comfort zone, and then ignore it! Whether that means
volunteering to be a lead for High School Design, talking to a company as part of the capstone planning steps, or coordinating joint efforts between SELF classes, find something that you haven’t done before and figure out how to make it work. You’re an engineer after all—it shouldn’t be that tough!
Though it may be harder to see, SELF taught
me valuable skills that I’m using in graduate school. Clichéd as it may sound, the biggest is communication. It’s important that when I talk to anyone—a colleague, my advisor, or another professor—about my research goals or even just classes, that I can effectively translate what I’m thinking into what I’m saying. That probably sounds stupid, but say my advisor is busy and only has five available minutes before he goes into a meeting. I need to be able to quickly categorize and prioritize my thoughts so that I ask the most relevant questions or give the most relevant update with my allotted time. Even if I’m just sending an email, being able to clearly communicate a thought the first time can make an entire conversation much smoother.
Another important aspect is interpersonal skills. I believe it’s important to know yourself so you can know how you will be most effective in your new environment and how you can relate to and work with others. As an example, take the strengths quiz we all do as students. One of my results was adaptability. Being aware of the fact that I’m comfortable with changing situations and can adjust to still achieve my goals tells me that sometimes I just need to do things my own way and readjust as I go. Knowing that, I can talk to my advisor about how we work together so that he knows changing what he wants won’t throw me into a tailspin or that I may take a roundabout way of getting somewhere, but I will get results.
Additionally, you have to reach out. Putting yourself out there may be uncomfortable at times, but it is extremely important. Last summer when I was an intern at Cessna, a networking event was offered for new employees (including interns) to meet with upper level management so that new employees could get a better feel for the company and figure out how they could achieve their goals while at Cessna. I decided to go, and met a woman in the business division. We had a great minute and a half conversation, and she offered me her email address if I had more questions in the future. I ended up emailing her, we had a meeting, and when I expressed interest in a leadership development program they have, she put me in touch with its director. My situation was a little different since I already had obligations at graduate school, but we’ve kept in touch and they know who I am for future opportunities after graduate school. Something like that isn’t hard to do, nor does it need to be unusual. Take the time to meet with people and get involved wherever you end up.
As a final piece of advice, remember that you will always be part of this great fellowship program and you will always be a Jayhawk. We are all here to support each other and as the program grows, so do the number of people with different experiences, skill sets, and backgrounds. Take advantage! Finally, if any of you have questions or comments for me, feel free to email me anytime at [email protected]. I love hearing from Jayhawks (especially about basketball games) while down in Longhorn country. Good luck with all of your endeavors, and Rock Chalk!
Sarah Elizabeth