As next month marks my 8th year blogging, I can’t help but think about all the life experiences and career lessons I’ve learned along the way that have gotten me here. It wasn’t as simple as just getting up one day and opening up my laptop. Everything from school to internships helped me become the business woman I am today.
School taught me is accountability. I switched colleges after my freshman year because my original choice wasn’t a good fit for what I was trying to accomplish, or for my learning style. Thinking back, I was trying my hardest to please my parents, rather than position myself to win. If I knew then what I know now, I definitely would’ve been more vocal and explained why going to this second school in the first place was best for me. At the end of the day, showing up to class and doing the work was all up to me whether my parents liked it or not. And when things didn’t go as planned, I was held accountable – no one else.
After I was done with school, I had several internships. Four to be exact. One as a personal assistant in NYC, and three in Atlanta – as a promotions/street team intern at a radio station, a marketing intern for a wine and spirits company and an on -air personality for a radio station. I always knew I wanted to get into broadcasting and eventually have my own TV show, so learning marketing and gaining on on-air experience was huge. I was never above the work. In fact, my last internship happened when I was 25. What internships taught me is that the work is way harder than you think it will be. And as an intern, you do a lot of thankless jobs. Work became less about credit and more about growth and development in my craft. And no, I didn’t get paid for any of these internships, with the exception of one.
Whatever your journey is right now, what I can tell you is, to pick what’s best for you. Don’t feel obligated to follow trends or do things like other people. Your career development – even an entrepreneurial endeavor – should start somewhere and be something that holds you accountable and teaches you to do the work.
Every personal journey is different, and each and every one of us learns and processes in formation in our own ways. As I mentioned, the first college I enrolled in wasn’t quite right for me, both in focus and in learning style. It made me think about what more colleges can do to meet students where they are, evolving to respond to the changing landscape of education.
I recently learned about a new type of course offered at Strayer University that got me excited about education. Strayer Studios is a revolutionary learning platform that improves online classroom by blending Emmy Award-winning film production with real-life, engaging stories to teach classroom lessons. The approach helps tackle two big problems in higher education – student attainment and student engagement.
Strayer Studios content features binge-worthy videos that students can engage with in a visually appealing and relatable way. This new content has increased student engagement and persistence―10 percent fewer students dropped courses that included Strayer Studios content!
With such positive initial results, Strayer will continue to test and respond to feedback with the continued goal of improving student engagement and, ultimately, student success.
2018 could be the year you decide that going back to school is right for you. In doing so, make sure you’re choosing the education path that best suits your learning styles. You deserve that. Take the chance.
This post was sponsored by Strayer University. All thoughts and opinions were my own.
Love your blog ❤️