Posts

Closing Time...

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I'm actually becoming pretty sentimental about the end of the MPI program...particularly because I've been seeing Ian and Isaiah's photos from EIA!! I miss the bonding time we had as a cohort in Italy and kind of wish we'd gotten a close-out trip planned to reinforce our relationships since we grew apart during the Spring and Summer semesters. Making matters worse, I went back and listened to my EIA videos to put myself back in a beginner's frame of mind and people like Karlie, Nikita, and Nick were passing in and out of the background. What was meant as a quick exercise turned into a lost hour because I ended up watching every single one of them . But, it ended up being helpful because it put that trip (and my younger self) into clearer perspective for me. For instance, I'd forgotten about some of the negative experiences I had - like my luggage going missing for the first three days, yikes! I also heard myself say how much I enjoyed pitching and how I wis...
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Quinncia: Resume + Interview Feedback, Feedback, Feedback (Can I Get Some Feedback?)

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To be honest, I was not in the best mental place to be thinking about my resume and interview skills. I have been working hard on Swayance over the last two weeks and it's all we talk about at home these days. I've also signed a contract to teach again this Fall so immediate employment is not top of mind right now However, I will begin seeking full-time employment elsewhere come September to prepare to make a move in December or January. I will probably continue to teach a class or two, as I love teaching, but I fear there will never be a full-time opportunity in the department and I don't think it's in my best interest to wait. I spent way too much time creating a new and beautiful resume before I realized that this is just practice and it doesn't need to be PERFECT! So, I updated an older resume that was created with a Word template and uploaded it. Two bugs I found in this process were: Missed two of my employers' names even though they were formatted exa...
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Taking Ownership of My Day

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As I've come to do with each and every one of these blog posts, I go out on Google and do a little inspiration seeking, reading, and note taking. In this instance, I came across a wealth of life hacks and ended up saving a bunch to a Pinterest board... Not really helping me with this post and illustrates a key issue I have with getting work done - distractions ! Although this technique has served me well in the past, its success relies entirely on my ability to focus on the task at hand and ignore the shiny objects that seek my attention and take me to a place I like to call "Procrastination Station." Since it's so easy to get sidelined on the internet, I prefer to work in places that don't compound distractions. First, it's easiest to work when my kiddos are in bed or at school (obviously). Next, I like to get out of my office, where there's always a pile of things to be done and work someplace that's very tidy and pretty. I usually end up at m...
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Official Role: Cat Herder

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When I think back on what I've done most this summer, scheduling is what comes to mind first. With three team members working full-time jobs and a slew of varied summer travel plans, it's been challenging to organize our schedules. Speaking for myself, I had classes Tuesday and Thursday nights for six weeks, spent one week at the beach, and then went to New Orleans for a long weekend. When you multiply that by four, it's easy to see why I've spent so much time on Slack messaging people about meetings and assigned work. So, I'm grateful that I'm able to work from home and avoid complicating my work time with travel to VCU for meetings or classes. More often than not, I work at my dining table because it's convenient, quiet, and tidy. I don't keep other work on that table so when I sit down with my laptop, I can really focus on getting some work done, whether it's a quick 30 minutes of communication or a few hours of research. This is also wh...
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Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

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I am a bit surprised that I had a ch-ch-ch-change in my result! I took this test back in January and my result was The Entertainer. Out of curiosity, I proceeded to take the test a couple more times over several days to confirm it and got the same result each and every time with very minor shifts in the percentages. I'm taking the change as a sign of personal growth and the likely impact of Dr. Reina's leadership course that I'm wrapping up this week. It's focus on mindfulness really had me looking inward a great deal. TBH, I think I'm the most disappointed that I'm losing my sassy, little dancing avatar! This time around, my results showed that I am now a Campaigner.  Although I don't believe there's really a significant shift in my values, I love the brief description of the ENFP-T type shown below. It absolutely sums up my life over the last 12 months - teacher, student, parent, wife, party planning business owner, etc. etc. etc.  The...
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What is Life, Without a Little Risk?

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I sat and stared at the topic for this week's post for so long that the word 'risk' began to look seriously misspelled. Has that ever happened to you? Risk. R. I. S. K. Just me? Okay then. Well, I really had to delve deep to come up with something here. Not that I've necessarily played it safe in my life but I don't really equate some of the things I've done with risk per se. To clarify the topic, I looked up the definition - (1) possibility of loss or injury: peril (2) someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard; (3)...you get the idea. This information only made writing this post more challenging.  Initially, I thought I'd write about making the decision to join the MPI program. How I thought about applying for months and reread the program description over and over again before I finally submitted an application (last minute, the day it was due). I also scheduled my GRE test that night and took it two weeks later. Not only was it diffic...
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Mentors, Not Mentos

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Normally I prefer to write blog posts in a very stream-of-consciousness kind of way. However, since these are a part of an on-going class and are connected to learnings that I care deeply about, I've tried to begin each one with some brief research to gain some insight into what's trending on that topic. So, you can imagine my surprise when my search yielded old Mentos commercials because I had mistyped my search... The concept of mentorship feels a bit foreign to me at this point in my life. I haven't really thought of seeking out formal mentorship in many years and kind of feel like it's inherently a young person's game. I've been on the other side of mentorship for so long now that I don't really know how to approach it from the mentee side. However, I do seek out guidance often - it just usually feels more like a conversation with a peer. The people I would consider mentors for my project right now are the following - Brandon Atkinson + Dallas Ed...
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