 Jacque Rupert '08 |
WHY MIAMI? I chose Miami for a couple different reasons, namely: the quality of education offered, the size of the campus, the location of campus, and the environment that Miami operates in. I felt as though Miami had the perfect combination of the qualities I valued in an education. I wanted a mid-sized, liberal arts education. I wanted to get exposure to a number of different subjects and viewpoints. I wanted a campus focused on a quality undergraduate education. Some goals I wanted to achieve as a result of the environment that Miami offered was to explore a wide variety of subjects, get exposure to a number of different viewpoints and opinions of not only students but also professors, as well as have the all-around college experience. I definitely think that I have achieved more than I ever thought I could at Miami. Some of the opportunities that I have had as a result of being involved in the Miami community were more than I could have ever imagined, including; co-founding a start-up company, speaking at national conferences, and working in an international internship. ACHIEVING MY GOALS Looking back on my first few years at Miami, I would say that a couple things were instrumental in the achievement of the goals I came into Miami with: my freshman year introduction classes, my experience creating and developing my start-up company, and eventually speaking and presenting in national conferences. First, my freshman year classes really, truly helped develop my writing skills. It wasn't necessarily my most favorite thing to experience at the time, but I know that the hard work that I put in as a freshman in developing my writing skills has paid off immensely. The skill set that I developed as a freshman has not only helped me in my upper level courses, but also in the real world with my internships, etc. Second, my sophomore year, I co-founded a start-up company that has been absolutely instrumental in achieving my goals. In fact, because of the opportunity, I have completely changed my career path (for the better, for me). My personality flourished and evolved as the company flourished and evolved. This has helped me in interviews, public-speaking, and networking. Lastly, because of dedication to the company, I have had the opportunity to speak in national conferences such as the Bill Clinton Global Initiative and the MIT Global Poverty Initiative. This has further helped me extend my personality, public-speaking skills, and networks.. HOW I'VE CHANGED I would venture to say that I am a completely different person now than I was when I entered Miami as a freshman. Taking entrepreneurship classes, interacting with the entrepreneurship faculty, and running an entrepreneurial start-up has helped me develop into a more outgoing, personable, well-spoken person. I used to be very shy and nervous in front of intimidating figures and large crowds. However, throughout the years, I have become more and more comfortable with myself and my abilities to communicate in an effective and, at times, persuasive manner. I have also developed my skills in time management and balancing. WHAT I'VE LEARNED I would have to say that my most significant learning experience was when I finally realized to trust myself and believe in my own abilities to be the best I can be. Most of my life, I have been always trying to be "as good as" other people. But through some experiences, I have discovered that I judge myself more harshly than anyone else, and that if I just learned to trust myself and my own judgment, I would be more successful. Through this lesson, I am now able to develop my own way of doing things and knowing they are the best they could be. That is not to say that I am always right and can't use help from other people, I one hundred percent do need other people. I just mean that I now know that if I'm constantly in judgment of myself, nothing good will ever come out of it. If I do what comes natural, I will be much more successful. |
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