For my practicum, I took the class Policy 213 which taught me a lot about nonprofit organizations and social innovation. The class is designed for students who are interested in creating change in the world and solving pressing societal issues. I learned a ton about the structure of nonprofit organizations and the way they operate through meeting with members of different nonprofits. Each week we had readings that taught us a lot about the strategies nonprofit leaders use to keep their organization thriving and how we can measure effectiveness in social change. Although I am a business major and the nonprofit sector isn’t one that I have had much interest for in the past, I learned a ton of valuable skills that nonprofit leaders utilize everyday that I can apply to the business world. I also realized the importance of the nonprofit sector within our society and how these organizations can create much better lives for people all around the world by coming up with solutions for certain issues. While deciding what class I would take for my practicum, I sat down with a good friend of mine and weighed all our options before choosing this policy class. Some of the other options were a bit interesting but we both felt that we would gain the most from taking a class about nonprofit organizations and social change. Not only did I learn so much about nonprofits but I also learned so many ways I can contribute to our society on a small and large scale. I knew that this class would teach me a lot of skills I can use to create positive social change as well as skills that I can utilize in whatever my profession is. I would recommend to future media scholars when looking for their practicum to not just try and take the easiest class that requires a minimal amount of work but to actually pick something that is interesting to you. I picked Policy 213 because I knew I had a lot to gain from it and could use a lot of what I learned in the future and although it was sometimes a lot of work it was definitely worth it in the end. Throughout my practicum I learned so much about helping others and how to solve social issues but I also learned a lot about myself and my set of skills in the process. I developed a lot of skills through reaching out to volunteers as well as leaders of nonprofits and learned how to conduct an appropriate interview. When I interviewed the president of the Children’s Cancer Foundation, I knew she was a super busy woman and I didn’t want to take up her time so I made sure I knew what I was going to ask before my interview. I ended up asking all the right questions because she continued to build on previous questions throughout all her responses so I didn’t even have to go through the entire list of questions I had prepared. She was very appreciative. I was prepared for the interview so I could get the most out of it as possible while also being sensitive to her time constraints. My interview went really well and I hope future interviews of mine can go just as smoothly as that one. Learning how to conduct an efficient but also effective interview is a very important skill to have and thanks to this policy class I am even better at it now than before. My practicum experience has provided me with incredibly valuable skills and information that can be applied to my life and career moving forward. Through getting to interview members of various nonprofit organizations I learned how to communicate efficiently with others and make personal connections that can further me in life. I have always been good at working with others and building genuine connections and my practicum has further improved my interpersonal skills that will be essential to my career. I also now understand the importance of the nonprofit sector in society and how it relates to other industries and businesses. I hope to have a leadership role within my company one day and interpersonal skills are super important to have in a leadership position. I also have learned a lot about understanding others intentions and goals throughout this practicum which is such an important skill to have in the business world. Understanding both sides of every argument, negotiation and being able to weigh the pros and cons of each decision are essential skills to have in the business world. This class has taught me why nonprofits operate the way they do and how other sectors interact with the nonprofit sector for mutual benefits. I am not sure exactly what I want to do with my career but I do know it will be business-oriented and a lot of the skills that I will use down the road in my career are also important skills to have for those working with nonprofit organizations.
My Future Plans: I am going to continue to take upper level business courses in my time at UMD that will improve my abilities to better suit the world of finance. As of now I am only a finance major but I am considering declaring management as well and doing a double major with those two fields. After starting as an intern with Congressional Bank in the summer of 2020, I worked for them my whole sophomore year and plan to continue with it for the rest of college. Although my job requires a lot of updating spreadsheets and analyzing documents, I really enjoy working with my Healthcare Lending team and getting real world work experience that I am so fortunate to have at my age. Hopefully, I will continue with that internship and have it potentially lead to a real analyst position within the division. I plan to become more involved in programs in the Smith School of Business once we can meet in person again. The Sports Business Society and SUSA are two programs that are intriguing to me and I would like to get more involved in starting my junior year. After declaring a Finance major in the Smith School of Business, I am eager to take classes and learn more about the field and what it has to offer. While I have gained some experience within Investment banking, I am unsure if this is exactly what I want to do for my prospective career. I hope to use my experiences through this practicum and apply them to the finance field by being able to reach out to people and securing money for an organization or company that holds an important meaning in my life. My post graduation plan is to get my masters degree in Finance which will help me gain a greater idea of exactly what I want to do and then be able to secure a job in my field of interest. I also love to travel and I hope to be able to take some time off after graduation and visit some places around the world that I have never been to before.