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Professional Development

Starts Now!

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Community of Scholars

Welcome to be beginning of your professional and educational future!

All steps taken now will prepare you to achieve your future potential and life-long goals…

Making you a unique scholar who shines brighter.

Bonus! ... You have selected a highly regarded, lucrative, secure job force.

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Time Flies

Four years will go by quickly and will consist of many required elements:

– Attending courses

– Completing course work outside of class

– Completing degree requirements

– Professional development

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Professional Development

The extras that contribute to career building now and in the future!!

Benefits:

Long-Term Benefits

• Make you uniquely qualified• Networking • Help make a difference• Keep skills updated • Increase your marketability

and earning potential

Short-Term Benefits

• Shape your interests

• Learn more about the field

• Gain confidence

• Succeed in your courses

• Meet and make new friends

• Have fun!

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Additional Skills Required to be a Professional

• Oral communication • Written communication • Teaching • Team building• Collegiality• Motivation

Outside of the classroom activities are needed!

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Activities to Achieve Goals

• Read additional career-related material to expand your knowledge

• Work on additional projects outside of classto expand your skills

• Join a club or organization

• Seek assistance from school professionals– Career Management Center– Advisors– Faculty

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Activities to Achieve Goals

• Attend career-related events– Competitions– Conferences– Career fairs

• Network with peers and professionals– Seek tutoring– Study groups– Develop relationships for success– Serve as a mentor or tutor to someone else

• Seek employment while in school related to your degree

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Benefit Examples

• Make new friends

– Join a club/organization

– Ask for advice from peers, alumni, or others

– Work at a job related to your major

– Serve as a mentor or tutor for someone else

– Receive tutoring

– Attend a conference

– Participate in a study group

– Attend a competition

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Student Success

Participating in a student organization:

“It was the first thing that helped me get to know people within my major because I came in with little to no experience with this field… That kind of opened the door for me to network with some other people and to get to know some other people.”

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Benefit Examples

• Gain practice applying major-related skills

– Work on additional projects outside of class– Work at a job or internship related to your major– Serve as a tutor– Attend a competition– Join a club/organization

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Student Success

Working on projects outside of class:

“I will have the knowledge that I wouldn’t have had otherwise when I get out, so once I come out I can say on my resume that I know a lot of things that a lot of my peers won’t. Unless they have also done it on the side.”

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Long-term vs. Short-term

What can you work on today to prepare for your future?

Professional development is a life-long pursuit

Document your experiences!

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Brief Reflection Activity

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AssignmentDUE: Mon 9/27

• Blackboard activity and quiz

Apply what you’ve learned

• Read about professional development activities and benefits on the Wiki

– Share experiences by posting 3 comments

• Complete a quiz– Covering this lecture and the Wiki