Assisgnment #8 REACHING OUT PART III

Below is my last interview for Role Models. My summary of the interview follows:

Sharon – Mentor/Teacher:

1) State your current job title and responsibilities.

Facilitate online and face-to-face student centered learning for non-major students in applied and pure science subjects (biology, environmental science, earth science and microbiology.)

2) What do you find the most and the least satisfying about your job?

The most satisfying part of my job is seeing the light bulb come on as students connect to the subject. The least satisfying part of my job is feeling totally unsupported by fellow teachers and management.

3) What path did you travel to achieve success?

My path was full of ups and downs. I started in a pre-med program at UIC, but was dropped by the college for academic reasons. After working one year in a minimum wage job, I decided that my life was not working as I planned. I enrolled in a Junior College for one year then transferred to a four year university. While there I obtained a B.S. Degree and was selected as a NIH-MARC-HURTP trainee. This program is designed to direct minorities into PhD Programs to become professors and/or researcher. I published numerous scientific articles as an undergraduate then completed the grad program receiving an MS. in Biology/Research under a MSB-NIH Minority Biomedical Scholarship. Following graduation I worked as a Research Assistant teaching Research Consortiums at UIC, Veteran, Rush, and Cook County Hospitals. During this time I published two scientific articles, facilitated and taught training classes in corporate non-profit companies. Finally, I taught at Malcolm X and Harold Washington Colleges which led to online teaching opportunities as well as my current position.

4) In following your path to success, what difficulties did you face?

Being dropped from UIC was a real wake up call for me. I had never “failed” at anything and I felt like a complete failure. This feeling led me to return to college and work hard to succeed. While attending Junior College I found a mentor who assisted me tremendously, especially where time management was concerned. I also learned a valuable lesion about asking for help!

5) Did you ever feel discouraged or unsupported?

How did you overcome the challenge? There were many times I felt discouraged and unsupported starting with taking poor advice from a college advisor while at UIC who convinced me that I could take a full load of classes my first year. At that time I did not know anything about time management as I was working a very demanding full-time job. My inability to balance school and work led to my being dropped by the college for failure to meet academic standards. After returning to college and getting my degree, I went to work in my field. Once there I had a hard time being accepted by piers in the workplace. I also had family pressures after getting married and having a child. Again time management became a challenge. I was able to overcome the time management crisis in my life by asking my employer if I could work from home periodically. Although I am still challenged with time management issues today, I have learned to balance my life between home and work much better.

6) What advice can you offer for my next steps to become a mentor/teacher?

(See Next Steps Below)

Summary:

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Sharon’s path to success includes the following:

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Learned from failure

Became an honor student

Received scholarships to pay for college

Obtained a Master’s Degree

Worked an internship

Published articles while attending college

Found a helpful mentor

Utilized time management

Sharon is not only my mentor, she is my best friend! I am very proud that she is big enough to admit her failure to meet academic standards and realizes that not addressing time management issues when scheduling classes was the reason.

I am proud of my friend for facing and overcoming a major college setback. She could have easily given up hope of ever returning to college as I am sure many students have done when faced with being dropped from college. Instead she used the experience as an opportunity to succeed. What Sharon does not tell us in the interview is that she graduated with honors from Mississippi State University! Besides being proud of Sharon, I appreciate her openness about the challenges of her profession. Sharon states she often feels unsupported in the workplace, a problem that I have faced myself. However, Sharon strives in her position and continues to be promoted. To overcome this problem Sharon clings to her professionalism and superior work ethics.

Sharon also speaks about the importance to time management. Truthfully, I have never really taken time management seriously and maybe this is why I am often up late at night doing homework! Her advice on the subject is well taken and I can see a relationship between her statements on time management and the Planning Wall we prepared in class that gives us a more realistic view of time management. Ironically, Sharon emphasizes that following your path to success includes learning to manage your time.

Overall, Sharon’s interview speaks to facing challenges and the belief that failures serve as learning experiences.

Next Steps:

Below are specific next steps Sharon suggests I take to become successful as a mentor/teacher:

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1) Get a job as a Teaching Assistant.

2) Enter a program for minority students seeking PhDs.

3) Enter a summer research program.

4) Do an internship

5) Publish essays, commentaries, blogs, etc.

6) Get help from others

7) Seek advice from more several college counselors

8) Strive for only top grades