In the fall semester of 2020, I was able to join and participate in the class, Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis and Decision-Making in 21st Century Technology Ventures. As described by the school, this course, "helps students learn the principle of entrepreneurial opportunity and decision-making in an increasingly dynamic and technically-inclined society." The main component of the course consisted of creating your own product and developing it from start to finish. All work was completed with your group, which added another interesting aspect of cooperation to the class.The actual workload included weekly assignments and quizzes, ranging from topics on the industry, the customer, marketing, and funding. All of this culminated in one final deliverable created by our group, and an individual analysis of how I think I contributed.
Originally, I did not intend for this to be my practicum because I wanted to do something more hands-on, but with the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic this became unrealistic. I then evaluated the courses we could take to fulfill the practicum and this one quickly caught my eye. I believe that no matter the field, Media, Business, or any other, entrepreneurial skills can come in handy. I would know the basics of how to create a product, and I would know how to evaluate a new product from that same point of view. I also took the opportunity as a chance to enhance my group work skills because I believe that is one of the most important parts of school and eventually any job I have. If you can't work in a group and accept feedback from your partners, it will be much harder to be successful in my opinion. To all my fellow scholars looking for what to choose what your practicum should be, I would say look for something that has meaning to you, and will benefit you in the future. Take for granted the opportunities you have because for my grade, many of those were taken away.
I believe that ENES 210 helped me to grow as a student and as a professional. The opportunity to work as a group every week with little teacher instruction put a lot of pressure on the group and myself to perform each week. As a student, I was able to learn how to work well with people I have never met before and not being able to meet with them in person. I also feel like I am well prepared to work in the professional world now because of my experience working in groups. I feel that the two pieces of work that most exemplified my growth from this class are the actual final copy of our project and my individual analysis of the project. The reason I chose these is because I feel like the actual project truly demonstrates our success as a team, and the fact that we were able to smoothly work together. All the points flow together, and everyone contributed to all parts. If you go through the project, it is well-written, has evidence from outside sources, and uses knowledge from all the members in the group. I also included this because I think the individual analysis is more understandable when you see the final project first. I chose to showcase the individual analysis because I think this fully shows my understanding of the project and that I did not just follow the basic guidelines, but actually put maximum effort into it. It also shows that I truly believe in the project and the work our group did. Although, nobody will ever be able to see our group interactions, I believe that these two pieces of work show that myself and my team members were able to function well together and create a great piece of work.
Originally, I did not intend for this to be my practicum because I wanted to do something more hands-on, but with the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic this became unrealistic. I then evaluated the courses we could take to fulfill the practicum and this one quickly caught my eye. I believe that no matter the field, Media, Business, or any other, entrepreneurial skills can come in handy. I would know the basics of how to create a product, and I would know how to evaluate a new product from that same point of view. I also took the opportunity as a chance to enhance my group work skills because I believe that is one of the most important parts of school and eventually any job I have. If you can't work in a group and accept feedback from your partners, it will be much harder to be successful in my opinion. To all my fellow scholars looking for what to choose what your practicum should be, I would say look for something that has meaning to you, and will benefit you in the future. Take for granted the opportunities you have because for my grade, many of those were taken away.
I believe that ENES 210 helped me to grow as a student and as a professional. The opportunity to work as a group every week with little teacher instruction put a lot of pressure on the group and myself to perform each week. As a student, I was able to learn how to work well with people I have never met before and not being able to meet with them in person. I also feel like I am well prepared to work in the professional world now because of my experience working in groups. I feel that the two pieces of work that most exemplified my growth from this class are the actual final copy of our project and my individual analysis of the project. The reason I chose these is because I feel like the actual project truly demonstrates our success as a team, and the fact that we were able to smoothly work together. All the points flow together, and everyone contributed to all parts. If you go through the project, it is well-written, has evidence from outside sources, and uses knowledge from all the members in the group. I also included this because I think the individual analysis is more understandable when you see the final project first. I chose to showcase the individual analysis because I think this fully shows my understanding of the project and that I did not just follow the basic guidelines, but actually put maximum effort into it. It also shows that I truly believe in the project and the work our group did. Although, nobody will ever be able to see our group interactions, I believe that these two pieces of work show that myself and my team members were able to function well together and create a great piece of work.
ENES210 Final Project | |
File Size: | 36 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Individual Analysis of Team Project, ENES210 | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | docx |
As I look back on my practicum and the rest of my Media, Self, and Society experience there are a few major things I can reflect on. The first, although cliche, is to never take anything for granted. I can't complain about completing my practicum through ENES 210 because I did learn a lot. However, I would have loved to do something working with younger underprivileged kids. This is always something I have had a passion for, and I think it would have been a great way to complete my practicum. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench in that, but I am more than grateful to have completed my practicum through ENES 210. I will always remember not to take anything for granted.
Second, as I stated above, for my future career I will always think back on my this class, when I am working in groups with limited instruction from a boss or teacher. Although I have participated in group projects in other classes, I have never been in a class that was group oriented throughout the whole time. I learned how to fight through controversy within a group and combine ideas to reach a final consensus. I also learned how to handle different personalities and work ethics and still create a great project. I have no doubts that this experience will help me later on in my career no matter where I end up.
Second, as I stated above, for my future career I will always think back on my this class, when I am working in groups with limited instruction from a boss or teacher. Although I have participated in group projects in other classes, I have never been in a class that was group oriented throughout the whole time. I learned how to fight through controversy within a group and combine ideas to reach a final consensus. I also learned how to handle different personalities and work ethics and still create a great project. I have no doubts that this experience will help me later on in my career no matter where I end up.
Future Plans
During the rest of my time at Maryland, I plan to finish up the rest of my coursework as a Finance and Accounting major. I hope to also continue my leadership role in the Men's Club Basketball program, and lead us to some more successful seasons. As well, I plan to work a job at a restaurant on campus during the next semester, so I can make some money before I hopefully have an internship at the end of my Junior year. I plan to have an internship at a Financial Advisor firm, either paid or unpaid. I know this is a lofty goal, but I would rather set my goals high than low. The reason I hope for this opportunity is my dream job is to work in financial advising as a financial advisor for families. This has always been my dream job, but I also am prepared to work in other fields of finance to work my way there.