Final Blog Post

Looking back at the beginning of the year I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  I have grown so much as a person this year and have really learned what it means to be independent, how to make important decisions, basically I discovered myself.  I owe a lot of that growth to iQuest and to Mrs. Gagnon, I would not have had the same senior year experience without this class and my favorite teacher.  Reflection is something that comes with practice, and I think that I have learned a lot about reflection from this year, since this is a time where many things are ending.  I am sad thinking about leaving the place that I have called home for the entirety of my life, but I am so beyond excited to be taking the next step in my life at UCLA, a place I have dreamed of attending for as long as I can remember.

In regards to my final presentation, I was very proud of myself.  When I was younger, I was awful at public speaking.  Getting up in front of the class terrified me.  Now I consider public speaking to be one of my strong suits, and I owe a lot of my improvement to Leadership.  As I said in my presentation, this year has been filled with moments of self-realization.  This year was truly a time when I learned about myself and established my priorities.  This presentation was also a way for myself to really reflect on senior year and to see how far I have come since the start.

iQuest as a whole has been the most rewarding class that I have ever taken.  I have learned life skills that could not be taught in a traditional classroom setting.  From resume building to holding an internship at a company, I have learned how to be professional.  This experience has given me an edge over other people pursuing the same career path as me, and it feels great to have a head-start on my career.  I would like to thank my mentor Lisa Halsey for all of her dedication into ensuring that I was learning as much as could, she really helped shape this experience for me.  My internship at Veeva has been amazing, I have learned so much about business and how it involves working with others constantly.  I love the collaborative aspect and how innovation is encouraged.  This semester we worked a lot on onboarding, and seeing the amount of work that goes into something like that was pretty crazy.  It's almost like event planning in Leadership, where there is 100 things that go into making one thing perfect.  That's one thing that I love about pursuing a career in business, there is so much room for growth and it's one of those careers where you learn as you go.  Also, of course, I would like to thank Mrs. Gagnon for being the most incredible and inspiring teacher that I have ever had.  Her passion for what she does motivates me to find something that I love just as much as she loves teaching.  This is one of the only classes I have ever taken where I have been excited to learn new things, and lectures didn't seem boring, they were always interactive.  Also just for taking the time to always help out, I would not have been able to make it through Leadership Applications if it wasn't for Mrs. Gagnon's help.

Senior year has been a roller-coaster with one of the only constants being stress.  As much as I like to say I have things under control that couldn't be further from the truth.  I really struggled this year balancing responsibilities, something that has never been an issue for me in the past.  I think iQuest really helped me with the prioritizing aspect and that was something that definitely came in handy this year.  I have met so many new people and made more memories than I can count, and that is what senior year is all about.  It's about making great memories with childhood friends before college comes around and you are no longer spending every day together.  It's about finding your roots before you leave and knowing that there will always be a home where you grew up.  There will always be comfort in friends, and everyone is just one call, one text, or one email away.

The one thing that I will miss the most are my friends.  Although I know that leaving for college doesn't necessarily mean goodbye, it's hard to imagine not seeing my friends every day.  My best friend Hennah, who I love dearly, will be the hardest to leave because whenever I'm in a bad mood or upset about something she is always there to pick me up.  I will miss my friends Jackson and Patrick who have influenced my senior year so much and really helped me escape from a group of friends that was more harm than good in my life.  I will miss Alanah, the most inspirational and influential person in my life.  She always encourages me to be the best version of my life and it has been a pleasure to grow alongside her these last 4 years.  I will also miss leadership.  As much as I complain about it, leadership is a huge reason for who I am today and for that I am forever grateful.  I will miss being a part of a program where everyone is passionate about making a change and making Cal High a better place.

Now for my next steps.  I am beyond ecstatic to be attending UCLA in the fall to major in business-economics.  90% of the reason why I worked so hard throughout high school was to be a competitive applicant at UCLA and to actually be accepted into the school is a dream come true.  I cannot imagine a better "new beginning" to culminate my stressful journey of high school.

TED Talks

http://www.ted.com/talks/jim_hemerling_5_ways_to_lead_in_an_era_of_constant_change?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread

The talk that resonated with me the most was by Jim Hemerling and was titled "5 Ways to Lead in an Era of Constant Change".  This talk took place in Paris, France in May of 2016.  In this TED Talk, Jim describes what he refers to as "always on transformation" which can be summarized as a company's willingness to advance and grow, which he finds vital to the success of a company.  Although he states that always on transformation sounds exhausted, he addressed 5 things that he believes lead to transforming an organization in a positive direction.  The first one is having a sense of purpose.  Without a purpose for a company or organization, there is no ability to grow or flourish.  The second is going all in.  If you do not put forth all of your effort you are wasting your time, it is important to find something that you are passionate about and pursue it, because you will be far more successful and happy in life.  The third thing that he stressed was being able to provide opportunity for others.  It is important that you not only help yourself grow, but also help build connections with others that will help them thrive in whatever field or avenue they are pursuing.  He also advocated for organizations fostering a culture of continuous learning.  It is important that learning is something that is encouraged, because there is aways opportunity to learn and improve as a person.  The last of his five tips was to hold people accountable for their actions as a leader, and also to be an inclusive leader.  This is something that resonated with me the most.  As ASB President, it is often difficult finding ways to get different people in the class involved in activities that we do.  His advice for being an inclusive leader started with listening to what people have to say, and also presenting yourself in a way that makes you approachable.  These are two things that I work very hard to do, and as a leader these are things that I value myself and in others.  I would highly recommend this TED Talk to anyone that in interested in leadership or business, it gives some great advice on how to run an organization and how to really grow a company to be successful both personally and professionally.  I found it very informative, and his five tips are definitely things that I will try to implement in my leadership class this year and in any other business endeavors that may come my way in the future.

Blog #14 - Internship Update

After debating on switching internships for the first month of the new year, I decided to continue on with my internship at Veeva.  It has been great learning in the field this year and having the opportunity to do hands on work has been amazing.  My current task for this semester is creating an on boarding program for the company.  On boarding is basically the steps that the company will take when new people are hired to ensure that the transition is smooth.  My internship provider and I have been primarily working on how to teach various aspects of the company (powerpoint, 1 on 1 conversation, video, etc.) and also who will be in charge of getting that done.  It has been very similar to leadership, where my internship provider is delegating tasks to members of her team, which is something that I do frequently.  I have learned through my internship that being bored is okay.  Often there just isn't stuff for me to do, so finding new ways to keep myself busy has been good practice for when I have a job of my own in the future.  I have learned that the business field is very structural, and everything has steps upon steps before it is completed.  I really love this about business, and being an organized person is definitely something that will be beneficial for me in this field in the future.  One thing that I would like to continue doing is meeting new people and networking myself.  My goal for this semester has been to practice my networking skills, because connections are very important to have.  One thing that I would like to do is work with another person on a few activities when I'm not doing anything, as opposed to sitting watching my internship provider answer emails.  I have already talked to my internship provider about shadowing other employees and she has been more than willing to help out.  I haven't really come across any questions about my industry or internship, my mentor has been very helpful in ensuring that I am aware of what is going on and she has done a good job easing me into the internship.  Between now and the end of the year I hope to finish the on boarding program (although this is a huge task) and also assist my internship provider in planning a community service/outreach type project for the company.  It would be really cool to be able to blend my experience in leadership with something at my internship and plan something successful.  I continue to forget to take pictures at my internship, my mentor and I have been very busy recently, but when I go in next week I will be sure to take some pictures to post!

Personal Inventories

http://cdn-img1.imagechef.com/widget/170125/vMDhl8Ydyf.png

Bucket List Pictures

#3: Buy season tickets for the Giants

#4: UCLA Anderson School of Management

#6: Walk on the Great Wall of China

#7: Take a cruise through the Caribbean

#9: Hike the Grand Canyon

#26: Own a husky

#31: Study abroad in Barcelona

#37: Travel to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower

#44: Go to a music festival

#48: Own a Ferrari

Bucket List

1. Go skydiving
2. Go on a safari in Africa
3. Buy season tickets for the Giants
4. Go to UCLA Anderson School of Management for my MBA
5. Travel to Venice before it sinks
6. Walk on the Great Wall of China
7. Take a cruise through the Caribbean
8. Ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
9. Hike the Grand Canyon
10. Get married
11. Have kids (preferably 3)
12. Graduate College
13. Be the CEO of a company
14. Take a hot air balloon ride
15. Drive a race car
16. Go to the Super Bowl
17. Go to a Drake concert
18. Take a trip to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday
19. Go to Hawaii
20. Learn how to surf
21. Take a road trip across the country
22. Visit Washington D.C. and sit in on Congress
23. Meet the President
24. Fly in a private jet
25. Go to the Olympics
26. Own a husky
27. Go to the Vatican
28. Travel to Portsmouth, England (where my mom was born)
29. Travel to Macau, China (where my Avo was born)
30. Travel to Rome
31. Study abroad in Barcelona
32. Visit my family in Portugal
33. Swim with dolphins
34. Meet my favorite celebrity
35. Own a house with some of my best friends after college
36. Learn to speak a second language (Portuguese or Spanish)
37. Travel to Paris, France to see the Eiffel Tower
38. Learn to play the guitar
39. Learn how to cook the dishes that my Avo makes for me
40. Cook a Thanksgiving turkey
41. Buy a vacation home on the beach
42. Learn how to snowboard
43. Spend a 4th of July in Tahoe
44. Go to a music festival
45. Take a spring break trip to Mexico when I'm in college
46. Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef
47. Learn how to fly a helicopter
48. Own a Ferrari
49. Have grandchildren
50. Be the best man at a wedding, either my brother's or a friend's

Gratitude Post (Pictures)

My cousin and I cooking Thanksgiving dinner

Showing gratitude for a great friend, Hennah