Archive for the Doing Good Doing Well Category
Posted on September 15, 2011 with No Comments
So many choices to make! So many places to go! So many decisions awaiting!
Life doesn’t start after graduation. From majors to jobs to internships, to how to spend your weekend or your day – decisions keep rolling in.
Having a sense of mission can help serve as a lens for the smallest decision – like how to spend the next hour – to the larger ones – as in how to spend your life. Companies, movements, organizations have missions to guide them:
People also have missions as well that guide them – here are a few for inspiration and ideas:
- Art: JR, a semi-anonymous French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face, by pasting photos of the human face across massive canvases.
- Hunger: Jamie Oliver, is creating strong, sustainable movement to educate children about food & inspire families to cook again.
- Women: Eve Ensler waging a global campaign to end violence toward women.
- Compassion: Karen Armstrong, co-created the Charter of Compassion, based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.
How about you? What is your mission? What excites, motivates, and inspires you to get up in the morning? Not sure? Once a month, we are offering a workshop, Creating a Personal Mission Statement and Action Plan.
Come put into words what matters to you and identify small steps to guide your days, your job search, your life.
~Holly
Tags: advice, Career, career path, Doing Good Doing Well, events, how to, inspiration, mission-driven work, photos, tips
Category: Doing Good Doing Well, Event, Helpful Resources, Uncategorized
Posted on June 3, 2011 with No Comments
Check out this recent article, “It’s Not About You.” by New York Times columnist David Brooks. He discusses the problem of making a career or life decision amongst “limitless possibilities.”
The answer articulated in this article is not to focus on ourselves, but rather to engage with our communities and finds issues and problems that we want to commit our energies to. He writes, “Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.”
So, how do you find something to commit yourself to, “to lose yourself” in?
Click here for more.
Tags: advice, career path, Doing Good Doing Well, inspiration, job search, mission-driven work, non-profit, social enterprise, socially responsible, video, your first job
Category: Career Exploration, Doing Good Doing Well
Posted on May 18, 2011 with No Comments
Catlin will be the Keynote Speaker at the Washington D.C. Career Networking Night on June 6, 2011. Register online and learn more about the 30+ alumni networkers here.
Catlin O’Neill ‘99
Deputy Director of Legislative Operations for Office of the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
Washington, D.C.
Major: Sociology; Mass Communication & Culture
How would you describe what you do on a typical day?
I would first say, I don’t have a “typical” day. I spend a great deal of time trying to stay on top of current events – political, national and international – as they unfold while simultaneously doing my job. I work in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives – also known as the “Floor”. Predominantly, I act as a resource for Members of Congress on legislation considered by the House, the subsequent votes and the rules/procedures of the House. Further, I serve as a liaison between the Leader’s office and the Republican Leadership, their staff, the White House legislative staff, the Democratic Caucus, the Senate Leadership staff, the Officers of the House and the Parliamentarians.
What advice do you have for students searching for jobs or internships in your field?
There are several things that I would suggest to students interested in pursuing a career in public service. People often get involved because they are inspired by a candidate or elected official or cause. It is important to develop yourself as a resource – a willingness to get the job done regardless of the task or the time. Try to identify opportunities that diversify your skill set and further the cause. Read everything in order to develop an awareness of the nuances in politics/policy. A depth of knowledge increases confidence and ability. You can increase your value by recognizing that the government is a 24/7 operation made up of people, not unlike yourself, that need questions answered or problems solved in a timely fashion – to that end, be accommodating and responsive. Lastly, it never hurts to expand your network of contacts – ultimately government is of the people, by the people and for the people.
What three words describe your work environment?
Significant. Spirited. Inspiring.
Describe your best day at work.
I had three extraordinary days at work:
- January 4th, 2007 – the Swearing-In of the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
- January 20th, 2009 – the Inauguration of President Barack H. Obama.
- March 21, 2010 – the passage of Health Care reform.
What was your childhood dream job?
As a child I wanted to be a marine biologist…then I took biology.
If you’re interested in seeing all our World of Work profiles, click here. If you are a UVM alumnus and would like to be featured, please contact us at career.services@uvm.edu. If you are interested in contacting a featured alum, check out the Career Connection alumni database or contact us.
Tags: advice, alumni, alumni profile, Career, career connection, career path, Doing Good Doing Well, Experience, federal government, how to, inspiration, mission-driven work, Networking, Washington DC, World of Work
Category: Doing Good Doing Well, Uncategorized, World of Work
Posted on April 25, 2011 with No Comments
Allie Tompkins ‘10
National Prison Project Intern for the ACLU Foundation
Washington, DC
Major: Political Science/Global Studies
How would you describe what you do on a typical day?
As an intern, I come into the office 5 days a week for a half day. I answer letters from inmates writing the prison project for assistance, and I work with a paralegal to do research on policy and prison programs for the attorneys on staff at the National Prison Project.
What advice do you have for students searching for jobs or internships in your field?
Look for the jobs that really speak to what you are interested in. I applied to a ton of internships, but the two places I received offers from were the places I was most passionate about working at. I think this really stood out on my cover letter and during my interviews.
What motivates you to go to work every day for this organization?
Even though I’m an unpaid intern, I’m motivated to go to work every day because the ACLU puts into action what I was most passionate about learning at UVM, Constiutional Law. In our project, we represent prisoners and provide them with information. I think this is important because they are a truly underrepresented part of society and it requires a lot of viligance to make sure that their rights are being upheld in prison.
How did your time at UVM, both in and out of the classroom, prepare you for your position?
At UVM I became really interested in Constitutional Law, and the ACLU is one of the best places to gain experience in this field. During my interview the attorney I spoke with was very happy that I knew a lot about the federal courts appointment process, something that we spent a lot of time on in my Political Science senior seminar. Outside of the classroom at UVM, meeting so many critical thinkers and people who are willing to question the status quo and ask important questions has really influenced the way that I understand what I do at my internship and how I interact with the other people at my job.
What was your childhood dream job?
My childhood dream job was a Marine Biologist (wasn’t that everyone’s dream job at some point?), somewhere along the way I also wanted to be a doctor.
If you’re interested in seeing all our World of Work profiles, click here. If you are a UVM alumnus and would like to be featured, please contact us at career.services@uvm.edu. If you are interested in contacting a featured alum, check out the Career Connection alumni database or contact us.
Tags: alumni, alumni profile, Career, career connection, Doing Good Doing Well, federal government, internship search, Internships, job search, mission-driven work, non-profit, photos, socially responsible, World of Work, your first job
Category: Doing Good Doing Well, World of Work
Posted on March 24, 2011 with No Comments
We’re glad to be able to open up this space to a guest blogger, Kailee Brickner-McDonald, a former practicum intern with Non-Profit Programs here at Career Services, for this Doing Good, Doing Well post. We are glad she was able to share this story of networking with us!
UVM’s Alternative Winter Break and Vermont Institute on the Caribbean–Partners since Career Services’ International Non-Profit Career Panel in 2009
In the spring of 2009, UVM Career Services hosted an International Non-Profit Career Panel. Similar to the networking panels offered this semester (link to calendar for those kinds of events), it brought together alumni and local employers in the non-profit field and students with all levels of interest.
Among the students who participated, Leondaro Badia, ’09, showed up. He shared how he was going to be interning with the Vermont Institute on the Caribbean (VIC) that summer. At the time, UVM Student Life’s Alternative Winter Break’s (AWB) leaders were looking for a new hosting community for their international service trip. Talking with Leondardo about his connection to VIC’s Baseball Exchange Program through a service-learning class, it seemed like a good match for AWB. Thanks to the connection, AWB started to work with VIC. In the winter of 2010 the 11 UVM students on the AWB trip helped with the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Kids initiative and a park building project with 4th and 5th graders in Los Dominguez, a marginalized neighborhood in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. This year another 11 UVM students returned to the same school to lead workshops on girls’ self-esteem and leadership. AWB plans to continue the partnership with the community and organization into the future.
Check out this photo of the 2011 Alternative Winter Break group in the park that the 2010 group helped to build:
This fruitful connection at the International Non-Profit Career Panel demonstrates how “networking” is truly a community-building experience. Peer-to-peer student collaboration and information -sharing that night was just as important as the relationships which also began among employers, alumni, and students.
–Kailee
