Jimmy’s Final Blog Post (For Drury Anyways)
Some things in life aren’t fair readers. Example: It isn’t fair that the first year of Drury Unscripted blogs was also my last year of college. Words do not express how much I loved and will miss this job–I even made up my own language to try to express it without success. Flargle! Anyway, even though I’m sad that I won’t be blogging for Drury University anymore, I know that our other bloggers Molly, Juan, Kaitlyn, and Tinsley are going to keep the up the high quality of DU Unscripted. Because I’m never above or below a shameless plug, for those of you who like me or at least my work, I will be moving to my own website and blogging from there. It’s called Elm Street Persuasion and it’s not fully running yet as you can see from clicking the link. The posts will start in September. Thank you [...]
Seniors: Re-tooling Your Resume
282 days, 8 hours. That is how many days (give or take a week) seniors have until the day after graduation (assuming you subscribe to the Julian calendar idea). Do you have a place to live? Do you have a job? Do you have a plan? Maybe you don’t know these answers right now, but in just (+/-) 282 days you will need to have the answers. Fixing up your resume won’t give you all the answers, but it’s a great place to start. Use a Clear Style. Having a cookie-cutter resume isn’t going to work out, but you do need to have a clear, concise organizational scheme. Contact info should go first–if a company likes you, make sure they know how to reach you. From there include a summary, professional experience, and finish off with activities and awards. Remember, you only need one page of information about everything you’ve [...]
Juniors: Securing an Internship
Junior readers, you’re in an interesting position right now. More than halfway done with your college career but still with enough time to enjoy the comforts of the world academia. Rephrase–you don’t need to start thinking about a full-time job yet, but you do need some real work experience. It’s time to get an internship. Let’s go over some of the basics… Start Local, Then Expand Your Search. No matter where you go to a large or small school in a tiny or tremendous town/city your best bet is to start looking for local internships. Your college is going to have at least a few local connections that can get you in the door. You will also know the community and set yourself up with good experience if you plan to stay in the area after graduation. After reaching out to local businesses carefully expand your search to surrounding cities, [...]
Sophomores: Major Decisions
Sophomore readers, it’s time to pick your major. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but probably the next day. See I know that there are still quite a few semesters of your college life ahead of you, but really there isn’t much time left for you to decide your field of study. Realistically you want to have decided on your major by the fall semester of your sophomore year. Here’s why: You Need Time for a Back Up Plan. Say that your first choice doesn’t quite pan out the way you planed, it’s okay–happens to the best of us. I remember one time when I thought geophysics was my major until I realized that I was me and that there was an absolute zero chance of me finishing the degree. When you decide on your major early enough, you give yourself time for change in case your find yourself dissatisfied. Leaving [...]
Freshman: 5 Things to Take With You, 5 Things to Leave at Home
In just a few short weeks the fresh faces of 2016 will be moving into their new homes on campus. There is a lot to talk about when it comes to dorm life but today I want to get down to the basics…As a first year student living on campus, what are the essential things that you need to pack in the car and what gets left behind? Lets start with what to take: Make Sure You Take 1. Extra Towels, Bed Sheets, Blankets, Etc. Hygiene is not an area to be cutting corners, folks. Unless you plan on doing laundry every week or worse every other day its a good idea to pack several extra sets of towels and sheets. And I hate to burst a few bubbles but there is no such thing as a “perfect temperature” in a dormitory. Grab a couple extra blankets in case things [...]
July Update
July means another year of celebrating the greatness of ‘Merica (read MURR – I – CAH) and an update about the life of a fresh-out-of-college graduate. In this power-packed-post I’ll talk about work, finances, summer fun, and of course Drury University. Buckle your seat belts thrill seekers, because I don’t want you to leave for the more fun blogs….seriously keep reading. GREAT NEWS from the job front, I still have one. The City of Springfield finds me worthy enough to stay on the payroll and I’ve collected two paychecks since starting in mid June. While it feels great to get paid I’m starting to feel something much stranger. It feels like subverting the norm–usually kids out of college are not fond of their first job for one reason or another. While I’m not in love with my job at Springfield 911 I’m liking it pretty well. Let’s put it this [...]
Freshman First Day
Today was your first chance to see Drury University’s class of 2016 in action, readers. If you missed it, like I did, don’t feel bad. Freshman First Day is the most important and the least important day of the entire year. Chances are my Drury followers remember a thing or two from their FFD experience–planning schedules or meeting your living learning community mates. Whatever your memories let’s talk a little more about why today was so big/small for everyone at DU. The Most Important Day Ever Because… It’s real. Yeah you wrote the essays, took the tours, and danced upon receiving that acceptance letter in the mail–but now you’re here. The Least Important Day Ever Because… About 2 more months until you move into the dorm and take classes. Things might be getting real today, but there’s also still time to pretend, for a little while. Most Important… You’re going [...]
Adventures in Adultland
For those of you with running bets about my job status by this time in June, time to cash in! It’s been a crazy month but I’ve got a couple of great things to talk about so let’s hit some of the high points. Job: I’m finally paying the bills, readers. During my time at Drury University I majored in Speech Communication and I’m happy to say that I have the opportunity to put those skills to use in my new line of work. I am a call receiver for the Springfield 911 emergency communication center. Right now I’m in the midst of extensive training and some weird hours. But all in all things are pretty good! For my fellow graduates who are still seeking a job here’s a hot tip: Springfield 911 is still hiring. Good pay and good benefits, so if your are interested, send in your resume! [...]
Updates for the Beginning of Summer
Hey vacationers, hope you’re getting the most out of your time off. I haven’t been updating for awhile but 1) no one is taking attendance here and 2) there wasn’t that much to talk about. I mean you don’t need to know every time (yeah there were multiple times) that I got sunburned. So the point of this post is to share the interesting things that have been going on with this blogger at the start of the summer and to talk about future plans (yet again). So as far as updates go: 1. Got a job! During my time at Drury I always figured that I could do well finding a job, even though I knew the market was tough and the economy was tanking. Whoops, it’s pretty darn tough to get yourself in a job these days, who knew? Still, I have accepted an offer with the City [...]
A Thousand Words is Worth a Picture
I wasn’t really satisfied with my “goodbye” post because it didn’t feel real. Truth is readers, words sometimes fail to express the emotional and (spiritual?) significance that they were supposed to correspond to in a particular moment. Everything I’ve ever written, read, or said won’t come close to explaining how I felt better than this snapshot my family took right before I walked across the stage. So there ya go readers, that’s the good-bye Drury from me. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
