The American entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” Currently, that is my career and academic goals: to gain the discipline needed to turn my intentions into accomplishments. But what are those goals or intentions I speak of exactly? Well, I’m glad you asked! ...or at least thought of it.

One of my main objectives, both career-wise and academically, is to grow more as a professional. I want to be able to reach the level of maturity and professionalism that my future career(s) will presume of me. This goal of mine will strengthen the organization and communication skills that I already possess; but most importantly, it will mold and shape me into a better leader than I am today. 

Currently, my internship experience is starting to guide me towards the discipline I seek. I say this because being put in charge of a project with very little to no supervision forces one to manage, evaluate, and gain better self-control. For example, most of the time Dr. Lyne gives me tasks to complete: these assignments can range anywhere from making copies to a more time-consuming assignment (such as the research we’re currently working on). Not having her watch over me every single second has slowly led me into a more positive form of self-sufficiency. It’s a learning experience that I’m certain both my future employers and I will thank her for someday. 

At this time, the status of my career-decision isn’t set in stone, but one thing is clear: I don’t believe that the field of research is the right path for me. The reason I feel this way is because before joining the LHSI (Life-Health Sciences Internship) program, I couldn’t decide if one day I’d prefer to work on the research, clinical, or design portion of my field. However, I’ve now realized that although I’m physically & mentally capable of doing research, it doesn’t spark the excitement and passion I experience when developing new ideas or creating/advancing products. With that said, I’m now certain that engineering is the right path for me. 

Overall, my internship continues to contribute to my decision-making because it allows me to explore and find out for myself if the grass really is greener on the other side. Most importantly, it will (and still does) equip me with skills that I can take virtually anywhere I please. So in general, my goals are pretty simple: do the best I can, or if not…than the best of someone better.

My current academic goal is still the same as last semester: to gain the discipline needed to turn my intentions into accomplishments. Career wise however, there has been a few small changes. As mentioned before, I’m now working towards a degree in mechanical engineering (ME) that I still hope to apply to prosthetics. Another career plan I’ve recently considered is staying slightly involved in the field of research, more specifically, the field of vision and ophthalmology. This recent idea was inspired by my poster presentation and attendance at ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology). The week I spent in Seattle, Washington at the end of this semester has opened my eyes to many different professions. Most importantly, I was able to network and connect with many possible future employers or even colleagues. 

My career goals relate to my LHSI experience because up until now, I wasn’t sure if I would want to work on the developmental or clinical research side of engineering/prosthetics. However, after seeing what researchers do in their career over the course of a year has given me some career goals and lessons of my own. Now that I understand how research is carried out in the professional sense, I will focus on the developmental part sometime in the near future and make more precise career decisions then.

The status of my career-decision making at this time is that I’m keeping my options open due to my internship experience. Although being a researcher isn’t exactly what I’m working towards, I encountered people with engineering backgrounds at ARVO who are working on amazing projects related to research and vision. As of now, the only career-decision I am certain of is that I will continue both my academic and professional career as an engineering. 

My plans after the internship (during the next academic year) is to continue working with Dr. Lyne until our current research is complete. Also, I will began my duties as an Outreach Ambassador for the 2016-2017 academic year for ASSET here at IUPUI. During my upcoming junior year, I will search for more internship opportunities to partake in before or during my senior starting fall of 2017.  

As I continue to dwell further and further into my core engineering course, I’m confident that my career choices will strengthen. Also, the experience I had this year working with Dr. Lyne and participating at ARVO have increased the number of contacts I hope to one day reach out to prior to graduation.