Class of 2015

Political Science major

Business Administration minor

My experiential learning experiences were different in so many ways and very broad in scope. During the spring semester of my first year, I was working in the district office of our local state representative, Kelly Cassidy, where I was working with constituents, gathering data on the district's needs, and helping plan events. And, the summer after my second year, I worked in the Office of the Vice President for Student Development creating programs, revising the student handbook, and learning more about student development theory. The classroom experiences helped me put my work into perspective, challenged me to be more reflective about what I was doing, and allowed me to gain advice from my peers.

Overall, these experiences were paramount to my development as a student and a person. They helped shape me as a student leader, a better advocate of social justice and the Jesuit traditions, and prepared me to take the next professional step in my career. My experiences were also greatly influenced by mentors, managers, and teachers. They challenged me to articulate what I was thinking and feeling, and create goals.

At the beginning of my first internship (working for an IL state rep), I knew I wanted to work in politics in some capacity, and through learning more about a local office, I realized my goals changed. My internship in the VP's office was very eye opening and allowed me to see how one area of the university functioned. Both experiences were life changing and helped me realize that neither were quite right for me. The classroom and internship experiences helped bring into focus where I wanted my next step to be: working for a university while making a positive difference in the lives of others.