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Educator Portfolio
Adapting to New Challenges
Overview
There have been plenty of times in my life that I have needed to adapt to change and in a new environment. Whether it was in education, the workplace or my personal life, I have found ways to cope with change and work through challenges to meet goals and improve myself. Whether it was transferring schools in high school – then transferring back, or creating a unit plan for a class even though I am not a teacher, or critiquing programs or organizations to improve, I have faced them head-on. I felt proud of the work I did with these projects because I feel they could affect change in the organization once I completed them. In looking forward to these challenges, it made me think of what new ideas I could come up with for an organization.
Importance
I have learned firsthand that adapting to challenges and new situations occurs more often than one would think. For example, working in midst of a pandemic. Even though I have worked in a remote position since September, I still feel the impacts of the pandemic through interacting with my coworkers. Additionally in this program, I have been fortunate enough to take classes with and learn alongside students in different concentrations. It has been important to learn with teachers because it brings a new perspective of learning and understanding in the field of education. Moving forward in my career, I expect to be faced with new situations, especially working in admissions and speaking with students of diverse demographics. By learning their backgrounds, I will need to adapt to learning their needs as they apply to college and seek admission to a higher education institution.
Skills Gained
One of the skills I have gained through adapting to new challenges is being openminded to a new process and experience. As new situations arise, I try not to feel overwhelmed by the information thrown at me. I take a few steps back, analyze the situation, and move forward with ease. Another skill that I have gained is to actually search for new challenges. While similar to being openminded, I try not to shelter behind information and processes that I am comfortable with. I enjoy challenges, taking risks, and trying something new every day.
Impact
If I had not taken risks in my life, I would be unaware of different situations that may have been foreign at the time. For example, as I mentioned previously, transferring to a private boarding school as a day student my freshman year of high school, but ultimately transferring back to my public school district. Additionally, by working through a staffing agency in the first few years after college, I learned important work ethic and skills relevant to different jobs. If I had not done these jobs, I may have not been so diverse in my skillset or have found my passion for higher education. One of the main takeaways from working as a contractor in a staffing agency is my genuine interest in data entry and using Microsoft Excel. Since I view myself as a more analytical thinker by nature, become proficient in this software has greatly helped me in project management and compiling information.
Strengths
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A systems thinker - looks for patterns and makes connections
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Facile with technology, keeping current with emerging technologies and social media
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Resilient in less-than-optimal circumstances
Work Samples
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