Unfortunately it feels like my weeks have become rather repetitive, but the good news is that I think a mentorship is truly on the horizon. After speaking with Ms. Huffman who works for the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and is also a council member, I'm once again very optimistic about the opportunities studying Frisco can offer. I think as long as I remain committed to what drives my interest in local government: my passion for creating positive change on a variety of levels, it will keep my focus polished throughout the rest of the semester and the year. Along with this search for a mentor, I really only anticipate going on one or two more interviews total, but I'm quite interested in asking Ms. Huffman to be my mentor. I still have to consider if growth is a major theme I want to pursue this year, like I have been thus far, but mostly I'm just very excited to get into the routine of having a mentor. Even if it doesn't end up being Ms. Huffman, I'd love for someone to help me think through my major projects and guide me with their expertise through the remainder of my time in ISM, which as this second six weeks comes to an end, seems closer than it's ever seemed before.
It honestly seems crazy how many interviews I've been going on this year in ISM. Thankfully I really enjoy the process and thing that there's so much to be gained from speaking to professionals directly within their field. Just today I was discussing with Mr. Lettellier about what a valuable program ISM is because it allows students to really explore beyond the walls of a classroom. He agreed that if he could change anything about education he would create more practical, real-world classes like ISM. Still, the hunt for a mentor continues and as much as I like speaking to people, I wish that consistent mentor visits could make it into my schedule. As I move forward with the next few weeks I would like to continue researching in preparation for the quickly approaching Original Work. I think this year with college applications it's really just struck me the dedication ISM constantly requires and on a day to day basis I'm always getting something out of the class, even simple lessons like ongoing time management skills. Overall, it's been a great week and as I continue moving forward, I'm going to try to look ahead to stay on top of the Original Work while hopefully acquiring a mentor quickly along the way.
This week marks the beginning of my second set of interviews that I'm doing. For whatever reason it seems like my interviews got split up between this first chunk that I did a few weeks ago to now three more that will take place over the next two weeks.
Going back to last week however, it was a great time to recover from the Business Symposium putting my rhythm a little out of whack and getting adjusted to my upcoming focus: Original Work. I think learning from last year, I really need to make this project as exciting and interesting as possible for me because it's the last time I'll ever have the conditions of ISM to do something like this. Last year, informative that it was, it felt like some of my decisions were made as a result of Anna's position, so even though I hope that whoever I work with this year can assist with my Original Work and give me knowledge based on what they know in the field, I want it to be more primarily driven on what I've been studying so far. As for the weeks upcoming, I hope that in this last "set" of interviews I find my potential mentor and I'll be able to go from there! This past Wednesday was the Business Symposium, and I can't believe it came and went so quickly! I thought this year was similarly great to last year, but in different ways, if that makes sense. For example, the rotations I spent talking to ISM 1 students trying to give them advice I had gained through my first year was so much fun, and I really hoped that it helped for them. I know that when I was an ISM 1 student, I relied pretty heavily on the help of others, so I hope if nothing else, I got through to them that ISM 2 kids always want to help and are fantastic resources. Still, I think part of the whole day was just really surreal because I'm having trouble fitting into this mindset that I'm the oldest, most experienced kid in the room. I feel like I'm barely a junior, much less a senior, so adjusting to that mentality is a lot.
In the past weeks I've also turned in my Topic and Original Work Proposals, which again just shock me with how quickly they arrived. As far as the mentor-search, I hope that in the next few weeks I'll be able to finalize dates with my last few informational interviews, and I really hope that my future mentor will be among them. Everything's going pretty well, if not a little stressful! This past week was by far the busiest week I've had in ISM so far. There was one day where I had two interviews in one day and one of those interviews led directly to another. So basically in the span of a few weeks, I've completed all of my required informational interviews after having a lot of trouble getting them scheduled at first. Of course, my big issue isn't with getting the interviews done, it's with finding someone I want to ask to be my mentor. I've been speaking with a lot of professionals who are tangentially related to local government, but not as directly as I hoped they would be for the mentorship. That being said, this Monday afternoon I have an interview that I'm so excited for. I'll be speaking with the chief of staff for U.S. Representative, Sam Johnson. It's such a cool opportunity, so even though I'm more focused on local government this year, it's those kind of connections and experiences that in part make ISM such a unique program. I also can't wait for the upcoming Business Symposium on Wednesday, because it was such a great day last year and will be another fantastic time to network and become comfortable around professionals. All in all, things are going pretty well!
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