Over the past 3 weeks, my primary goal was to finally wrap up the last of my ISM initial interviews and continue focusing on securing a mentor for my ISM journey. The week of 11/13 was the week where I truly concentrated on finishing the interview process off strong with my final interview being with Ms. Leslie MacLean, a seasoned attorney who serves as the managing partner for the Dallas office of the national firm Waters Kraus & Paul. Additionally, the following week was Thanksgiving Break, providing me with some well-needed respite as I was dealing with the overwhelming struggles of junior year. Finally, the week following Thanksgiving Break was a week focused on getting back into "school mode", working towards securing a mentor, and also preparing for the ISM Semester 1 Recap presentation.
With all of these important events taking place, it leaves no question that I have seen significant progress and achievement in various areas. For example, my 7th and final meeting with Ms. MacLean provides a true sense of achievement and accomplishment as I was successful beyond my expectations when concerning the interview process. From this, I truly gained so much insight and I hope to follow up with some of these professionals to ask them to be my mentor. Additionally, I saw a significant increase in efficiency during the week following Thanksgiving Break, likely once again due to the fact that I got much-needed respite. Furthermore, I also saw progress in the process of securing a mentor, as I was able to send out an email and finalize a meeting date with one of the professionals. Finally, I was truly satisfied with my progress on the Recap presentation, as I was able to finish the general outline for the slides and even touched base with Mr. Pirtle to seek feedback regarding my presentation. The feedback was overall positive, and I hope to continue to make progress to ensure success on the presentation.
However, as is with anything in life, there were still challenges and obstacles. These past few weeks have been especially stressful because I had an unusually large amount of work and not much time to complete it. Additionally, this was all in tandem with the upcoming December SAT, which I also had to prepare for extensively. With this large burden upon me, it was very hard for me to balance school and life, and struggled to find time to dedicate to ISM. However, with strategic planning and hard work, I was able to persevere through these challenges, catch up on all my work, and complete the SAT.
With the semester coming to a close, there are a few things that I would like to focus specifically on. Firstly, securing my mentor is at the top of my agenda because the expectation is to get one before winter break and I also want to make sure that the gap between my initial interview and the second interview isn't too long. Secondly, I want to make sure that my Semester Recap Presentation is well-made, complete, and delivered effectively in a manner that leaves a good impression. Finally, I want to also work on work-life balance, and ensure that I am working in a reasonable manner that doesn't encourage burnout. If all of these goals are met, I will be in a good spot moving into the final weeks of the semester.
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