Reflection

How are you planning to use the reflection in developing your e-portfolio content pages? Can you give any examples on how this reflection page can benefit you and what specific things it can do to better you and your understandings. What is your understanding of reflection? How is it different from description? Take the time now to reflect your reflection ;) and tell us about it!

Interviewing Part II

When being interviewed, there are a few different questions that come your way. Of course, the standard “How do you work with others?” or “Why did you leave your last job?” comes up. Those are pretty easy to answer, although it is best to think of something like a good example of why you answered the questions the way you did. I like to give them a reason to trust the things I say about myself. There are also non-standard questions that are used to find out a little bit more about the way you work and think. These are the ones on which you really want to “wow” your potentially future employers.

What do you think is the best way to answer each of these types of questions? Why?

Not all interviews are in person, either. Some employers do not have time to sit down with you and conduct the interview over the phone. How would you deal with that situation? Another type of interview is a panel interview, where you are being asked questions by a whole panel of people. What then? Also, the time always comes when you want to find out how much money you are going to be making with this company. When is an appropriate time to ask that seemingly uncomfortable question? A lot of times it’s the interviewee who has to ask, not the interviewer simply offering up the information.

We want to know how you will deal/have dealt with your interviews. It’s something everyone has to go through, so what are your strategies?

Practice Interview

During my practice interviews, the questions asked were mostly things I had thought of in the past, so my answers came pretty easily. It is important to consider all of the questions an interviewer might ask you before you go into the interview. It’s good to be prepared. My responses coming quickly and smoothly provide a sense of confidence in myself, something not easily faked, but that comes naturally. I am confident in my work and my past experiences, and it shows. Since I was typing my responses, it was a lot easier for me to be concise and well-worded than if I was speaking. Good English is very important and is one of the first things people notice about you when you are having a conversation. I may need to work on my vocal responses before my next interview, nerves have a tendency to make me fumble my words. Compared with the alternate response, my questions were pretty on target. The coach helped me remember to clarify my answers and present them in chronological order when making lists, and to make sure that they are not too wordy. One thing I have found in my interview experiences that confidence and physical presentation are just as important as what you have on your resume. If you look sloppy, you are probably not a very organized worker. It also shows them that you have taken the time to impress them and are really serious about getting the job. Of course, getting your responses ready is also very important, but a lot of people underestimate the power of physical appearance.



Here are two practice interviews I completed on Perfect Interview:

http://www.perfectinterview.com/online/review_gateway.asp?id=3020897&type=standard

http://www.perfectinterview.com/online/review_gateway.asp?id=3020898&type=standard


When you did your practice interviews, how did it go? What were some of your strengths and weaknesses? What did you learn from this experience? Hopefully this practice will help you find more comfort in your job interviews in the future.

Personal Philosophy, Career Goals, and Academic Opportunities

We would like for you all to think about your personal philosophies. In regards to your professional life, what are they? Personal philosophies are your values and beliefs, and we want you to talk about how these are incorporated to your professional life and goals after college. Would you say your philosophies are interdisciplinary? Why or why not? I try to take aspects from many parts of my beliefs and intertwine them together to create my personal philosophy; it’s generally not just one thing. Also, how have your career goals altered since you first started thinking about them? A lot of times throughout college people change majors and have several different goals for the future. I know I’ve changed quite a few times since I first seriously thought about it. How about you?

Cover Letters and Resumes

Cover letters and resumes can hold the keys to your future. What your cover letter says about you can open doors in ways you never thought possible. In a cover letter you always want to address what your looking for and how you are the person to accomplish that task in a concise head turning, attention grabbing manner. Do you have any experience in writing a cover letter? If you do, can you share with us a bit about it? In what ways can your resume highlight your interdisciplinarity. Being an interdisciplinary major can be a new concept for some, and some potential employers can be confused with the major. Your resume needs to make the IDS major easy to understand and how it makes you the better candidate when applying for a position. Your not only skilled in one area! My best advice is to make yourself stand out with strong, positive, reaffirming words. What is some advice you can offer in writing a great resume?

Professional Opportunities and Job Skills

In today's workforce it's extremely important to be multifaceted in many areas. Being an interdisciplinary student, how do you think you can use this in your professionsl life? What are some of the weak/strong points that you've had to face in your line of work and how has your IDS studies played a role in your chosen field? What are some of the things that could help you imporve on your weaker points? Nowadays many potential employers are looking for interns to get their foot in the door. Internships and other organizations can help improve your interdisciplinary skills. For instance, I have had the chance to intern at a news station and in doing so, I have been able to broaden my levels of understanding. When you typically start as an intern somewhere, they have you work bit and pieces of everything within the company so you can have an understanding. Being an intern has helped me improve my weaknesses and given my interdisciplinary skills a good challange. Have you had a similiar experience whether it was an internship or organization?

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an important part of being interdisciplinary. Without it, IDS would not be beneficial, but simply a fall-back major for someone who can make up their mind. Using critical thinking skills is something that is going to get you where you want to be in life, not just graduated with a degree you’ll never use.

When using the Virtual Philosopher, how did it score your responses and what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning? Being confident in your critical thinking is important, and everyone should have the chance to focus on it without interruption. Fortunately for you, you are given this opportunity through IDS. Also, how does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?

Understanding Interdisciplinarity: Integrating Areas

Interdisciplinary Studies allows students to choose different areas of study that interest them the most and find a unique way to intertwine them resulting in a common goal. This is also known as integration. For example, I have chosen Social Sciences and Letters and Languages as my two areas of study with a minor in Marketing. When I graduate, I hope to either attend culinary school or gain an apprenticeship to sharpen my baking skills in hopes of owning my own bakery down the road. Since I want to own my own business, it is very important for me to know about people and the way they work, to be excellent at speaking and writing the English language, and to be able to market my product. Each of my areas enrich my mind and will greatly help my goal of owning a bakery be accomplished successfully.

Just like me, Gina has also chosen Letters and Modern Languages and Social Science but with a minor in Mass Communication. She wanted to incorporate writing and communcation, being that she's looking to get a job in the field of reporting/hosting. So far her studies have been really helpful on her road to the future.

How are each of you using integration in the IDS major? Have you given it some thought? Since most of you are just starting out, you may not have a goal in mind yet. That’s ok. Don’t panic. This course is designed to help you figure those things out.

Why have you chosen your areas or minors? How are they integrated in terms of professional or personal development? Are there any ways your areas or minors can be better integrated for your unique needs?

The great part about IDS is that you are unlimited in the amount of combinations and ways of integrating areas. This major can truly be tailored to your individuality, which is not something that can usually be said. This is the time to take advantage of that. It’s actually FUN.

E-Portfolio

Your e-portfolio is going to be a great way to demonstrate your interdisciplinarity. What ways do you think this could be demonstrated? While creating your e-portfolio do you have an audience in mind? Maybe a possible employer? Is there a certain look your going for that you would want your potential boss to see in your e-portfolio? I know my e-portfolio has been a great way to understand my wants and goals. From the help of my e-portfolio, I have been able to discover many things about myself and my future goals.

Introductions: Getting to Know You

Hey guys we want to get to know you, below are some questions that we have. Tell us a bit about yourself. What are your favorite hobbies? Have you been able to incorporate your hobbies with your education? Explain the IDS degree. What are your areas / minors? What year are you?How do you explain IDS to others?What are the advantages/disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education?

Welcome to your mentorship!

Hello mentees! Welcome to our mentorship blog. We'll be blogging with you throughout the semester. We hope you enjoy it! Here's a little something about us...



Hi! My name is Amanda Frasure and I will be graduating UCF at the end of the Fall 2009 semester. I grew up in Titusville, FL, only about 30 minutes away from Orlando and I am 22 years old. I've been working at an Italian market and deli in Oviedo for over two years, and spend a lot of my time there in the kitchen prepping food for people to take home and eat. When I'm not working, I spend time with my boyfriend and find new places to go out to eat together. I love food.

I chose UCF mainly because of its close proximity to my hometown, as I mentioned before. Also, my father graduated from UCF so it seemed like the right place for me. I first heard about IDS my freshman year and thought it sounded like a great idea, but still tried out a few other majors before I settled on it. I kept looking at the long list of majors UCF had to offer and felt completely defeated, like nothing was meant for me. There was nothing I wanted to do exclusively. When I finally saw a counselor about IDS, I realized it had everything I wanted in a college education. I was able to choose any two areas study and one minor, which sounded great. With graduation quickly approaching, it's nice to feel confidence and no regrets about my choice of major. I know a lot of people who decided to change their majors after their final semester's internship, unfortunately realizing that the one area of study they chose is not something they want to be stuck with for the rest of their lives. I feel confident that my two areas, Social Sciences and Letters and Languages, and my minor in Marketing have given me the tools I need for whatever I choose to do.

After graduation, I plan on moving to Washington with my boyfriend of 6 years for him to pursue his own goal of being a Survival Instructor in the USAF. There I hope to either attain some food/bakery related job or attend baking school in the hopes of one day owning my own bakery. I am also researching possible jobs in food writing or other food related careers I have not yet uncovered. The next few years are something I am really looking forward to.




My name is Gina Thomas and I am a born and raised Orlandonian! UCF was the right choice and the smart choice for me. Although I always wanted to move away for college, many complications have kept me in Orlando for a reason. And I know that everything happens for a reason. Coming to UCF I had planned on a degree in Broadcast Journalism, because I have hopes of becoming a reporter or on-air personality. With much research and trying to find out what was the best fit for me, I discovered I did not need a degree in broadcasting to get a job in the broadcasting field. Being a UCF student has been a great experience for my future allowing me to host two shows for Brighthouse Networks. These opportunities have been great for my resume and the Interdiscplinary Studies program I have chosen for myself has given me the freedom to study what I want, as well as helping my career in broadcasting. My short term goal is to get an internship soon, prior to my Fall graduation. A long term goal will be to get a job hosting or reporting for a sports network!