Through this blog, my goals are to share my experiences and perspectives. Now that we are half way through this new semester, aside from hoping that everyone is having a successful Spring 2017, I cannot help but do a little self-evaluation. I guess this is fueled by the fact that it is also the time for evaluations here at the Universities at Shady Grove. I have spent the past few days completing evaluations for various matters regarding the institution I attend, University Of Maryland Eastern Shore.  

The wise words I heard last semester at the Executive Leadership Panel and Networking Event hosted by USG’s Career and Internship Center, seem most appropriate when doing the self-evaluation. At this event, Mr. Beverly, President, and CEO, Social and Scientific Systems, Inc., said to me that I need to really look at myself and ask myself why do I do it. At the moment I was very distracted by the explosion of flavors that was happening in my mouth. As I bit into the delicious snacks prepared by the Culin Art Group for this event coordinated by the staff at USG’s Conference and Events Center, so his words of wisdom did not register immediately, and I made a mental note to revisit this. Pictures of this amazing event can be seen here.

A few days later, while putting together my schedule for the Spring semester and trying to figure out time slots for mental breaks, his words came to me. So, I pulled out the bottle of Windex from beneath the sink, cleaned off the mirror, looked straight in the face and said “Self, why do you blog, why are you on the student council and why do you work for USG?” and myself said “Hmmm”. The short answer was because I want to do all these things.

Managing these things is no small feat, and I know many of you probably ask yourself the same question. With many items to handle in your daily lives and deadlines to meet, you often wonder if you are as effective as possible. This is where a little self-evaluation comes in useful. Below is a list of things I learned from my self-evaluation that has made me more effective, and I wanted to share with you in the hope that it can be of some benefit:

1. Necessary Evil- meetings are a necessary evil, there really is no avoiding them.
2. Positivity- stay positive, things do not always work out as planned but do your best and always be positive.
3. Be open- keep an open environment that fosters communication, allow people to feel comfortable asking questions.
4. Patience- very challenging but absolutely necessary to have patience.
5. Teamwork- understand that you are only as good as the people you work with and foster good relationships.

Looking back at the content that I have written, the comments received and the feedback given in person, I am very pleased that I have successfully achieved my goals. I am happy that my posts did inspire new insights and created some debate. I look forward to continuing all my roles in 2017 and I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to take some time to reflect and do your own self-evaluation before the trials of Spring 2017 starts to get to you.