My Personal Goals
Like most motivated and driven people in this world, I have a well defined set of goals. I have been and I will continue to be determined to achieve these goals. Up until this point in my life I have achieved every major goal that I have developed for myself. This has led to a great sense of confidence, and has also led me to keep raising the bar on myself. During my schooling I have been told that some of the goals that I have set forth for myself are not allowed to be attempted. I fought for what I knew was right and I have just recently been allowed to attempt some of the goals that you see listed below. Many of these goals are ambitious, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. If it wasn't for Thomas Edison's ambitions then we very well could be sitting in the dark. I have divided my goals into different time frames and set deadlines for myself to meet. You can see the goals listed below and a short description of how I would like to accomplish them.
School Goals
ALL TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE 2012-2013 SCHOOL YEAR.
How the Pennsylvania State University classifies a World-class Engineer.
- To acquire the knowledge and the technical background required to become a World-Class Engineer
How the Pennsylvania State University classifies a World-class Engineer.
- Aware of the World
- World-class Engineers are aware of the global nature of their profession, and the challenges and opportunities that it brings; they are sensitive to cultural differences and the diversity that exists within individual cultures.
- World-class Engineers are aware of the global nature of their profession, and the challenges and opportunities that it brings; they are sensitive to cultural differences and the diversity that exists within individual cultures.
- Solidly Grounded
- World-class Engineers are solidly grounded in the fundamentals of their discipline. This solid grounding allows them to tackle complex, real-world problems and serves as the foundation on which they build their knowledge and expertise through life long learning.
- World-class Engineers are solidly grounded in the fundamentals of their discipline. This solid grounding allows them to tackle complex, real-world problems and serves as the foundation on which they build their knowledge and expertise through life long learning.
- Technically Broad
- World-class Engineers are conversant with other engineering and scientific disciplines related to their field, allowing them to work on problems that are cross-disciplinary.
- World-class Engineers are conversant with other engineering and scientific disciplines related to their field, allowing them to work on problems that are cross-disciplinary.
- Versatile
- World-class Engineers are capable of learning new skills as they grow in their careers and of applying their engineering problem-solving skills in non-traditional fields such as financial services, health care, and education.
- Effective in Team Operations
- World-class Engineers are highly productive as members of teams, co-located or geographically dispersed; they communicate effectively within and outside the team.
- World-class Engineers are highly productive as members of teams, co-located or geographically dispersed; they communicate effectively within and outside the team.
- Effective as Leaders
- World-class Engineers are strong, ethical leaders at all levels from technical team leader to CEO
- Aware of the World
- By graduation I hope to be as aware of the world that I can possibly be. Being aware of the world is a knowledge that tends to be very difficult to quantify. Through my past studies of foreign languages I have found that it is very difficult to truly know a culture and a people without spending a considerable amount of time in that culture and with those people. To increase my awareness of the world I will be traveling and studying throughout my college career. To see where I have been and what I have learned refer to the "Places I Have Been" tab.
- By graduation I hope to be as aware of the world that I can possibly be. Being aware of the world is a knowledge that tends to be very difficult to quantify. Through my past studies of foreign languages I have found that it is very difficult to truly know a culture and a people without spending a considerable amount of time in that culture and with those people. To increase my awareness of the world I will be traveling and studying throughout my college career. To see where I have been and what I have learned refer to the "Places I Have Been" tab.
- Solidly Grounded
- Through the rigorous curriculum set forth by myself and the College of Engineering I will attain the fundamentals of my intended discipline. Becoming solidly grounded will undoubtedly require many years of practice in the field, and is truly never complete, but I hope to become as grounded in my field as I can be before graduation. This will allow for me to be able to hit the ground running when I begin to work full-time.
- Technically Broad
- To become more technically broad I have challenged myself throughout high school and college, this has allowed me to make space in my schedule and allow me to take more classes than are required of me. This will hopefully provide me with a knowledge that is truly second to none. This knowledge will provide me with the broad technical expertise that are required to advance the engineering field.
- Versatile
- The versatility that I have gained in school has come from the rigorous course load that I have been working on. With such a heavy coarse load my brain has to be able to switch between disciplines very quickly. I must learn at a rapid pace to keep up in all my classes, and be able to complete a final on HVAC and then move directly into a Lighting final (this actually happened).
- The versatility that I have gained in school has come from the rigorous course load that I have been working on. With such a heavy coarse load my brain has to be able to switch between disciplines very quickly. I must learn at a rapid pace to keep up in all my classes, and be able to complete a final on HVAC and then move directly into a Lighting final (this actually happened).
- Effective in Team Operations
- I have always seemed to have the knack for working well in teams and for working with the occasional uncooperative team member. I had the ability to initially develop this skill in my younger years as a participant on several hockey teams. I have recently had the ability to master this skill throughout my schooling; this is because almost every class offered inside of the College of Engineering has a group project associated with it. An effective team member may be called to lead in certain areas or asked to be a group member in others. Noticing your position and fulfilling that role to the best of your ability makes the group effective. I have been working on both roles throughout my schooling. I have also developed this skill at a much more informal level through helping many of my peers with various assignments.
- I have always seemed to have the knack for working well in teams and for working with the occasional uncooperative team member. I had the ability to initially develop this skill in my younger years as a participant on several hockey teams. I have recently had the ability to master this skill throughout my schooling; this is because almost every class offered inside of the College of Engineering has a group project associated with it. An effective team member may be called to lead in certain areas or asked to be a group member in others. Noticing your position and fulfilling that role to the best of your ability makes the group effective. I have been working on both roles throughout my schooling. I have also developed this skill at a much more informal level through helping many of my peers with various assignments.
- Effective as Leaders
- Being a good leader is not something that someone can just pick up and do, it is something that takes a great deal of practice and fine tuning to succeed with. As a young person I had the opportunity to captain several of my hockey teams. This was great experience for me to have the ability to lead my peers. As a high-school and college student I have always been presented with opportunities to lead some of the various clubs and organizations that I have been involved in. I have used these opportunities to develop my leadership skills while working with various people, and personalities, throughout my leadership opportunities.
Post School Goals
TO BE COMPLETED 0-5 YEARS AFTER GRADUATION.
1. To attain a job with an ambitious structural design and engineering firm.
1. To attain a job with an ambitious structural design and engineering firm.
- a firm that is not afraid to tackle very difficult engineering problems from a logical and ethical point of view
- a firm that is dedicated to advancing the structural engineering field through continuing education of their employees and independent research
Post School Goals
TO BE COMPLETED 5-50 YEARS AFTER GRADUATION.
- To continue to contribute as much as possible to the firm that hired me out of school, as well as take any opportunity for advancement within the organization, hopefully receiving more responsibility and the trust that goes with that responsibility.
