IA 02: Role Model

            The role model I have chosen to interview was my cousin Janell Johnson. She received her MBA at Chatham University, with a Healthcare Administrate track. In her free time, she enjoys CrossFit, traveling, and home improvement. In addition to earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she was a member of the Black Student Association, QIT Fellowship, and Jonas Salk Fellowship. All of which furthered her education in leadership and in the healthcare field.

            We first talked about smart studying strategies in college. Her main advice was to never procrastinate. However, she noted her studying strategies were different from her undergraduate to graduate degree. In undergraduate, she noted making out a map, list, or timeline was very helpful in figuring out specific deadlines and staying on track. For her graduate degree, it was mainly research based homework, with few to no tests. “A master’s program is more focused on real world situations without tests. So for me, most of my time was spent researching to understand the larger picture to in turn solve a problem.” stated Janell.

            From this interview, I wanted to learn real life advice that could help me further my skills and education. Firstly, I wanted to know how participating in meaningful projects and activities could help someone develop strong work and leadership skills. Janell was one of the few students from Chatham that was able to visit Indonesia in 2016. She absolutely loved the trip and brags it till this day. From a global standpoint, participating in these kinds of activities helps one understand the business processes from many different cultures. so, if a professional travel globally, they will be able to add to their program more from the experiences they learned abroad than someone else. On a local scale, one will learn people skills from participating in different activities.

            Continuing with the interview, we started talking about internships and how beneficial they are to further one’s career. I had to ask her if there were any tips on finding a good internship. She stated, “Knowing how to network before going into an internship is very important to build new relationships”. Talking to people at school with your particular interest, or people in your personal life who know others in that career, can be very beneficial when looking for an internship.

            To close out the interview, I asked for her best college advice, something she wished she knew when she was getting her degrees. Her advice was as simple as “don’t sweat the small things.” Making sure you balance school and personal life is essential.
             I read an article on the Chatham Business Insight, so I could compare and contrast it to my interview. The article was titled "Justice Through Science, Marketing/ Communications Internship." The article mainly talks about how to be a successful intern, noting specific skills such as initiative, creativity, and the will to learn new skills. This fits perfectly from the one section of my interview, where Janell and I discussed planning for an internship. To compare, the article discusses marketing, journalism, and communication majors, which I did not talk about in my interview.