Research Assessment #5
Date: 13 October 2017
Subject: ISM Business Symposium
Assessment:
During my time at the Independent Study and Mentorship Business symposium I felt that I learned a lot. The major factors that contributed to its success, in my mind, were the interviews, networking, and the ISM alumni speakers. All the sections were very helpful, but these were the most impactful to me.The overall ISM business symposium was fantastic, I was able to talk to kids I have never met with before, practice interviewing, and learn how the ISM journey has impacted alumni.
The first major factor to the business symposium was the interviewing. The interviews allowed me to get to work on my people skills and have a general knowledge of what I can talk to people about who do not know much about my topic.The first interview I had was with an industrial engineer names Jose Herreria. I enjoyed my time with Mr. Herreria because we both had a passion for problem solving which is a key principle in any kind of engineering. Mr. Herreria worked as a different kind of engineer than what I am studying, but told me that I could be working in some different engineering fields, at some point, because mechanical engineering is very broad. This is one of the reasons why I chose to study mechanical engineering because I could see what fields I like and would be good at versus what I would not want to do. My second interview was with an entrepreneur named Bill Pasha. Mr. Pasha really challenged me to think of what I am truly passionate about. After my interview with Mr. Pasha I had to sit down and think if engineering is what I am passionate about. I later came to realize that I am taking this class to see if this is what I want to do later in life. Overall my interviews gave me great insight into what I want my future to look like.
The second contributing factor was networking because I was able to talk to a variety of people. After the Business Symposium I realized that I should improve my networking skills because it is a great way to show yourself to people in the field you want to study. Whether it is talking to someone at an ISM event or connecting with someone on Linkedin because it is a way to help expose you to more people. The more people who have met or talked to you can help you, more easily, find a mentor or a professional to interview.
The third factor that impacted me at the Business Symposium was the ISM alumni speakers. Even though their topics did not have any relation to mine it was great to hear how ISM has helped them later in life. All the alumni said that the journey was worth it and how your mentorship can help you later on in your career. This gave me hope because I want my ISM experience to positively impact me and lead me down the path I want to take.
Overall the business symposium was great tool for ISM one students because it helped us in both aspects of ISM, what is happening right now and what will happen in the future. I am very glad I was able to go to this event and learn from people what have been impacted by ISM.