Hey guys!!!

Remember that post I promised? Here it is, late…but better late than never. Right?

I interviewed for the position Thursday at 1:00p.m. I’m not sure if I am allowed to disclose her name yet, so I won’t. I first was contacted about the position by my professor.

As I was interviewing for the position, my interviewer kept repeating, “I’m leaning more towards juniors or seniors because they need the experience and have less time to acquire it.” I kept answering “that is fine, its an honor to even have been considered.”

I said this over and over because my first year seminar professor, Dr. Sara Smith, recommended me to the researcher. I never would have even heard of this opportunity without my professors helping hand. The class she teaches is my geopolitics class and it turned out to be one of my favorite classes because it talks about social and racial issues.

This research assistant position involves helping her further develop her interviews and transcriptions for her research regarding social, racial, political and environmental issues. What I know from the project so far has gained my attention and I hope to get back to you guys with more information but right now I just want to let all of you out there who are aspiring too become something great: Put yourself out there and take risks!

Honestly, I would consider myself a hypocrite if I said I do not put myself out there. Most of the things that have come my way that I consider amazing happen because I put myself out there and let people get to know me and my ambitions. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it just as much as the next person does but most of the best opportunities I have received are seeds grown from stepping outside the box and planting them outside of my comfort zone. Most of the things I get come from applying to things where others judge me or my abilities… but, who am I to say that I am not what they are looking for? Here are some things I felt like I would not have been able to acheive:

• Admission into Elon Academy
• Top 10 in high school
• Admission into UNC
• An A on a chem exam
• An A on a research paper
• Intern status at LabCorp in high school
• Research Assistant position as a first year
• the list goes on…

This is the shortest list of things that I feel like are great opportunities, but I almost did not apply for, strive for, or go after these things. These are all things that I felt impossible at any given instance before I got them. The thing they all had in common for me was that I put myself out there.

People want to get to know you, your cause, your personality and why/how you are who YOU are. For me, I want to go into the medical field because of experiences that have happened to my family. I want to help inspire social change and help bring an end to racial inequality because of experience I have acquired because I am Mexican-American. I have a unique perspective on the world and so do you. Even my brother, who has gone through most of the same issues as me, does not have the same experiences or perspective as I do.

Just be you! Do you! I promise it will take you a lot further than pretending to be someone else. Had I given up on this interview when she stated that she wanted juniors and seniors I never would have gotten the position nor would I have experienced what I did at the end of that interview. The last part of my interview consisted of her reaching out her hand and saying “You know what? You have the position. Congratulations!”  Even despite her continuously stating that she wanted older people for her research she still chose me. Why? Because I showed her who I am, what my interest were and why I would be a great addition to her team.

It honestly just boils down to being yourself and having the confidence to go after it. Gaining confidence is hard and I have a little thing I say all the time to pump myself up. “Fake it till you make it”

Next post will come really soon and will give details about my Halloween experience.

As always…

Just remember: Be strong, Stay safe and First do no harm.