Week 4-- Presentation Done!

Today I turned in a 12 page paper and did a 5 minute oral presentation.  I worked for HOURS on these the last few days, and even part of last week.  This is a huge CHANGE in my academic habits.  I knew I couldn't leave it all 'til the last minute, and tried to work on a little bit each day.  I finally tackled the paper by Monday night, but then I still had to come up with some kind of presentation!

I stress over these things, but really... they always turn out okay. :)

I love Power Point!  I spent WAY too much time picking out just the right font with the perfect colors and shadowing.  I loved including pictures and clipart and doing all kinds of slide transitions and animations and what not.  Oh yeah, it was good.  Unfortunately, when I popped in my zip drive in the class computer to project on the screen, my sweet, perfect fonts didn't transfer over to this older computer, and I was a little bummed.  But I still delivered my presentation and didn't go over time.

I will confirm that I DID juggle some balls and spin a basketball on my fingers as part of my presentation.  Gotta love the visuals. 

My teacher and 2 "guest instructors" were observing and evaluating.  One of my classmates said she could totally tell that they loved my presentation.  They were saying things like, "Wow, " and "oooh, ahhh" when I added my tricks.  I included THIS PICTURE at the beginning of my presentation to explain how much I didn't like middle school or high school. :)  But somehow I'm over it and want to be a junior high school counselor!  Yee Haw.

500 Days of Summer girl told me she loved my presentation.  Her exact words were, "You finished your presenation and I just wanted to hate you because you're so good"... but I'll take that as-- she really likes me and just can't hate me.  :)  Others gave me nice compliments and I felt good about it.

But don't you hate that time period AFTER you finish a presentation when you sit there and think of all the things you wish you WOULD HAVE said?  The things you rehearsed for hours and then totally left out of your dialogue?  So I kind of beat myself up for awhile, but I've decided what's done is done, and I think I did a good job.

As for my paper, I have no idea how much they'll pick it apart or scan for the nitty gritty details... but I worked hard on it, got good feedback from Brittney and another friend, and I turned in my best effort. 

I liked having the 2 bonus instructors there to observe us "in action" during class.  They'll be there again next week and continue to watch and listen.  One lady, Kim, actually knows my good friend Katie Bastian, so that was a fun common interest to talk about.  I really like her and would love to do an internship with someone like her-- fun and animated and spunky.  The other instructor is a man and although he wasn't super lively, he did an activity with us and I really liked his demeanor and the way he talked to us.  I like picturing them in their "school counselor" roles and how they might interact with students.  Then I think about myself and try to see myself doing the same thing. 

One thing Kim told me is that University of Phoenix is the best school counseling program in the state.  Here's why!!!  Most of the class instructors ARE school counselors currently, or HAVE BEEN school counselors in the past.  She explained how different it is to sit in a class of someone who is only "educated" in the field, but has never done a day of school counseling in their life.  Whereas, at University of Phoenix, the instructors can give you real life experiences and send you away with real tools and practices to use that have worked for them.  Her "testimony" of counseling solidified my happy feelings of deciding to pursue my degree from University of Phoenix.  So far I'm really enjoying it! 

2 weeks left of this assessment program.  The last week will be a "mock counseling" session with someone who will role play as our client.  Kind of like the real deal.  But we don't have any assignments due next week so I'll be able to relax for a little while.

One of my classmates is a single mom with 4 children, but I learned that she's a runner! She also did the Red Rock Relays in May and Septmenber, and the Ragnar Wasatch Back in June.  Another girl chimed in about her expriences with sprint triathlons (my goal for next year).  It was fun to just talk to each other about our lives and discover how much we have in common. 

I also treated myself to a sandwich at the cafe place they have here in the building.  It was shredded pulled pork on flat bread with ranch dressing and vegetables.  Holy cow, it was sooooooooooo good!  After my successful presentation, I feel I deserved it. :)

I'm excited to go home now!

Bree is happy.  :)