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Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.

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I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.

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In this episode, you'll hear
part two of my conversation with

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Kaitlyn Coskun, a recent graduate
of Texas Christian University.

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More links and information about today's
conversation can be found on Digication's

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Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Full episodes of Digication Scholars
Conversations can be found on

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YouTube or your favorite podcast app.

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At Digication, we talk a lot about,
um, the, the use of our platform as

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a way for students to be able to be
seen, be heard, and be recognized.

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And thinking back to when, you know,
you were starting to learn about

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Digication and start sharing some
of the things that you were doing.

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Did you feel that kind of, um,
or did you feel that kind of

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relationship with the platform?

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Were, were you interested in being seen
and being heard and being recognized?

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And maybe some of the ways that you were
able to, to use the tools to achieve that?

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Oh,

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certainly.

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Yeah.

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I, um, I was first introduced to
Digication and this ePortfolio.

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Platform, uh, through one of my classes
at TCU, it was in my fashion merchandising

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major, and my teacher at the time, Dr.

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Fortenberry, um, chose this
platform for us to use in our career

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development course, um, really in
an effort to gear us up to graduate.

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So, I think this was about my senior year,
um, first semester that I started it,

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and it definitely took some time, um, to
create it in full, which is constantly

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evolving as well, but, um, to get kind of
an idea of what I wanted to do with it.

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Um, the intention, Behind it, ultimately,
was to provide me as a student entering

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the workforce soon, uh, with a tool
to really showcase my achievements,

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um, kind of what I've been working on,
what I'm able to do, and, um, get this

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information out to future employers,
or if I, at the time, I didn't know if

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I maybe wanted to pursue, um, further
education, whoever it may be, kind of

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like, Compiling all of my achievements
and work thus far into one place and

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having that be a centralized location
to share it with others, you know, and,

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um, I feel like a good e portfolio.

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It's both a product, digital collection,
you know, of my artifacts and what I've

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worked on, maybe that be presentations
or papers or research projects, social

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media examples, things like that, um,
but it's also a process of, in the

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making of it, really reflecting on it.

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Thank you.

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Those moments and those achievements
that I've had and kind of what

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they present in me and how they
can represent me to others.

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And I feel like in the past, I'm
sure there was like written examples,

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physical portfolios, maybe that you
could bring in to a job interview.

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Um, but having the ePortfolio It
kind of made, it made this invisible

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learning that was going on in school
visible, but not only that, it made

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it mobile, so anyone could, yeah, it
wasn't just I had one copy of it that

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I had to manually bring everywhere.

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It was so easy having it online where I
could just take that link, um, And share

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it forward with even just connections
that I was, um, reaching out to in an

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effort to find a job, um, references,
people and careers that I was looking

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to for inspiration, mentors, things
like that, um, There's so many different

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source or groups of people that it was
geared towards and having it all together

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in one place online was so beneficial.

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And I feel like LinkedIn, for
example, is a great networking tool.

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And it has all of my, like, background
and my previous jobs and experience

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and things like that, but it doesn't
even compare to, like, what I'm able

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to create on here or on Digication's
ePortfolio, because the ePortfolio allowed

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me to use all different sorts of media.

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You know, whether that be the written
text of reflections on things, the

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projects that I actually worked
on, I could upload PowerPoints or

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presentations that I did, um, photographs
that I took in different social

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media platforms that I played around
with and feeds, all sorts of things,

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video I could upload there as well.

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So having all that there was
so invaluable and was like the

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ultimate goal from the start.

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And it just progressed even further than
what I could imagine, kind of a thing.

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And it certainly helped me
post grad, graduating and post

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grad, kind of all of the above.

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Because now I'm able to even look back
on that, having created it in college

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when everything was so fresh and,
um, I was currently going through it.

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And over time, I've realized my memory
is not as great as I wish it was.

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Yeah, exactly.

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And I'm like, so grateful that I was able
to not only just Get all of that in, all

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of the actual artifacts into one location,
but also the reflective periods that I

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chose, um, or places that I chose to,
uh, write up my lessons that I learned

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and key skills that I gained and my
favorite parts of it, um, stuff like that.

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Like reading through it makes it
so much easier to recall things.

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Moving forward.

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So it's certainly been a blessing.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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And thank you for sharing how, you know,
for you, it's different from something

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like LinkedIn, people that are kind of
new to this, Kind of platforms sometimes

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have those questions and LinkedIn is, you
know, clearly a valuable tool for so many.

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Um, but as you mentioned, you know, it
has a kind of standard format and You

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know, just thinking about that compared
to this real kind of personal branding

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and customization and, and stories that
went into each of your experiences right

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alongside the actual kind of products that
you created is so rich and so different

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from You know, this kind of scroll down.

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These are the bullet
points of my experience.

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And, uh, I do think it gives
people the opportunity to share

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so much more about who they, who
they are and how they've grown.

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You know, I think LinkedIn's done a
beautiful job in creating this network

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and allowing people really to share,
um, You know, kind of a profile slash

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resume, and, and we're kind of giving
people that opportunity, you know, with

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all of those bullets, what are the real
stories that happen during that time?

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Right?

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Let, let, you know, if you're really
interested in this individual, You know,

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this is where you can really go in and,
and learn more about them, you know,

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what their passions are, what drives
and motivates them, where they may have

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encountered challenges and grown from
that and really get a sense of the,

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the person, um, and you know, your,
your kind of culminating portfolio.

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Really exemplifies that.

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Um, and you talked a little bit
about this reflective process.

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Was that something that, um, you
learned during your time at TCU

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or do you feel like reflecting on
your experience is something that

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you brought with you into college?

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What, what was that?

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What was that like?

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And had you shared reflections
like that with other people before?

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Sometimes that's a totally
new thing for people, too.

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No, that's a great point.

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Um, I do think my Digication portfolio was
one of the first places where I've put it

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out there for just anyone kind of to see.

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I've, again, as I've mentioned, I've
always been such a visual person, so

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I've never shied away from sharing
a photo or posting on social media.

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Or, yeah, that kind of thing I was very
comfortable with, but sharing written

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message and my internal, um, feelings
about a certain thing or kind of how

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it's guided me through something, um, was
something a little bit new, um, which is

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great because I do love pushing myself.

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I think it's, it was a great
opportunity to not only share the

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academic side of things and the actual
skills that I learned, um, That can

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be used for a job, but also kind of
who I am, how I process things, um,

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what, how I make meaning of things.

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And I've definitely always
been a introspective person.

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I love to reflect.

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I loved to diary as a kid.

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Um, but of course all those things
were very internal, personal,

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nothing I particularly shared.

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And while the information on my ePortfolio
isn't particularly emotional, um, it

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was, it was information of how I chose
to process things and sharing that with

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the viewer or whoever is reading it.

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does add another layer than just the
simple text on the resume that is

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shown on LinkedIn, like you mentioned.

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I feel like platforms like that are
extremely valuable, of course, and

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the networking part of it is something
I've used a lot, um, but it's more so

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how do you get the information across
in the easiest, simplest way possible.

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I feel like there's a lot more,
like, condensing things down, um,

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just, uh, Have the recruiter know
that you graduated with this and

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have this skill like bullet pointed.

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Um, whereas my ePortfolio gave me
a platform to really dive deeper

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and share with them not only the
skills that I have, but who I am.

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Um, and I think that is one of
my favorite things about it.

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Um, and then even going back and
looking on it now, uh, It's an

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archive of kind of who I was and how
I was feeling at that given time.

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Um, and it helps my memories so much.

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Like, it takes me just right back.

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Like, even just reading the
smallest paragraph of my

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reflection on a project that I did.

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Software Year, for example, um, it's
helped a lot in the retention of the

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information that I, um, got at that
time and using that moving forward.

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So, it's been good.

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Um, I was very intentional in what
I wanted to use on the platform, um,

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like what categories I wanted to share.

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And so, on my page, I have a Bar up
at the top with all the main ones

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that I thought would be important.

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And I wanted to start it off with an about
me, which I think makes sense intuitively.

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Um, and I just shared my story there
briefly, of course, but, um, I also

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wanted to include additional elements.

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So a photo of myself, a quote
that, um, was important to me.

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And so, and something I continue to
update over time to help relay the message

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that I am continuing to update this.

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I'm here.

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And like, this is something
that's important to me for

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people who are looking at it.

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Whereas I feel like sometimes people
will look on things and be like,

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from high school or from college.

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And, you know, Think that they
just made it then and they've

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left it there kind of a thing

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and

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on my homepage at the very bottom
I updated every year just with

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things that I enjoy or maybe like
what I'm doing the most at the time

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Yeah, and then a goal that I have,
um, I think is up there right now.

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And then I've also included a strengths
quest which I think maybe that's the

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specific branded title of the one that
I did, but there's all sorts of, um, you

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know, those self assessments, uh, Yeah,
to kind of get to what are your strengths.

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Um, so including that was also an
important element that I don't feel

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like recruiters will see elsewhere.

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Um, that's not something often, um,
uploaded or shown on your job application

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or resume and stuff like that.

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And so linking my Digication when I send
out information about myself, um, helps

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them just learn a lot more about me on
a professional level, as well as on a

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personal level, which I feel like is at
the core of what business is these days.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And you, you know, when you're viewing
the, um, StrengthsQuest results, and

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then going through and viewing your work.

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It's just like everything lined up.

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Yeah,

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exactly.

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It makes sense, you know.

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It all makes perfect sense.

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Yeah, my strengths are, I'm a
developer, I have empathy, achiever,

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context, which is really just pulling
from past experiences, um, and then

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consistency, which I feel like all of
those things, You can see throughout

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the way that I designed, um, and what,
what information I put into my profile.

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So yeah, certainly translates.

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Oh, sorry.

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Oh, no, that was it.

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That was it.

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It

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translates.

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I was just thinking, so you were
mentioning a little bit about

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how, um, you know, you were
thinking about how you wanted to.

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Organize all of your work.

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And we see students, uh, kind of come
to this with different ideas and also,

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um, input from various, uh, instructors
that they might be working with or

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thinking about, you know, who the
audience is that may be viewing it.

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Could you talk a little bit about
maybe what that was like for you?

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You know, you're just logging
in and getting started.

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Um, How did you decide, you
know, what you wanted that kind

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of top level hierarchy to be?

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You know, you've got so many, so
much content that you wanted to share

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and, um, I don't know off the top of
my head how many pages are in that.

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I don't either, but it
might take time to count.

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But it's all really well, uh,
I mean you can tell a lot of

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consideration went into that.

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You know, the, the pages all have, uh,
titles that would make sense for viewers.

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coming from, you know, all different
places, not just internal to TCU.

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And, um, I would love to
hear just a little bit about

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what your process is like.

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00:16:49,615 --> 00:16:55,304
Did, did how things were organized
change and shift as you were creating it?

223
00:16:55,304 --> 00:16:58,484
Have they changed or shifted
at all after graduation?

224
00:16:58,495 --> 00:17:03,325
I love that you go back in and, you
know, Keep updating goals and yeah,

225
00:17:03,345 --> 00:17:07,045
references, my resume, yeah,
different things like that.

226
00:17:07,085 --> 00:17:09,234
Um, I always try to update.

227
00:17:09,675 --> 00:17:17,024
Um, but yeah, back thinking back to
when I was first creating it, overall

228
00:17:17,024 --> 00:17:25,035
categories, I had support from my
teacher at the time, Dr, uh, Fortenberry.

229
00:17:25,095 --> 00:17:32,885
Um, she helped us as a class, the biggest
overview topics that she felt The most

230
00:17:32,885 --> 00:17:36,004
valuable, um, and easily understandable.

231
00:17:36,004 --> 00:17:40,775
And then from there we kind of took
the reins and we're able to create the

232
00:17:40,775 --> 00:17:44,334
portfolio that made the most sense for us.

233
00:17:44,355 --> 00:17:51,665
Um, so my top categories were the
about me page that I just mentioned.

234
00:17:51,995 --> 00:18:00,430
Um, Resume, References, Learning
Experiences, which included a deeper

235
00:18:00,430 --> 00:18:06,510
dive subcategories of specific classes
that I took that I felt like would

236
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,149
be really valuable to showcase, um.

237
00:18:09,745 --> 00:18:15,395
And then activities that I was
involved in, honors that I received,

238
00:18:15,805 --> 00:18:22,895
um, and then towards the end, um,
or actually I must have created this

239
00:18:22,895 --> 00:18:26,294
junior year because now that I'm
thinking about it, I added information.

240
00:18:27,144 --> 00:18:30,754
Yeah, maybe, yeah, a lot was going on.

241
00:18:30,764 --> 00:18:33,114
All the years kind of blur
after a certain point.

242
00:18:34,094 --> 00:18:42,810
Um, but I did have another tab for
internships, which, I had one, um, in

243
00:18:42,810 --> 00:18:47,750
between my junior and senior year and
I also had some when I was younger

244
00:18:47,750 --> 00:18:52,030
that I personally just added in as
supplemental information as well.

245
00:18:52,399 --> 00:18:56,149
Um, and so there's a deep dive
into my internships and how that

246
00:18:56,149 --> 00:19:01,780
process looked and what I gained
from that, um, as well as just

247
00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,200
exhibits and artifacts from that.

248
00:19:06,345 --> 00:19:07,645
Jobs that I had.

249
00:19:07,695 --> 00:19:12,814
I did a lot of social media work
and influencer relations throughout

250
00:19:13,655 --> 00:19:15,754
college at different companies.

251
00:19:15,754 --> 00:19:21,235
And so some of the social media feeds
and my strategy behind that I included,

252
00:19:21,254 --> 00:19:27,385
um, On the work level tab, um, which
I'm going to go into and update with

253
00:19:27,385 --> 00:19:31,715
my current, uh, work and what I've
done and accomplished because I think

254
00:19:31,725 --> 00:19:36,635
that'll be very beneficial as well, but
those were my overall categories, most

255
00:19:36,635 --> 00:19:39,084
of which had subcategories within them.

256
00:19:39,794 --> 00:19:44,624
Um, and they're pretty self explanatory,
which I'm glad that you mentioned

257
00:19:44,634 --> 00:19:49,427
that it did translate that way, um,
so that it's easy to look through

258
00:19:49,427 --> 00:19:50,714
from an outsider's perspective.

259
00:19:50,715 --> 00:19:58,894
Um, but I think two of the core
categories that I knew that I needed,

260
00:19:58,975 --> 00:20:02,925
um, would be the learning experiences.

261
00:20:03,455 --> 00:20:08,785
That encompassed a handful of classes
that I felt were most important and

262
00:20:08,785 --> 00:20:14,415
that I learned the most hard and soft
skills, um, that would translate into

263
00:20:14,445 --> 00:20:22,095
a work environment, um, so I basically
listed, like, a new page per class, um,

264
00:20:22,135 --> 00:20:28,894
included what we call artifacts, which
is basically just work that's been done.

265
00:20:28,894 --> 00:20:35,399
Um, something like tangible that like
a PowerPoint or a design project or

266
00:20:35,870 --> 00:20:40,590
a poster board, a sketch, whatever
it may be pertaining to that class.

267
00:20:40,850 --> 00:20:43,930
Um, I would include that.

268
00:20:43,930 --> 00:20:50,300
So, I always had a visual, um, as well
as a wri a write up, um, which is the

269
00:20:50,340 --> 00:20:52,270
reflection that I was talking about.

270
00:20:52,300 --> 00:20:55,750
Um, and I included the class
title just for reference.

271
00:20:55,780 --> 00:21:01,629
I figured Other students would maybe
be looking on it and get inspiration

272
00:21:01,629 --> 00:21:05,370
from it and perhaps want to find
that class if they go to TCU.

273
00:21:05,750 --> 00:21:13,360
Um, and then information on what those
visual artifacts are, kind of when I

274
00:21:13,370 --> 00:21:19,524
took the class, um, and then that write
up summary of, What I experienced,

275
00:21:19,584 --> 00:21:27,355
what I gained from it, the skills that
can be translatable to a career, and

276
00:21:27,644 --> 00:21:33,555
that is probably, looking back on it,
one of the most valuable categories

277
00:21:33,575 --> 00:21:39,245
because otherwise, like I said,
memory kind of goes away over time.

278
00:21:40,495 --> 00:21:44,675
I would have certainly had
somewhere in my computer.

279
00:21:45,245 --> 00:21:50,405
These projects and, like, artifacts,
but actually going and finding them,

280
00:21:50,415 --> 00:21:53,714
like, have you ever gone into a
computer trying to, like, just go

281
00:21:54,264 --> 00:21:55,607
through your documents and stuff?

282
00:21:55,607 --> 00:21:56,997
Like, that's not fun.

283
00:21:56,997 --> 00:21:57,692
Not fun.

284
00:21:57,692 --> 00:21:59,429
No one does that, really.

285
00:21:59,429 --> 00:22:02,965
I feel like it just kind
of gets lost in the cloud.

286
00:22:03,324 --> 00:22:10,654
Um, but having it all on here has been so
helpful looking back on, um, my education.

287
00:22:11,344 --> 00:22:16,284
And then also that internship,
uh, tab was very beneficial.

288
00:22:16,725 --> 00:22:21,144
As I was graduating, looking for a
job, uh, because it really outlined the

289
00:22:21,144 --> 00:22:26,644
practical experience I had, um, what
I learned, the connections I made, um,

290
00:22:26,654 --> 00:22:32,014
projects that I had, uh, so there's
a really good deep dive in there.

291
00:22:32,034 --> 00:22:38,950
Um, and I did partner with the company
that I, uh, Interned with, uh, as well

292
00:22:38,950 --> 00:22:45,140
as guidance from my education at TCU to
also get feedback from my supervisors

293
00:22:45,140 --> 00:22:47,850
at the time, um, like written up.

294
00:22:47,850 --> 00:22:53,450
And that was something I wanted to
include for prospective employers

295
00:22:53,450 --> 00:22:55,190
to be able to access as well.

296
00:22:55,850 --> 00:22:56,379
Yeah.

297
00:22:56,919 --> 00:22:57,689
So, yeah.

298
00:22:57,690 --> 00:22:58,052
I

299
00:22:58,052 --> 00:22:59,949
would love to hear about that.

300
00:22:59,959 --> 00:23:06,379
So we do get, um, sometimes people,
you know, are interested in Digication,

301
00:23:06,545 --> 00:23:13,595
specifically for these kind of
experiential learning experiences, um,

302
00:23:14,475 --> 00:23:22,575
you know, where students are, you know,
doing internships or study abroad or

303
00:23:22,584 --> 00:23:27,795
field experiences, you know, if they're
interested in going into healthcare.

304
00:23:28,915 --> 00:23:33,635
And so they're often, you know,
out in the field doing, you know,

305
00:23:33,665 --> 00:23:38,935
hands on work within the kinds of
organizations that they're hoping to,

306
00:23:38,985 --> 00:23:41,405
to be in potentially after graduation.

307
00:23:41,405 --> 00:23:47,064
And so could you share a little
bit about maybe, um, from those

308
00:23:47,084 --> 00:23:53,445
internships, what, what kinds of
artifacts you were able to include?

309
00:23:53,965 --> 00:23:59,659
Um, Maybe going back and looking at
that what it's like to to read about

310
00:23:59,659 --> 00:24:08,419
your experiences in the internships and
Did you use Digication in order to help

311
00:24:08,669 --> 00:24:14,270
get those internships, or did you share
what you created in Digication to get?

312
00:24:15,550 --> 00:24:18,920
You know, recognize for some
of the, you know, career

313
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:20,880
opportunities that you have now.

314
00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:22,190
I'd love to hear about that.

315
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:23,649
Yeah.

316
00:24:23,649 --> 00:24:29,270
So to start off with your first
question of the internships that I

317
00:24:29,290 --> 00:24:34,259
had and the kind of artifacts that I
was able to collect, um, as I said, I

318
00:24:34,259 --> 00:24:39,140
am a visual person, so I certainly am
someone who likes to document what's

319
00:24:39,140 --> 00:24:41,600
going on, um, usually through a photo.

320
00:24:41,630 --> 00:24:43,870
Um, but also.

321
00:24:44,429 --> 00:24:49,139
In all other ways, data collection, um,
project management and things like that.

322
00:24:49,149 --> 00:24:56,320
So exiting or going into and exiting my
summer internship the year before, um,

323
00:24:56,330 --> 00:25:04,025
my senior year, I had the intention of
collecting, the items that I was able to

324
00:25:04,025 --> 00:25:08,655
contribute to because I knew that this
would be beneficial for a portfolio.

325
00:25:08,955 --> 00:25:13,205
Um, seeing as I did create the
portfolio in advance, uh, having

326
00:25:13,955 --> 00:25:19,094
even just that recognition, um,
or knowledge of it going into it.

327
00:25:19,095 --> 00:25:22,895
Yeah, it gave me a place to
need to put those things.

328
00:25:22,895 --> 00:25:30,085
Um, so I, Actively throughout my
internships would collect, write down

329
00:25:30,105 --> 00:25:36,754
things that I accomplished, collect, um,
the artifacts that I discuss or photos of,

330
00:25:37,155 --> 00:25:45,029
um, visiting certain locations on the job,
which my junior summer, junior to senior,

331
00:25:45,470 --> 00:25:48,350
Internship was right when COVID hit.

332
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,870
So that kind of changed a lot of things.

333
00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:57,480
Um, and there was certainly a fear at
one point that it might not work out

334
00:25:57,490 --> 00:26:00,300
and line up, um, after having gotten it.

335
00:26:00,870 --> 00:26:01,509
Right.

336
00:26:01,509 --> 00:26:01,959
Yeah.

337
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:06,640
And so I was lucky enough that the
company, um, that I worked for,

338
00:26:06,670 --> 00:26:15,530
Arteriors, uh, was able to easily transfer
the internship to be done remotely.

339
00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:20,270
Even though it was based here in Dallas,
um, and I did end up remaining in

340
00:26:20,270 --> 00:26:24,600
Fort Worth on campus that summer for
other classes I was taking as well.

341
00:26:24,870 --> 00:26:30,540
Um, there wasn't much opportunity
to actually go in and take the

342
00:26:30,540 --> 00:26:32,980
photos that I so normally like.

343
00:26:34,150 --> 00:26:40,489
Um, but I did get an opportunity or
two, um, on occasion and so I took

344
00:26:40,489 --> 00:26:47,290
those, um, and Collected photos of
some of the products I was working on.

345
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,470
Um, I visited the showroom and was
able to gather some imagery there.

346
00:26:52,970 --> 00:27:00,225
Uh, I had to go in for a couple projects
of, um, supporting, The Warehouse

347
00:27:00,294 --> 00:27:04,165
kind of just as an intern, you know,
additional tasks that, um, would

348
00:27:04,165 --> 00:27:09,084
support the company and, uh, I helped
with organization and counting parts

349
00:27:09,084 --> 00:27:13,465
and, uh, getting things to where they
needed to be, um, especially during

350
00:27:13,465 --> 00:27:15,675
COVID when things were a bit of a rise.

351
00:27:15,685 --> 00:27:18,445
So, um, Yeah, exactly.

352
00:27:18,445 --> 00:27:23,415
Which, and I, I never hate when someone
asks me to support in another area

353
00:27:23,445 --> 00:27:26,504
because I always see it as an opportunity
to grow and learn something new.

354
00:27:26,525 --> 00:27:31,284
So, even if it wasn't, like, the core of
my job, um, that summer, I was happy to

355
00:27:31,284 --> 00:27:35,425
do so, um, and was able to connect with
other individuals as well, which is great.

356
00:27:35,464 --> 00:27:40,050
But, um, For that internship,
I collected a lot of pictures

357
00:27:40,060 --> 00:27:41,490
when I was able to go in.

358
00:27:41,810 --> 00:27:49,320
Um, I also, at the end of the internship,
compiled different documents that I

359
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,560
supported, um, or created throughout.

360
00:27:52,610 --> 00:27:59,155
Uh, certainly when you're doing this,
a disclaimer to Talk to your supervisor

361
00:27:59,155 --> 00:28:01,605
and make sure that that's information

362
00:28:01,605 --> 00:28:06,304
that you're able to share.

363
00:28:06,304 --> 00:28:07,244
Exactly.

364
00:28:07,244 --> 00:28:09,705
You don't want to be leaking
any privileged information.

365
00:28:10,105 --> 00:28:15,144
Um, but I did wait until after, because
I was working on the new collection

366
00:28:15,145 --> 00:28:16,475
that was going to be coming out.

367
00:28:16,535 --> 00:28:20,530
Um, I was, uh, Product
Development and Management Intern.

368
00:28:20,540 --> 00:28:24,970
So, I didn't release that information
online until those items were out.

369
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,860
So, yeah, little disclaimer there, but
still valuable to collect that information

370
00:28:29,860 --> 00:28:33,639
to be able to use down the line, you know,
when you're able to, if you're able to.

371
00:28:34,070 --> 00:28:38,940
Um, but I also had weekly reports,
um, and meetings with my supervisor

372
00:28:38,940 --> 00:28:43,730
on the job, and I was able to share
that, uh, feedback, um, and then

373
00:28:43,740 --> 00:28:48,264
feedback on that feedback of how
I'd improved, which Shares a lot of

374
00:28:48,264 --> 00:28:50,804
information with a prospective employer.

375
00:28:51,105 --> 00:28:54,905
Um, we did book clubs
during the internship.

376
00:28:54,905 --> 00:28:58,944
So I was able to kind of reflect
on what I'd learned there as well

377
00:28:58,944 --> 00:29:01,254
as connections and references.

378
00:29:01,585 --> 00:29:09,985
Um, and then I took the opportunity
to also create an end of internship,

379
00:29:09,995 --> 00:29:12,424
kind of exit presentation.

380
00:29:12,435 --> 00:29:19,185
So, um, That also did, like, a overall
summary of going into it, kind of what

381
00:29:19,185 --> 00:29:23,745
I was expecting, how I learned through
things, and what I got out of it, um,

382
00:29:23,745 --> 00:29:28,764
so that was a great visual to be able
to include on my portfolio as well,

383
00:29:28,824 --> 00:29:35,780
but, um, Also from, apart from that
internship, I did one earlier over in

384
00:29:35,780 --> 00:29:42,480
Europe with my family's company at Moda
Textile, and there was nothing I needed

385
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:48,829
to do in connection to my schoolwork
with that internship, but I did take the

386
00:29:48,830 --> 00:29:57,860
liberty to honestly just do a similar um,
compilation and Reflection on what was

387
00:29:57,870 --> 00:30:04,660
done, what I learned, um, who I connected
with on a daily basis since that was a

388
00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:09,460
more condensed opportunity, um, and I
was actually going and visiting different

389
00:30:09,460 --> 00:30:16,645
countries and meeting with prospective
vendors, um, And if I wasn't to have

390
00:30:16,655 --> 00:30:22,095
created that file and that compilation
of information, I would, it would be so

391
00:30:22,095 --> 00:30:26,195
hard to remember the ins and outs of what
I really did learn what like eight years

392
00:30:26,195 --> 00:30:28,264
ago or so, like more than eight years ago.

393
00:30:28,664 --> 00:30:33,835
Um, so I do think it's so valuable,
like if, You're a student listening

394
00:30:33,835 --> 00:30:38,125
to this, um, or honestly at any
age in any profession, like keeping

395
00:30:38,125 --> 00:30:42,265
track of what it is that you're
learning and the accomplishments that

396
00:30:42,265 --> 00:30:46,755
you're making as you're, as you're
going through it is so beneficial.

397
00:30:46,755 --> 00:30:51,515
And definitely one of my biggest
pieces of advice is because you're

398
00:30:51,525 --> 00:30:54,615
your best advocate, like you're
the person who's going to have to

399
00:30:54,905 --> 00:30:56,725
get this information out to others.

400
00:30:56,755 --> 00:31:03,145
Um, And having a place to go back
to, to reference little things

401
00:31:03,145 --> 00:31:05,135
here and there, um, it adds up.

402
00:31:05,175 --> 00:31:09,525
And then you're able to use that for
a new job maybe that you're interested

403
00:31:09,525 --> 00:31:17,214
in, or a compensation review, or maybe
you'll discover a new interest that you

404
00:31:17,215 --> 00:31:23,060
have, or habit, or something, um, that'll
create a whole new career path for you.

405
00:31:23,860 --> 00:31:28,190
But yeah, and then sharing it on
a platform like this, um, on an

406
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,870
ePortfolio just makes it so much easier.

407
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:32,990
Having it all in one place.

408
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,330
Yeah, and I love what you said about,
you know, you're your best advocate.

409
00:31:39,509 --> 00:31:46,795
And that, You know, you can use a tool
like this to have everything that you

410
00:31:46,795 --> 00:31:49,575
need to support advocacy for yourself.

411
00:31:49,605 --> 00:31:53,515
You know, it can, it can speak
for you when you're not there.

412
00:31:54,004 --> 00:32:01,075
Um, but you also have the opportunity
to review and see for yourself.

413
00:32:01,545 --> 00:32:07,625
Um, all that you are and the things that
you value and the skills that you have.

414
00:32:07,635 --> 00:32:11,530
You know, if you're ever having
a Time where you're questioning

415
00:32:11,530 --> 00:32:16,010
if you're on the the right path
or doing what you're capable of.

416
00:32:16,010 --> 00:32:21,040
It's always something that you can refer
back to and then always something that

417
00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,150
you can share out with with other people.

418
00:32:24,330 --> 00:32:25,249
So, thank you.

419
00:32:25,260 --> 00:32:26,850
Yes, certainly

420
00:32:26,879 --> 00:32:33,095
and The quote, actually, that I have
on my first page of my About Me on

421
00:32:33,095 --> 00:32:37,755
my portfolio, it kind of goes in line
with that, that there's really only

422
00:32:38,105 --> 00:32:41,024
two things in life that are in it.

423
00:32:41,435 --> 00:32:45,145
your total control, and that's
your attitude and your effort.

424
00:32:45,665 --> 00:32:50,775
And it really goes to show the level of

425
00:32:53,244 --> 00:32:59,624
intention and drive that you have to be
able to take a task or something that

426
00:32:59,625 --> 00:33:02,245
you're working on, use it, reflect on it.

427
00:33:02,555 --> 00:33:12,745
And then be able to have that as something
that can personify you through others

428
00:33:12,775 --> 00:33:16,614
looking on your site, um, whether or
not you're directly giving it to them.

429
00:33:16,825 --> 00:33:18,055
I actually tested it out.

430
00:33:18,064 --> 00:33:22,124
If I type my name into Google,
it's the second thing that pops up.

431
00:33:22,290 --> 00:33:26,560
I'm not sure if that's your
guys SEO killing it or That's

432
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:27,240
what we want for you!

433
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:27,762
Exactly!

434
00:33:27,762 --> 00:33:30,372
Which is exactly what I

435
00:33:30,372 --> 00:33:31,938
want as well.

436
00:33:31,938 --> 00:33:33,504
Um, so, yeah.

437
00:33:33,504 --> 00:33:35,069
Totally agree with

438
00:33:35,069 --> 00:33:36,113
you there.

439
00:33:36,113 --> 00:33:37,157
Yes, yes.

440
00:33:37,157 --> 00:33:45,140
Oh, well, Kaitlyn, so much for Joining
me today and sharing your story and

441
00:33:45,140 --> 00:33:50,870
your experience and your insights for
other students that might be listening.

442
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,639
And you're right, we're all lifelong
learners, so this is something

443
00:33:54,639 --> 00:33:56,640
that's of value really to anyone.

444
00:33:56,669 --> 00:33:58,810
We believe that strongly, too.

445
00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:01,623
And um, I'm looking forward to
sharing your stories and thank

446
00:34:01,623 --> 00:34:02,313
you again for joining me on
Digication Scholars Conversations.

447
00:34:02,313 --> 00:34:04,795
Oh, thank you so much for having me!

448
00:34:04,795 --> 00:34:06,330
This was so

449
00:34:06,330 --> 00:34:11,775
fun, and I'm so happy to
stay in touch moving forward.

450
00:34:12,744 --> 00:34:14,405
Yes, yes, please.

451
00:34:14,895 --> 00:34:16,605
Thank you, and take good care.

452
00:34:17,065 --> 00:34:17,675
You too.

453
00:34:18,004 --> 00:34:18,684
Bye.

454
00:34:21,024 --> 00:34:25,145
Coming up next, we'll be chatting
with Bill Torgerson, a lecturer

455
00:34:25,365 --> 00:34:29,095
in rhetoric and composition at
Appalachian State University.

456
00:34:29,615 --> 00:34:30,825
Here's a quick preview.

457
00:34:31,395 --> 00:34:34,315
This would be what I would point
to as a coach and as a professor.

458
00:34:34,675 --> 00:34:36,525
You know, the ability to learn content.

459
00:34:36,975 --> 00:34:41,465
The ability to present the content
in an engaging way that makes it

460
00:34:41,735 --> 00:34:45,084
easily digestible to the audience,
whether it's a player or a student.

461
00:34:45,674 --> 00:34:50,547
Um, those are really important in both
of those spaces and probably strengths of

462
00:34:50,547 --> 00:34:51,897
mind.