Student Perspectives

Read what students are saying about Career & Personal Development and how it has helped prepare them for their futures:

Living My Dream

My experience with the great Career Specialist, Ms. Smalls has been mind-blowing ever since I came to the realization that I can rise to my full potential. The first time I arranged a meeting with Ms. Smalls on my own, I was overwhelmed by all the assignments she wanted me to complete. Over time, I concluded that those assignments began helping me shape my future. She convinced me to step out of my comfort zone, to see life from a different perspective, and not settle for the status quo. Ms. Smalls assisted me with college exploration and what I needed to accomplish to become a cooperate lobbyist. She encouraged me to talk about why I wanted to practice lobbying and the goals I want to achieve in the business world.

My dream job is to become a cooperate lobbyist for Goldman Sachs in Washington, DC. Ms. Smalls informed me and encouraged me. She told me the only way that I will be able to achieve my goal was to stop using the word “dream”. Ms. Smalls made it clear: to reach my goal, I needed to have a concrete plan and to stop doubting myself. I reluctantly ventured out into the unknown and made some calls, established connections, and was blessed to connect with one of the top lobbyists in the state of South Carolina. I scheduled a meeting the next day. During that meeting, I received an enormous amount of valuable information. This meeting resulted in an offer to shadow this seasoned lobbyist when the South Carolina General Assembly sessions reconvene in January 2018. Being able to network and meet with a lobbyist helped build my confidence. My dream was unfolding before my eyes. This was very exciting to me because I’m still in high school!

I continued networking and was able to schedule another meeting with the Executive Director of the South Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association. This meeting provided valuable information that I am using to help determine which college I would like to attend. The meeting with the Executive Director lasted approximately ninety minutes, which led to an exciting offer for me to join him in attending the legislative policy session of the House Tax Policy Meeting at the State House. After the policy meeting, I was introduced to numerous state representatives, I had a unique opportunity to witness lobbying take place, and observe what goes on behind the scenes during the legislative process.

I can definitively say Ms. Smalls’ influence and the direction she guided me in was awesome. Without her encouragement I don’t believe that I would have had the confidence to discover what the world has to offer me. Before I met Ms. Smalls, my mind was in a myopic state, always being skeptical, not trusting myself, not talking about my thoughts, and lacking the confidence it takes to pursue what I want in my life. Ms. Smalls has taught me that if I want something I have to take action and pursue it and not sink into a small shell and hope for the best. One can ascribe several unique titles to Ms. Smalls. I can simply say “great” fits perfectly: one whose ability, quality, or eminence is considerably above the normal or average is an adequate description. With Ms. Smalls’ guidance, I was encountered to achieve many things I thought I’d never see or accomplish. - D. Brown, Class of 2018