Skills
Teamwork
Being able to work with others is an essential skill that I have acquired throughout my experiences at the University of Florida and beyond. Working in a group is about collaboration and designating tasks that fit everyone's strengths. These skills came into the formation from my work in the Student Government Cabinet of International Relations, different group projects in the classroom, and working on the Political Operatives team of the Trump Victory campaign. In each of these instances, I have had to collectively work with others to arrive at the desired outcome.
I have learned that working in a group is not always easy, as everyone has their own methodology of how they get things done. It requires trust and each person to do what they agreed to, otherwise everything will fall apart. With my new City Year job, I am sure these skills will come in handy. I will have to work in a team with the teachers and school staff to make every student's experience the best that it can be.
Communication
This is an essential skill for success in both careers and forming relationships. It is having the ability to properly convey a message to other people, either through speech or in writing. Given that I am a political science major, my courses required me to write extensively. I have written research papers, informative papers, opinion articles, and policy memos. In these classes, I developed the ability to be a more effective communicator by being more direct and concise. Additionally, I took a speech class and some acting classes that helped me with my oral communication. I am now able to speak clearly and avoid the excessive usage of "like" and "um" when I give formal presentations. What I learned in the classroom has helped me in my internships, especially working for Senator Marco Rubio. My duties for the job included speaking to constituents and writing briefs for the senator. The work had to be done quickly and to the best of my ability since I represented someone of high status. At times there were a lot of calls coming in, so being able to ask the right questions and direct people swiftly was important. The writing also had to be up to good standards, as the senator was the one that would read them. He has very limited time, so it was important to make sure every word of the memo had a purpose.
Organization
Taking 15 credits at UF while simultaneously being active in multiple organizations and having an internship has taught me to become organized. I have always been a neat person, but this was simply not enough to be successful in all the areas I just described. I had to manage my time wisely and prioritize things by deadline and importance. I implemented the use of an agenda and set reminders on my phone to keep me on track. Both the Trump Victory Campaign internship and my work at SGA Cabinet allowed me to showcase my organization. For the campaign, I was constantly collecting data. We would door-knock, do tabling, and go to events to speak to constituents. I had to keep track of all that was going on that month, as well as, all the information I had collected which was to be translated onto documents. With SGA my job was to be available for the international students and make sure to advocate for what they wanted on campus. I've had to arrange meetings with them and record what we had spoken about, keep up with events on campus and the international organizations, plan events for students. It was mandatory to stay organized for things to get done.
Event Planning
This is a skill that I truly just developed in college. Growing up, my mom always planned birthdays and holiday events. For both my experience in Student Government and the Trump Internship, I have been in charge of creating events and all the steps to make them happen. For Student Government, I put together the International Thanksgiving Dinner, multiple tabling events, and an International Putlock. For the Trump Internship, I had to arrange to have a booth at various community events and was in charge of planning "family nights". It is really special to get invested in making an event happen and then seeing the fruit of your hard work. I have had to work with vendors, venues, and find all decorations that fit the theme of the event. Then came making the event attractive to the desired audience so that people would come to your event. I had a lot of fun doing it, but sometimes it was a bit stressful.
