One credit less of graduating with my bachelors in Writing Arts, I am impatient to start my new beginning of nabbing that perfect writing job to help me live happily ever after. This would mean putting off the possibility of going for a Master's degree. Recently my decision to obtain my master's immediately after graduating has been tossing back and forth like raging waters in the Congo rapids.

If I did go to graduate school right away I'd like to get the degree in copy writing. I initially thought of going to a large, fancier college such as New York University. However, due to finance decisions I also considered staying at Rowan University to get my Master's.

I think going for the Master's degree right away will give me time to do more internships while developing more knowledge of the advertising industry. I think searching for my dream job and living on my own may have to take a rain check in the mean time. For now, it dangles in the Congo rapids from a life raft stuck on a tree branch until help arrives.

Some of my accomplishments that stand out from the survey homework are:

• GPA of 3.7
• Staff Writer for college newspaper
• obtained a scholarship from CUPSA
• completed an internship in Brooklyn for Dept. of Parks and Recreation 
  
• Member of Golden Key Honor Society

I think these accomplishments would be some to focus on when creating my curriculum vitae.

Careers in Writing Arts Self Evaluation

1.       List your personal strengths and weaknesses (responsible, procrastinator, creative, etc.).
weaknesses: fear of the white page, procrastination, loss for motivation and inspiration, thinking people won't read it anyway
strengths: passionate, determined, ambitious, imaginative, brave

2.      List important or related courses you have taken.
   Online Journalism 1
   Online Journalism 2
   Publication Industry
   Magazine Article Writing
   Mass Media and Influences
   News Reporting 1

3.      What is your major and specialization? What is your overall cumulative GPA? In your major? How many credits have you taken in your major?
My major in Writing Arts with a minor in journalism. My GPA is 3.7. I currently have 119 credits in my major.

4.      Do you have a minor or coordinate major? Explain.
   My main major is Writing Arts but I concentrated so much on journalism that I was able to obtain the minor in journalism since I had taken so many journalism classes.
5.      List hobbies, activities, interests, especially those related to your major.
   Three of my main hobbies are dancing, modeling and the night life scene. They aren't really related to my major but I love writing about them...I also wrote features for The Whit for two years and really enjoyed it. Maintaining my blogs that focus on a specific beat is also a hobby of mine.

6.      List all the offices you have held in clubs or writing associations.
Staff Writer for The Whit, Rowan University's college newspaper.

7.      Do you hold any special licenses?
No

8.      List special skills. Have you served in the military? Have you ever published? What computer programs are you skilled in?
I can create online media content, including interactive user content. This includes pod casts, news videos, audio slideshows, and more. I am well versed in Microsoft Word, Quark Xpress, and social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

9.      List the types of writing you do the most.  
I mostly have written feature news articles or soft news. On the side I write poetry and blog posts.

10.   List awards, honors, academic or otherwise.
 I am a member of the Golden Key Honor Society at Rowan.

11.    List special programs in which you have participated.
 None

12.   List charity work.
  Have been a member of the Folk Song Society for a decade and volunteer every year during August at the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival in Schwenksville, Pa.

13.   List any scholarships you have received.
I received one scholarship for $500 my freshman year from CUPSA (Campus University Public Safety Association) for the essay I wrote and entry form required to apply.

14.   List key projects and roles you have played in them.
A the only main projects I have accomplished are those that were assignments through courses taken at Rowan. I served as a writer, designer, and editor in most of the projects, which included a publication layout design portfolio, a white paper about how Twitter uses collaboration in a network, and a news video about the NJ symbol, the brook trout.

15.    List all jobs you have had (dates, length if employment, promotions, responsibilities, title, etc. Note: it’s okay to say “Summer 2010” and not list specific dates.

Staff Writer/Reporter –The Whit, Glassboro, NJ                               2010-2012

·     Write, edit, rewrite, and proofread articles for Glassboro’s college newspaper, a weekly    publication targeting activities at Rowan University.

·     Work with editorial staff to research, report, obtain story ideas, organize and refine articles.

·     Assist with visuals such as photography, graphs, illustrations, etc.

Correspondence Liaison – Department of Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn, NY       -May '11 - Aug '11

·     Gained skills in organization, research and writing by working with the Borough Commissioner to respond to the public via letter, email, or phone to maintain positive relationship with the New York City community. 

·     Informed the Borough Commissioner about issues with the parks and recreation facilities concerning the public.

·     Performed duties of printing, mailing, answering the telephone, emailing, drafting, editing, scanning, photo-copying, and contacting personnel.

·     Worked with staff to perform special events by means of community outreach.

  Circulation Desk – Burlington County College TEC Library, Mount Laurel, NJ       Sept ‘07 – Nov ‘09

·     Tasks included processing the magazines, shelving books, locating books, checking in and out borrowed materials, and working the cash register for printing payments.

Gained skills in organization, and data entry. 

Sales Associate -Fashion Bug, Browns Mills       Sept ’10 - Present

Cashier -Goodwill Industries, Lumberton, Rt. 38     Sept ‘07 – Oct ‘09

16.    Describe the kinds of employment you seek (rank order of your top three job goals)

1. staff writer for a magazine or feature section of a news company
2. copy writer for print advertisements
3. journalist that travels to report for news company

17.    List three people who can recommend you and how you have been associated with them.
Kevin E. Jeffrey - Brooklyn Commissioner for NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation
I interned for the dept working as his correspondence Liaison for an entire summer.
Kristina Pritchett - managing editor for The Whit
I worked for her for the entire two years I wrote for The Whit. She has seen much of my work and edited it.
Mark Berkey-Gerard - Online Journalism Professor at Rowan
I have been his student twice for both online journalism courses.

I am pretty sure I can't just break into the world of communications by bursting the door of careers open into a bazillion pieces of wood with one karate kick. But I do know that the more I can accomplish my goals, the closer I am to living my dream of becoming a writer.

I expect to obtain my Bachelor's Degree and try to get a writing job with it. I can see myself working as a staff writer for a large magazine company in New York City, or inventing slogans for commercials and print advertisements. I'd like to be doing something creative with my writing, always bringing in something new and fresh to the page. If this really does happen for me I would live my days happily, until I became bored and needed a change.

Looking even further ahead, I could get my Master's Degree and then  PhD in writing. I would be satisfied as a writer as long as I can communicate or teach something new to society. I want to be good at what I specialize in (writing), and succeed in being best at it. I would continue to to perfect my talent, because there is always more to learn as years go by and time changes the world. Most of all, I just want people to actually read what I write, and enjoy it. I want to move people emotionally.

I love finding out new things and talking to people I've never met and then channeling those experiences into writing. Perhaps I could get a job interviewing celebrities, or travel around the world and live to tell all. Maybe amongst all these jobs I could write a novel and get a book published. I am happy I chose Writing Arts for my major because I feel invincible with it. I could literally go into so many different directions with the knowledge and skills I have gained. At the same time, I feel lost because I don't know which direction to take.

Perhaps all my practice writing and years in college will have helped me gain enough strength and ability to make that one karate kick...

But for now, I'll just pretend impossible doesn't exist.

I work two jobs currently, one is at a hotel, and the other is in retail. I was supposed to graduate back in December last year but my graduation application got rejected because I am missing one credit. This is what has led me to land in this course, Special Topics: Careers in Writing Arts.

I've been writing since I was about four or five years old, but I didn't know I wanted to "grow up" to be a writer until my sophomore year of high school. Before then, I had always wanted to be a  veterinarian because I loved animals. When I realized how good I was at writing, something snapped in my brain that told me I was meant to do this. I guess I loved writing more than I loved animals. Anyway, being a writer is definitely not not an easy job that would make me millions, but I love doing it, and it makes me happy.

My job search for writing jobs has not been going so well. I have come to realize through my own experience that one needs either a Master's degree or something on the resume that must make it stand out among the others, something quirky, odd, or amazing to get the job. I hope this short one credit course will dissolve my skepticism, perhaps like sugar in water spinning in a whirlpool violently by the force of a metal spoon.