This year, I focused a lot on my goals and plans for the future. Over the summer, I began to have serious doubts about my current academic path. I was still technically a marketing major, but I had decided to go into Logistics or Operations instead. However, with further introspection, I realized that, while these subjects were interesting to me, they did not represent fields that I would like to work in for the rest of my life. Therefore, I began to look towards my past and current work experience and hobbies to find possible career paths that I can follow. I found that the closest fit for me could be found in the field of hospitality. However, my largest hang-up was due to the fact that Hospitality Management was not a major that could be found in the Fisher College of Business. It is instead located in the College of Human Ecology. Because of this, I was apprehensive about immediately switching, because it would be a much more permanent choice than simply switching specializations in Fisher. Therefore, I decided to take a couple introductory classes in Hospitality Management during the spring semester.

When I took the classes, I found that they were a lot more interesting to me than the classes I took in Fisher, and, partially because of this, my grades improved dramatically. I was able to get straight A’s my spring semester, which is a huge accomplishment for myself. In fact, I was even asked to become a TA for one of the Hospitality classes! I have a really good relationship with the professor of that class, and I thought it was really interesting and important, so I accepted. Because I had decided that this field was right for me, I officially changed majors to Hospitality management in March.

Another major thing is that I accepted a new job in December, at the Blackwell Hotel. I am a server in their restaurant, however I also recently started working banquets. These experiences are especially valuable to me since I plan on working in the Hospitality industry. It is teaching me important people skills, and giving me some insight on how to effectively manage an establishment. Also, the pay is much higher than what I would earn from a regular college job.