CED 210-04 Dana Comer

Career Autobiography
May 2, 2014
1

It is hard to pinpoint my exact emotions or thoughts as I reflect on where I am in relation
to the world of work exactly ten days prior to graduation. Do I want to be finished with college
and have a hard earned degree? Definitely! Am I ready to head out in to the working world? Id
like to say that Im ready and I feel that I am ready, but in actuality Im probably not. To me,
experience is something that is the only real preparation for something as big as going out in to
the world of work in order to help you succeed. But, like all other transitions in life, you must
start somewhere and this journey I have been traveling to reach graduation and my career has
been no small task, but I think back to when I started thinking about careers compared to where I
am now, even coming through this class and I am amazed by myself.
Many times as a child I thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up. From
spending countless summers at my grandparents house playing with my cousins, we always
played doctor and I always played being a nurse. I looked through a book that I made in first
grade not too long ago that had a compilation of stories and pictures when I was learning to write
sentences and simple paragraphs, captioning it with a picture. One of my stories was about what
I wanted to be when I grew up and I said a pediatric nurse. For some reason when I was young, I
loved babies which is the only reason I can find behind wanting to be a pediatric nurse. I had
two aunts who were nurses: one an RN and the other did work in a neonatal intensive care unit
(NICU). I feel they strongly had an impact on this decision as well because my aunt who was an
RN used to always bring me and my cousins syringes (without the needles) to play with. My
other aunt once brought me preemie clothes to put on my babydoll that someone had made for
the babies in the NICU and seeing how tiny they were in addition to pretending to give people
shots, being a nurse seemed fascinating to me. It really seemed like a fun job and of course,
wearing colorful, printed scrubs was fashionable in the mind of a six year old. I carried this idea
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Career Autobiography
May 2, 2014
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of being a nurse for quite some time. It was around fifth grade that I changed my mind because
the interest of becoming a nurse simply died, so I put it on the back-burner.
When I was in fifth grade I became a bookworm. I loved to read. Naturally, anyone who
loves to read would love to have the job of being the school librarian when they grew up!
Transitioning from a nurse to a librarian is on two completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I
found fictional and mystery books most interesting. Needless to say, I didnt stay in the phase of
longing to be a librarian too long. A year or so went by, and when I got into the seventh grade,
reading books didnt consume much of my free time anymore. My life began to get busier as I
took on more extracurricular activities and at the time, that seemed more fun than reading books
for fun and I got out of the habit of doing so. When my time became limited for reading books, I
changed my career aspirations once more. I never disliked school, but I have always been a
night owl and if you are a night owl, you dont really like mornings all that well. Therefore,
getting up early is required by working in the school systems whereas nurses can work third
shift, so I deliberately stated at that point that I would never get a job working in the school
systems.
After wanting to be a school librarian, I decided that I wanted to be a newscaster. Once
again, completely different from my previous job ideas. I remember sitting down at dinner one
night with my mother while the news was on and she said I think being an anchor would be a
great job. It would be fun too, and they make good money. I had never thought of it before, but
at the time it seemed realistic to me and hey, you got to be on TV. Perhaps it was all the
hormones and bodily changes going on from puberty setting in for making me change my mind
so much, but it definitely didnt take me long to figure out that being a newscaster was not for
me. I thought about how hard it would be trying to speak with perfect enunciation, getting up
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Career Autobiography
May 2, 2014
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even earlier than teachers do to go to work, and how hard it would be trying to find a job. Plus, I
am relatively quiet and being a newscaster required much more talking than I wouldve ever
been good for. Besides being on TV, the cons of this job outweighed the pros.
At that point, I went back to wanting to be a nurse. I didnt know really what I wanted to
do. Going to high school wasnt the greatest transition I faced in life. I became overwhelmed
with a new school, new people, and new expectations. I knew it was time to buckle down
because going to high school meant that was when you started preparing for your future career
over the next four years. After my maternal grandma died from cancer, my mother and her
sisters had to start staying with my grandpa to take care of him. Due to my father passing away
at an early age, I stayed and helped my mother out when it was her turn to take care of my
grandpa. I loved him dearly, but I noticed quickly that I wasnt the best caretaker when he or
anyone I knew was sick. I am disgusted by vomit and feces; I dont want to be anywhere near
either and I just cant deal with it. Considering this is what nurses deal with daily, I marked that
off of my list for good and started searching for other options.
In the tenth grade I changed my mind once more and chose to pursue a different career,
except that time I took a completely unexpected route. I went in a direction I dared never to go,
into a field that I had never considered before. From then until now I have kept the same career
aspiration- becoming a school guidance counselor. So, how does a person who never wanted to
be a teacher or work in a school system suddenly want to become a school counselor? My own
previous life experiences helped influence my decision to pursue a career in counseling. The
guidance counselor in my high school did not display a passion for helping students and during
my time of need, I discovered that I wanted to be a guidance counselor to advocate for others in
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the way that my counselor never helped me. Also, I had been told by many people that I had a
talent for listening carefully and attentively, and helping them solve their issues and concerns.
As my senior year of high school rolled around, I took an Introductory Psychology course
online from UNCG. In that introductory class I was introduced to growth and development,
human assessment, and psychological disorders. From there, I began understanding that
psychology can serve a vital purpose, especially through the method of counseling people and
helping them with their problems and concerns. That class inspired me to make the decision to
pursue my undergraduate degree in psychology. I realized that with the need and demand for
school guidance counselors in our school systems, becoming a guidance counselor would be an
effective way to help others. At that point, I declared that being a school counselor would be a
defining feature of my identity, and it was a profession that I believed would be fulfilling and
gratifying for me for many years.
My interest in Psychology never faded throughout my time here at UNCG; neither did I
ever question my longing to become a school counselor. In fact, this past fall, I was granted an
amazing opportunity with an internship placement in a program at a high school with students
where my interest and passion for being a counselor only solidified. At the high school, I was
able to help low income, minority, and first generation college attendees prepare to pursue a
higher education. The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program I worked
with is a college-preparatory system whereby students are given direct support for college
curriculum and rigor. Working in that program allowed me to aid students by giving them the
resources needed to pursue future career goals. Working with ninth through twelfth graders
really allowed me to gain an understanding for the differing capabilities of students, and
increased my understanding of the different challenges children face in the classroom. My work
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at the high school showed me how crucial it is that students recognize the importance of higher
education. The only support that some students have is at school and it made me want to instill
in them courage, drive, and determination; I want to be a reliable and dependable support to help
them reach their goals. I had the opportunity to talk individually with some of the students and
when I helped them through an issue and saw their moments of insight, or when they welcomed
me with questions or came back and told me how situations worked out for them after my
suggestions, I felt very satisfied knowing that I was improving lives by offering guidance. The
gratification I receive from knowing I have helped someone each day is deep and abiding.
Although I took this class at a time when I already had a set plan for my future and
career, it was nevertheless, very helpful. A few of the assignments that I valued most in this
course were writing a cover letter and resume, doing the interview stream assignment, and the
career assessments. I had a curriculum vitae, but I found it extremely helpful to critique my
resume in order to prepare me for what future employers look for when applying for a job. I had
two interviews this semester for graduate school and even though they were before our interview
stream assignment, I still found it helpful because interviews can be very stressful and with
interviews, the more practice you get, the more comfortable you become in situations like
answering interview questions. My favorite assignments though, were the career assessments.
They made me curious and excited because I had never taken anything like them before. This
helped me learn a lot about myself. I learned quickly when we did the values activity early in the
semester that I valued helping others, honesty and integrity, and being competent. These are all
values that I believe counselors should have. When we took the VIA survey of character
strengths, I was a little surprised that one of my top strengths was prudence. I do think of myself
as a careful person and I try to make decisions that I wont regret later, but I had never
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Career Autobiography
May 2, 2014
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considered that as one of my strengths before. I was also surprised that this survey predicted
honesty as a strength further down the list when in the values activity I listed that as second.
Either way, on my job as a school counselor, I want to be seen as someone who is honest,
speaking the truth and living my life in an authentic way so others can see. I feel by doing so, it
will help students be more willing to ask me for help or not be ashamed to come see me.
After taking the O*NET interest profiler, I wasnt at all surprised that my highest interest
was in the social category. Those with social interests like working with others to help them
learn, grow, and to be of service to others. This is the epitome of everything that I want to be
and how a guidance counselor should be. From these assessments, I felt safe with the decision I
had made for being an aspiring guidance counselor. It wasnt until we took the personality test
on the Keirsey website that I became confident that being a school counselor was the right choice
for me. According to Keirsey, I have an ISFJ personality type. The Myers Briggs personality
test gives descriptions and popular career choices for those of this type. I was astonished that not
only did being a guidance counselor fall under this category, but so did being a librarian and a
nurse (all career aspirations from my childhood). The first time that I saw the list, a sense of
relief overwhelmed me. It was a scary thought to think that I made it to my last semester in
college and the career which I am passionate about doesnt fit my personality. I realize that these
tests are only good predictors of what career you may like, but there is no doubt that I havent
made the right decision in wanting to become a guidance counselor. These career assessments
not only define characteristics that one must need in order to become a counselor, but they are
also characteristics that I feel are apparent in me.
The journey that I have been on in order to receive my undergraduate degree has not been
easy and it isnt over yet. Given my various answers to what do you want to be when you grow
CED 210-04 Dana Comer
Career Autobiography
May 2, 2014
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up throughout my childhood, I never would have imagined that I would be where I am today
and how close I am to seeing what used to be an aspiration become a reality. The idea of being a
guidance counselor used to seem so far away, but now as I graduate from UNCG and press on
toward getting my masters at NCSU in school counseling, I know that my place in the working
world is approaching fast. Despite some of the struggles that I have had in the process of
establishing my future career, I have never questioned whether it was right for me or if I would
be happier doing something else. In ten years time I see myself being very happy and content
working in a school as a guidance counselor. Promoting advocacy for those in need is my aim in
life. There is no better job in the world than being a guidance counselor where I can be a witness
to the growth of people in their journeys to understanding themselves. This quote from Lewis
Carroll defines my passion and inspiration for becoming a guidance counselor: One of the
secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others. In ten years, I
aim to understand this secret more fully.