From the start of high school and on, you as a person will come face to face with opportunities that can not only help you learn, but help give you experience for the future. Some of these opportunities will present themselves in forms of internships, educational experience, or even an event to meet important people that can help advance you for your career.
Learning from experience, I have learned it is best to make the most out of every opportunity. Over the past couple of years I have been given more opportunities than I would have ever imagined; some of them coming at the most random times. Most recently, I was doing some heavy-duty yard work when a person pulled in my driveway looking for someone else. The person asked me if I knew “so-in-so,” my response was “no,” but generously told the gentlemen some information about the people in the area. I guess my generosity and sign of hard work from working in the yard impressed the gentlemen, who turned out to be vice president for a local life insurance company. He offered me an internship after just talking with him for a brief ten minutes. I am currently waiting for the internship to start, which will start in June.
Another opportunity that presented itself happened about a year ago. My high GPA and high SAT scores were noticed by the Business School Board at the University of Charleston. I was chosen to be a part of the Master’s School Program which would allow me to graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree and my Master’s Degree at the same time after only four years of college; saving me a lot of time and a lot of money. I am currently in the Master’s Program and taking full advantage of getting my Master’s Degree early.
Last but not least, being a part of this Master’s Program has given me another opportunity that I never thought I’d get to do at such a young age; go to Europe, more specifically Italy. Not only am I going to get to travel overseas, but I get to work with an Italian company as a consultant on how to bring their business over into America. From this opportunity, I will gain international business experience that will help expand my knowledge of business not only nationally but internationally, which will look great on my resume!
So looking at some of the opportunities that have been presented to me, will make you want to capitalize on the opportunities that have been presented to you. Remember, one opportunity can open up to a world of opportunities; so take advantage, learn as much as you can, gain from the experiences, and walk away from them a better, more experienced, more intelligent person.
-Michael Waggoner, MBAL Student
