Assignment #8 Reaching Out Part II

This week I had to interview two more of my role models. Unfortunately I haven't had much luck contacting people via e-mail. I don't know why it takes them forever to respond! So what I think I'll have to do in the weeks to come is go to their office hours and actually pay them a visit. This way I will be able to sit with them and
converse with them and ask them more specific questions about how they got to where they are. Besides I feel that this form of interviewing verses email is more personal
and they will see that I am genuinely interested in pursuing a career in Spanish. By
doing this I will be able to network more. Because what I have noticed with the emails is that their responses are very brief and they aren't specific. If I interview them then I will be able to ask them more follow up questions and get them to talk more! I did however get a response from one of my former Spanish professors at UIC. Below I copied and pasted what she had to say.


Dear Vanessa:

I'll answer you the best I can:

1) I got to where I am by focusing on an area of study, where I felt I
could contribute in terms of my abilities.

2) Some of the greatest challenges have to do with managing time most
productively, and facing adversity when things don't go will, to continue
persevering, and keeping hope alive.

3)Three things I know now that I didn't know then were a)work, work, work
is very important, 2) enjoy what you choose, even if requires you to
sacrifice time in other areas 3) Broaden your horizons, stay connected to
good mentors, and friends.

4) To a student who wants to pursue a career in Spanish I would advise to stay in touch daily, if possible with Spanish,with the literature, learning new words; also, interviewing others who use Spanish as part of their profession, to understand how this background serves them in performing their jobs.

Good luck, Vanessa!


Olivia


Olivia Maciel Edelman, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese
University of Illinois at Chicago
University Hall 1615
601 Morgan St. M/C 315
Chicago, IL 60607-7117
Phone: (312) 996-3221, Fax (312) 413-1044
Email: omaciel@uic.edu