Hunter-Robins Mann ePortfolio

Career Goal Narrative

I have decided or I am leaning towards a career in architectural engineering. My dad is probably the number one person that prompted me to enter this career. When I was in middle, maybe the sixth or seventh grade, I told my dad I wanted to be an artist. At the time, I had really started getting into drawing. He told me that artists do not make a lot of money until they are dead. Since I was so young, I had a hard time understanding what he meant, but he ended up telling me that I should be an architect. He said that if I was an architect, that I could still draw  and make enough money to support myself when I got older. He told me that being an architect basically meant that I could design buildings, monuments, or even my own house. As I got older, I realized how amazing being an architect could be. My dad is also an engineer so he wanted me to learn early on in life that sometimes it is better to think logically about things. He wanted me to follow my aspirations of drawing and still have a lucrative job. So when I was in ninth grade, this was the peak where I thought being an architect would be the most exhilarating job and desired to be one with all of my heart. 

I have not taken very many classes that are directly helping me achieve being an architectural engineer, but I have taken classes that indirectly help me. For example,  I took Pre-AP Freshman English last year, and in this class I learned to write in a way that was technical. This class taught me the many different sides to a story, and that you can never just look at something from one point of view. This class taught me to speak and write in such a way that it would sound very literate, objective, and/or convincing. I also took an AP Computer Science Principles class. This class taught me how to code in Javascript. Knowing how to code in this new and technological era can be a very important skill for anyone to learn no matter what career field you got into. My involvement in the tech center also has helped and will continue to be useful in my future career of architectural engineering. The engineering class that I am taking is teaching me to have a solution to any problem that I may have. In this class, I also have to write in technical terms so that I can write various proposals for different projects. It has also taught me how to solder which is a very important skill that many people and engineering must utilize on an everyday basis.

My main extracurricular activities are the varying sports that I play for the school. The first and most impactful sport that I played when I came to high school was football. I also played basketball and track but football left the most indelible mark on my character. I had only ever played flag football and that was when I was between the ages of 6 and 9. For the first time in my life, I would be suiting up with pads and a helmet and playing tackle football for the school. Football is a sport in which you must be very dedicated. There is off-season conditioning which gets you ready for the in-season. Technically, the offseason workouts are not required so you do not have to go, but if you really want to get better, you go to everyone. Then, when you are in season, you have to stay after school until six. I have practice everyday of the week except on Sunday. But during these long hours with the same people everyday, you get to learn the greatness of teamwork and camaraderie. Especially when your team is feeling down after a loss, you have to learn to lead. Even more so now because I am a sophomore. I have to teach the freshman and the people new to football exactly how to do certain things that will help them get into the game. I was also introduced to the idea of a depth chart. The depth chart is where you stand on the football team in terms of skill. The starters or people that play most or all of the game are known as the first string. They are the best on the team at their position. Then there are the second and third strings, the second strings will get 10% of the playing time during practice and maybe 5% of playing time during the game. The third string does not get any play time unless the first and second strings both get injured. So, if I wanted to get any playing time, I would have to work extremely hard to even see the field. So I had to dedicate all of my time and energy that was not expended from school, into making myself the best I could be. By the time the first game came around, I was the best at my position and I started every game of the season. This year I had to do the same thing, I now I start on both offense and defense. This is very tiring to have to stay on the field for every second of the game except kickoff. But, it taught me to successfully balance my sports life and school life.

Upon graduating from high school, I will attend a four-year college. For me to achieve the life that I want as an architectural engineer, a four-year college seems the best path to get there. I have not done much research on colleges, but from my circumstantial information collected, Princeton looks to be the best college for my career field. During my time at Princeton, I would most likely try to get into an architectural engineering apprenticeship or internship so I can have some sort of experience when I try to get an actual job. I will also pursue an undergraduate degree. I will keep on my career path until I find a job.

After achieving my career goal, I will continue to try and make the surrounding community a better place. When attempting to make my community better, I might design safer structures for schools, houses, libraries, etc. If the community looks pleasing to the eye, then more people will want to move to it.  This would increase the overall money that is being circulated and make the community a much more comfortable and beautiful place to live in. I will affect the society around me by researching the different important figures of the past and possibly creating monuments and memorials in their name.  On the whole, I will try to make the world the best place I can, and have the most positive impact possible.