COOP 1000H

What was involved 

In the COOP 1000 course, I had to work as a student worker and engage in discussion with other student leaders as to how to get the most out of my experiential learning experience. Specifically, I Set S.M.A.R.T. goals connected to the development of cross-cutting skills outlined in UC’s career education learning outcomes. Received documented feedback from co-op site supervisor regarding progress toward goals, and completed online professional development modules to prompt reflection and discussion with peers.

What I learned from the experience

My biggest takeaways from the experience were learning the ways that I can build better relationships with my co-workers, supervisors, students in my experiential learning job. One of the major takeaways I learned was to make sure to set expectations and values with people you work with and communicate effectively. This is important because it will set up your relationship with others very well and brings on a good impresssion. As a Peer Leader for an exploratory LC, my job is to let the students discover their passions through a exposure to various fields and meeting with them individually to find an area of study that best fits them. In one case, I had a student that was planning to go into the business field, but she did not know why. I sat down with her and wanted her to list out what she liked to do, and the questions led her to decide that event planning was her passion. She did not know where to start. Because I had a few friends who were in the Programs and Activities Council, which aligns with much of her interests, I suggested that she apply and interview for the organization, which she was admitted. We were not only able to find her area of study, but discover activities that align too.  

How it impacted my life

This experience truly impacted my life by allowing me to build better relationships between myself and my supervisor as well as myself and other people I work with. One of the bigger takeaways I took was to set clear and mutual expectations between both parties, as it allows both groups to understand what is expected of them leads to better communication and collaboration. I think that although it is something that I have struggled with for some of my life, I learned the importance of overcommunicating rather than undercommunicating, which can lead to a better work enviornment for everyone. In addition, I took away the value of setting SMART goals. It not insured that I was getting tasks done effectively, but that they were realistic goals that I could set from small to large. I chose an artificact of a discussion post with the COOP class because it was very important in helping us student workers reflect back on our duties and responsbilities, and how we would best display this on our resume.