Joyce's story
my major | advice | campus life | who I am | my spirituality
>When I was considering what major I should take, I talked to different people and then decided after finding out more.
>When you’re a business student, there are lots of opportunities to talk to people, be with people, be creative, and have fun.
>Business classes involve a lot of group work. Too much group work is sometimes very time consuming — and tiring because it requires lots of co-operation with others.
>When you’re studying business, you have to be on top of things going on in the world. Keeping up with the quickly changing news can be a challenge.
Advice for students in business:
>Get ready to learn different languages.
>Be sure you like to be with people in general. Be sure you like or are willing to learn to like working in groups. Appreciate the people skills you’ll gain from all that group work.
>Read the newspaper every day and know what’s going on in the world.
>Build up your network of people and get to know people from different backgrounds.
>Get into a study group that you can discuss and study together.
> Get as much hands on practical work experience as possible.
>I had a hard time adjusting to the large size of classes in university compared to high school classes.
>What I like best about university is the free schedule… you can choose what you like to study. I also enjoy extracurricular life and getting involved with campus interest clubs.
>University has taught me to be more open to new ideas and opinions. I’ve also learned to be more humble.
>I’ve become more responsible for my life. For me, that means I have the ability to respond to what life throws at me.
>I’ve worked through most of my time in university. I’ve sold cosmetics, diet products and shoes. When I worked in a market research firm, one of our projects involved compiling statistics on recent grads. I was on the phone, asking the usual questions, when the client criticized my English.
I tried to explain it differently. But he just barked at me. "Why are you doing this interview?" he yelled. I had to ask the manager to deal with it. That day I learned to shake these things off and say "work is work." Not to take it personally. That was hard.
>When I worked in Thailand for a student internship, I got to know different cultures and different markets. I saw the things I learned in school put into practice. I finally realized how important theory is — not just for tests, but for real life.
>Grab all the opportunities you have to learn, try and grow. There’s more to learn than what’s in your textbooks… the most important learning is from life experiences.
>My friends say that I am friendly and warm hearted. My friends are those who smile back at me!
>A dream I hope to see realized one day is to give my life to helping people.
>I wish I could be more open and relaxed.
>The most difficult thing I’ve ever done is learn English.
>I enjoy skating, skiing, swimming, hanging out with people who mean the most to me…I’d hate to be without my family, friends, and God.
>I’d love to visit Egypt… it seems to have a very interesting history.
Joyce finds strength to face her personal weaknesses . . .
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