1. My first work experience began in 2001 when I started to babysit. Some may not consider this a job, but I do, especially when I nanny full time for families in the summer. This summer will be my third time nannying. My first office job was in 2003 at Reynolds Farm Equipment. It is a store in my hometown that sells John Deere equipment as well as clothing, toys and parts. For two years I worked there under Brenda Day, answering phones, filing, and serving as cashier. My third job was a six week summer internship with Sallie Mae and that was in 2005. I worked for my high school mentor Brian Burgess and I will discuss my job in more detail in question three. My most recent job was at a nursing home/assisted living apartments called the Hearth at Windermere. I worked there as a secretary in the front office for a little over a year beginning in 2005. I would answer the phones, file, assist residents who needed help, or simply talk with the residents sitting in the lobby. My boss’s name was Vicky.

2. I have volunteered with two nonprofit organizations that I can think of, 4-H and my church at home, St. Louis DeMontfort. With 4-H, in junior high and high school we would do community service projects and help do things during the county fair. I have also done many different community service projects with my church since I was young. I have helped with Vacation Bible School a couple summers where I was a group leader and games director. I also served as a Sunday school teacher in 2005 for a three and four year old class. That has been one of my favorite volunteer activities ever! I have also sewn a couple quilts for a birthright center my church donates to and I hope to do more of that this summer.

3. I have had one internship experience and that was at Sallie Mae is the summer of 2005. I worked in the finance department under Brian Burgess completing multiple different tasks. I did assignments to predict company growth in each of its departments as well as researching colleges and the college loan companies they work with. Throughout the six week internship, five other interns from my high school and I put together a presentation of a special project we worked on. We gave them our ideas on how to more effectively explain the loan system to high school kids and the ways we thought they could get more business by doing so.

4. Doing 4-H for seven years taught me the valuable skill of time management. I often waited until the last minute to complete my sewing and foods projects and that would leave me stressed. It taught me that big things really can’t be done well in a short amount of time and if you try to do them well in a weeks time, you have no life outside of it. Currently I am the treasurer of my sorority and that has taught me so much already in just a little over a month. It is especially important to me because I am in charge of all of the money that every girl pays to be a part of the sorority. I deal with a lot of important money situations and keep track of all the finances for the whole house. If I would mess something up it could potentially effect over 130 girls, so I make sure to do everything on time and correctly. I was also in a group called the Academy of Finance in high school and that got me prepared for college as well as the business world. It was a two year program that had specific business class and grade requirements. It also had several field trips and hands on learning experience. This was so valuable to me because it opened my eyes to the business world and has helped me understand a lot of things about business that most people my age do not know.

5. I received a couple small scholarships my senior year of high school. I received a business one from the Finance organization I was in and I also received one from my church. I got a business student of the year award my senior year which was pretty cool because I am really bad a sports and that kind of stuff.

6. I seem to be a perfectionist when it comes to getting certain projects done and while that can be stressful, it will help me in my future career to make sure everything is done in the best way possible. I am also a very approachable person. I also am a person that can take control in a situation if I don’t feel it is being done. This is important for the kind of job I wish to seek because as we all know, working with others can be very difficult at times. If I want to make sure something gets done well, I am typically not afraid to step in and offer to lead the group.

7. I love working with and teaching children. It is a very rewarding experience for me. I also enjoy working with adults. While it can be somewhat intimidating, the pressure of their experience verses mine makes me want to do the absolute best job I can.

8. I know Microsoft Office well, especially Word, Power Point, and Excel. I am also becoming very familiar with QuickBooks, which is online accounting software.

9. If cash registers, copiers, etc. count as equipment, then I guess I am good with those.