Weekly Blog #1- Incubation

This week of ISM has been full of incubation, developing a conscience of various nuances of professional dress, resumes, and presentation, discovering inspirational sources, and finding a purpose behind my current efforts and future career. Jim Collins and Marlo Thomas (not Marlon Brando) have inspired me to consider beyond practical success-how can I live a "meaningful life?" Giving back to others is definitely possible through engineering, which is why I decided to specify my field to a medical application. On the note of inspiration, a piece of self-advice that I discovered this week was the benefit of putting down specific questions to answer. I never had a very clear vision of my field until I started my Career and Industry Forecast, where I wrote any questions that I currently or previously had about my topic of study. Some that I assumed I knew the answer to required much more research and consideration. This useful tool of writing my own "free-response questions" turned out to be an interesting discovery that I will use more often to solidify my goals and aspirations.

After this early construction of long-term goals, I hope to begin the actual process of researching specific subject material and getting a better understanding of the field that I may end up dedicating years to. Through this blog, I will be storing a personal record of my challenges, accomplishments, knowledge, and growth.