Hi readers! This is my first (ever!) time writing for this blog, and I’m very excited to be here! Now that I’ve exhausted my reserve of exclamation points, let me tell you a bit about myself. I’m a senior majoring in molecular biology and I also have no clue of what I plan to do after graduation. So for all you students out there who are currently freaking about their post-grad plans, I’m right there with you. But thanks to the wonderful superwomen of CP&R, my lack of a plan scares me significantly less than it did a couple of months ago.

I applied for the emerging professionals program (EPP) at CP&R last semester and promptly forgot about it amidst my other classes and commitments, but once I was admitted I was nervous. Here I was – a senior who clearly didn’t have opportunities lined up or a clear vision of where I wanted to be. But during the program, we were encouraged to discover ourselves and our passions. We took personality tests, and networked with career professionals. While one of the benefits of the program was gaining tangible skills such as resume-writing and building LinkedIn profiles (here’s a shameless plug – add me! Just look up – Aish Subramanian), the program really helped me reevaluate what my personal and career goals.

After the program, it encouraged me to ponder some of the following questions:
What are my interests and where do they lead me?
What are my career goals and how do they align with my personal goals?

While I can’t say I have the answers to all of these questions after the program, I have become more adventurous and capable of putting myself out there without fear of the consequences. With this spirit, my goals for both this blog of mine and for my last semester here at Scripps is to be more courageous and not letting my fears (and let’s be real – my procrastination) getting in the way of the things I want in my life, whether that be applying for a daunting internship or catching a meal with a person I haven’t talked to in a while.

So here’s to the successful beginning of a semester that will hopefully be filled with career wisdom, adventures, and fun!