Mason Johnson
Rebecca Scot
WPC 101
3 September 2018
Strategic From the Start
On August 24 at 3:30 pm I atended Christopher Holland’s lecture called Strategic From
the Start. During his lecture his main message was, “Great things never come from comfort
zones.” He expressed to us how important it is for us to get out of our comfort zones and start
acting towards our career. He told us to start getting involved in things such as going to a job
fair. He stressed over and over again how important it is to get our name out there and begin
building relationships. He let everyone know that unless we put ourselves out there and get out
of our comfort zones we will not succeed.
The biggest surprise to me was how he began his lecture with prety much telling half of
the room that they will either not get a job or be underemployed after graduation. I thought
this was going to be a super boring lecture that was just going to tell us to take advantage of the
resources around us but instead it was a real eye-opener for me. He stated that 3.7% of us will
not get a job after we graduate. Not only will 3.7% of us not have a job after graduation, but
also that 42.2% of us that do find a job will be underemployed. This really got me thinking about
how I need to start taking steps towards my career. I tool the first major step towards my career
by going to college, but every decision I make after this will play a vital role in where I end up.
The one thing he did say that made me not feel like I am going to fail is that, “College is the best
return on your investment.” This gives me hope that I am at least putting myself in a position to
succeed.
I learned a whole lot from this short one hour lecture with Mr. Holland. I learned about
the power of mentorships, leadership, externships and internships. Of the four, I learned that
90% of employers prefer to hire an intern. Obtaining this knowledge made it clear to me that I
100% need to participate in an internship in order to give me the chance in receiving a job offer.
Although I learned many things from this lecture, I think the number one thing that I took away
from it was his closing quote. Holland stated, “You are not a product of your circumstances you
are a products of your decisions.” I love this quote because it leaves me with the knowledge
that no mater what I have been through in life, the decisions I decide to make is who I will
become.
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