Career Tools for Excellence Course Topics

Course Topics

The addition of outside speakers whose expertise in the various content areas expands the student's skills and knowledge. Here is some guest speaker feedback the students have provided to document their learning.

TEAM BUILDING: "I really enjoyed Ida Ponder's presentation on Friday. Some of the highlights for me were the exercise that she did with John and show the different results in using "but" and "and" in communication. It demonstrated to me that using "and" is inclusive and "but" is exclusive language. It has definitely made me more aware of my use of language in my group as well as in life. I also enjoyed our team exercise with the cups and string. It made me realize that it is important to work together and communicate, as well as how each individual component contributes to the success of the outcome. I know that if I focus my efforts on respect, communication, cooperation, and compromise, within our team project and in life that it will only lead to better and fulfilling relationships.    
Evelyn Bruenn

DIVERSTY IN THE WORKPLACE: "The highlights of the lecture included effective communication with diverse individuals and acquiring an unbiased understanding of other cultures we may encounter in the workplace or in any group setting we may be involved in. I enjoyed the input from fellow students who described their life experiences with biases and the setbacks some had experienced when dealing with prejudiced individuals This week's presentation on diversity served to broaden my perspective on how to effectively work with different coworkers as well as getting to know people in general. Additionally, the lecture enlightened me on the acceptance of individual ideologies and the importance of understanding how others may perceive things based on their culture."        Scott Clamp 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: "Kathy Schultz's presentation was very informative and insightful. I had printed copies made from her PowerPoint to present to my team members, as well as for myself to use for taking notes, and also to keep on hand for a reference guide.Since I have never been astute at project management, I tried to pay particular attention to what was presented to us. I am impulsive in my projects, and, as they say, "putting the cart before the horse"!I do not want to squander my team's precious time, and I want our team to be successful, so I see the necessity for structure and good planning. We are still assessing each other's strengths/weaknesses, so we will be better able to manage our group's human resources (who is best at doing/getting what). All of us should be effective project managers, I believe, so that we can help keep each other on track. I feel that
everyone should attain integrity to be able to lead by example."          Dianna McGee