Blog
Quality in Quarantine
August 30, 2021
Beginning the school year was tough when I spent the second full week of school stuck in my room. Much less the fatigue that came with it made it quite difficult to find the motivation to stay on top of my work. In regards to ISM, though, I have been nothing but excited to get the ball rolling with my new topic this year. Therefore, I was able to stay on track with what needed to be done for this course. I was able to get my introductory speech organized and ready to share for as soon as I got back to class. I was excited to get to share with the first time students in this course about my experiences from last year in ISM, studying Pediatric Speech Pathology. It was unfortunate that I was out of school to hear the rest of the classes' intro speeches because I was looking forward to learning about my peers and why they chose their topics. I plan to ask around the class to get to know some unfamiliar faces, as I missed their speeches. I am thrilled to begin my research into nutrition and dietetics this week, I have chosen to dive into body image. I cannot wait to explore the many other subtopics of this career through research as I continue my journey.
In Context Of The Past
September 13, 2021
My idea of switching careers entirely this year in ISM was not to completely leave off the Speech Pathology. That being said, I have continued to stay in touch with last year's mentor as well as continuing researching the field. With the couple of research assessments I have written so far I have continued to think in regards to how the careers relate. This has me thinking about how I could major in one field and minor in the other and make good use out of the two of them in correlation. Even if the careers do not end up relating as much as I hope, they still both contain beneficial knowledge. Additionally, this week I was able to schedule some of my first interviews and I am looking forward to asking the professionals if they have worked with speech pathologists, as well as about the assessments I have written in general. This upcoming week I plan to get ready for my interviews and take some of my general questions and make them more contextual. I plan to research the anatomy a nutritionist needs to learn, as I have done so with speech pathology. I am thrilled to begin interviews and get the ball rolling for this new opportunity.
Interview Beginnings
September 27, 2021
With my first two interviews under my belt already, I am confident that I will enjoy studying this career during my time in ISM 2. I have already been able to ask these professionals about their take on things I have seen that are controversial in the industry. Furthermore, I have been able to ask about things I have researched and seem the similarity and differences between the articles and the professionals themselves. Asking more general questions has been helpful for my study as a whole, where the more specific ones have given me insight into that specific dietician. I am excited as this week I am beginning my journey for my original work project, as I am to turn in my proposal by Friday, I am hoping that my classmates original work projects will inspire my own and help me develop my own ideas.. I am interested to look into something specific and focus my research on it for the remainder of the semester. I am also excited as I have two more interviews this upcoming week and I am interested to ask them questions based on the answers from my past interviews to see the similarities and differences.
A Short Full Week
October 11 2021
This week I was able to do multiple things to further prepare me for this years ISM journey. I was able to conclude my final interview over the phone as well as attend the Business Symposium in person this year. My interview was quite successful as I was able to ask questions based on the previous 4 interviews I had and hear a new perspective. It was interesting to compare each interview to one another. In regards to this years' business symposium, it was nice to not only hear from the wide variety of professionals, but see them and make a more personal connection. Specifically, I enjoyed hearing from the ISM alumni because it was interesting to hear how their experiences in this program have played a part in not only what they do now, but as well their career. I appreciated hearing about how each professional in the panels answered the questions asked differently, but noticed that they all shared common themes of professionalism. I suppose that the things that were repeated by numerous professionals in opposite careers will stick with me more than the things that were just said once. I will continue to use what I learned this week throughout this year, and my career.
A Crazy Week
September 6, 2021
This week was full of a lot to do, but nearly none of it surrounded school work. We had homecoming, pep rally, and the homecoming football game, therefore working on school was something I had to set my mind to. In regards to my research assessment this week, my excitement to research the topic made it easy for me to focus to get it done. Beginning Monday, I began to look into the topic of the pandemics effects on body image struggles. Because this topic intrigued me so much it was easy to write the assessment, and I did so by Tuesday. This had me super interested in the specific statistics of pre-pandemic versus now, so I plan to do more research on it and ask the professionals their opinions in comparison to what I found. Because of what I found in this article that was only touched on, I am planning to do research this week on organic versus non-organic foods. I hope to learn some things I was not expecting and even be shocked by what I did not know. Additionally, I plan to do some networking and make some progress in regards to my mentorship and interview part of this class. Lastly, I hope to help my classmates do the same so they get the full experience I am.
Communication in Trying Times
September 20, 2021
Because of COVID-19 the ISM experience as a whole has been effected. I cannot say it is a negative effect, because it is definitely a positive learning experience regardless. Respectively, meeting with professionals is more difficult, as people are only offering remote meetings, or are too busy because of the pandemics effects. I imagine nutritionists specifically are especially busy because of the negative eating habits people picked up as a result of the pandemic. After contacting numerous professionals, I have finally been able to secure my first three interviews. I am looking forward to meeting with them and asking about their specific practice, the relation to speech pathology, as well as the things I have researched. This week, I researched Dysphagia, this was a different approach then I intended for, but I got the results and answered the questions I was curious about. That being said, I have found more on the relation to this field to speech pathology. I am interested this week to find something specific to physical activity and nutrition relation, and hopefully apply my findings to my own practice. Lastly, I intend to look into possible original work projects so that I can propose them to the professionals I interview.
Positive Progress
October 4 2021
As I get further into my second year of ISM it is interesting to compare it to my previous year. I have seen similarities in the timeliness of both careers, which is something important to me. I like to be on time and respond quickly, so getting that from people in this field is a good sign. Meeting with a variety of professional with various different titles has been interesting. Respectively, the opinions and beliefs of a dietician versus nutrition coach are apparent. I have 2 more interviews, then I will have done 5 and will be able to look closely into the one I find to be most helpful in my journey; although they have all given me great insight. Additionally, this week I was able to submit my original work proposal. I am excited to get started on that project because it is a creative way for me to learn the various aspects of this career. Also, it will give me a route of conversation with the professionals I meet with, as I can propose my idea. I look forward to using professional advice in creation of my project as well, as this will make it that much more useful. I am interested how doing this research will influence my personal nutrition as well.
Independent Productivity
October 18, 2021
This week was a bit different, not only was it a short week, the schedules were different because of PSAT. Because it is my senior year, we got the morning off. I intended to take this time to work on ISM related things, but honestly, took the morning to rest instead. At first I was unhappy I was not using my time productively, but soon realized it helped my work ethic for the rest of the week, as I got some rest. I believe this is beneficial to remember, as sometimes I should take the time to rest, to ensure better productivity later. Additionally, I was able to consider what the professionals mentioned at the business symposium to do some informal work on my original work- mostly just brainstorming ideas. I also looked closely at the things mentioned and big take aways, to write an assessment over the Business Symposium. Taking this time to dive deeper into it, made me realize how beneficial it truly was. This week, I plan to write my two assessments over things that will lead me into my original work, and inspire my ideas to come to life. I am hoping this will get me started on my work and allow me to get a better idea of the final goal.
The Week I Have Been Waiting For
October 25, 2021
This week was the beginning of a foreseeable great journey. I was able to select and get confirmation of my mentor! Her name is Ms. Tracy Robert and I could not be more excited. After interviewing with her I had super high expectations for who I wanted to be my mentor, and she fit my goals perfectly. I was super interested in her unique approaches to what she does and how her lifestyle plays a part in that. I am looking forward to continuing learning from her in every way possible. Furthermore, I was able to do extensive research on my original work project. Initially, I saw we had two assessments due and I was not excited because I knew I had a busy week ahead of me. But, in the end after conducting all the research I did over the Keto diet and the dangers of dieting, I am grateful. I was able to look into insight I may have not on my own, had I not been required to do it. I am looking forward to continuing that research this week, as well as beginning my journey with my new mentor. I know I have another productive week ahead of me as this past week was very motivating.
Unproductive Productivity
November 1, 2021
The week of an AP calculus test is always more stressful for me than any other 2 weeks combined. I spent lots of this week focusing on calculus and nearly nothing else. But, I was able to be decently productive in ISM as well. I was able to keep communication with my mentor and we are now ready to set up our first visit. But, because I am getting foot surgery this Thursday, it is slowing down this step in my journey. I do not want to commit to my first visit and have to cancel because I cannot drive, or because of pain. So, I am waiting until after to communicate about our first visit. In the meantime, I have been able to draft the brochure outline for my original work and I already have around 12 out of 15 hours complete, there is no doubt I will have plenty of time logged. I look forward to diving deeper into my project during my downtime this week. I also plan to use this assessment to my advantage. I am hoping to go off the topic and research childhood obesity, which is just something I am interested in and looking forward to educating myself about.
Back on Track
November 8, 2021
This week I have been thrilled and anxious to be able to get back on track after foot surgery. The medicine had me in bed most of the weekend, and I was not really up to working on much. That being said, I intend to work quickly and efficiently this week to get back into the swing of things. I have been in thought about my original work, and am hoping to bring ideas to my first mentor visit so we can discuss some additional ideas and I can get professional feedback. After I get some professional ideas, I will spend this weekend bringing my project close to completion as December is already nearing and November is always crazy with Thanksgiving. I am hoping to do some focused research this week on protein and the proper intakes, as well as maybe even myths. I believe this will be beneficial to my journey as well as inspirational to my own fitness goals. I also I have first mentor visit scheduled for this Friday so I look forward to gaining that relationship with Ms. Tracy and expanding my knowledge. I will spend some time prior to that appointment developing some goals I have for the mentorship and ideas of how we can work together.
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Thanksgiving "Break"
November 29, 2021
A week off of school allowed me much time to take advantage of the opportunities of this course. It was great to be able to experience my first mentor observation and be able to speak with a couple of her clients. It was great to experience how different the two clients were based on their abilities and goals. Additionally, it opened my eyes to see that each client had different needs, like certain injuries, that caused my mentor to adjust not only the workout, but as well her tone with them. She mentioned as well as I noticed, that some clients need more motivation than others. For example, the first client I observed was physically challenged and the workout seemed difficult, so she wanted to do easier things. Whereas the second client I observed was doing lighter weight due to an injury, and wanted to do more and challenge himself. I was glad to see this because I need to practice changing my approach for the kids I work with that have various strengths. Lastly, during this week I was able to catch up on some work for my original work project and I intend to go over it with my mentor this week.
Last Ride
January 4, 2022
On the home stretch of high school, but nowhere near done with what I have learned and gained from my experiences in this class. I am decided on attending the University of Kansas and I cannot be more excited. I am as of now planning on majoring in Speech-Language-Hearing and minoring in either nutrition or business to assist me in my career. I was also accepted into the honors program at the university, so I plan on looking into that and most likely pursuing it. Having decided a school I can focus on the more logistical aspects of going to college, I am very excited. Over the break I was able to take some time to myself, and I did not go on any mentor visits. That being said, I am now on the way up during this new semester. This week I will probably get a feel of what I have going on in school, then plan to meet back up to my mentor next week. I am also looking forward to evaluating peoples' New Years resolutions through my mentor's business. I believe this will be interesting to evaluate and observe. I also plan on drafting ideas for my final product.
A Glimpse of Workforce Reality
January 17, 2022
This week I spent lots of time communicating with my mentor about a good time for me to come and observe. Because she had a few clients with Covid we had said we would check back in at the end of the week. When the end of the week finally rolled around, more and more of her clients were getting sick, therefore we decided to rain check, and reconsider this upcoming week. This allowed me to put myself in my mentors shoes as the unknown haunted me, was I going to get to observe or not? But, in the grand scheme of things, the health of the clients is always the most important, so it was good I did not attend. We are hoping to get together this Thursday, to both chat and so I can observe a session, I am looking forward to it. Additionally, this past week I was able to write an assessment over the differences in motivation of the clients that I have seen so far as I have been observing my mentor's practice. This was something I never realized I would notice the prominence of, I was very intrigued analyzing it for my assessment. This upcoming week I plan to type out a rough draft of my product proposal and begin work on that.
A New Beginning
January 31, 2022
Although I had a very busy week, I was able to get much done in progression of my final product. I spent much time analyzing my mentors playlist about her water fasting experience, and develop some questions I will ask the next time we meet. Ism interested in comparing her experience to that of what I find in my research. Additionally, I was able to do my assessment over one of the most interesting parts of the fasting process, Autophagy. What I have been able to learn about this is the cells actual healing process, this has been very intriguing. as this phase of the process is not necessarily something one may feel during this journey. This opened up a very specific point I intend to address on the website for my final product. As a result, I intend to look even deeper into this process as well as the things that contribute to it. Furthermore, I will bring in some of the intriguing aspects of autophagy, such as caffeine's contribution, exercise and immune efficiency Doing so, will make my research more interesting to the general population as I believe this may address misconception people are likely to have. This week I am excited to get back into observing as well as clarify the questions I have
Diving Deep
February 14, 2022
I have noticed numerous times how many components there are to this amazing career. The limits are endless and there is always room to grow. Respectively, this week I did an assessment over my mentor's "exercise with oxygen" program. This allowed me to analyze and dive deeper into the opportunities this career presents. I noticed how important it is to not be narrow minded, and to seek out every chance I get to grow. Mrs. Tracy taking a terrible time of her husband recovering from an illness, and using it as a chance to expand her business and grow is inspiring. If she had not looked into the effects of the breathing mask her husband was using presented, she would have missed an opportunity to expand her career. I was interested in looking into the chances I could provide myself similarly. I hope to use this to my advantage when observing as well as researching this career and learning about anything at all. This week, I hope to expand my knowledge on this career as well as further develop my project. Specifically, I will research the biological benefits of fasting and add the main points to my website for my final product. I am also looking forward to observing with my mentor this week.
Snowed In, Again
February 28, 2022
Sitting around at home when it seems like it should be fine to go out, is actually painful. But in reality, the roads were icy and the conditions were unsafe, but everything was fully operable at home, luckily. As the past freeze broke both the heaters in my house. That being said, I was able to make much progress on my final product from home on my day off. I was able to write an assessment on "Fasting as a Natural Remedy", which was one of the main reasons I became so interested in this subtopic of the career. What I found about other countries recommending fasting prior to prescribing medicine was interesting, and I hope America is developing that concept, instead of continuing to poison the body. Furthermore, because of the ice falling unfortunately on the day of the ISM research showcase, it was moved to this week. So, I have had more time to develop my product, as well as spread the news about the event being rescheduled. This week, I am going to assess my product progress so far and analyze what I have done in context of what I planned to have done at this point. Leading up to next weeks, spring break and hopefully a nice week off.
Back on Track
March 21, 2022
This past week I was able to get some more quality time in with my mentor. I was able to observe a mother-daughter duo that I have before. I enjoyed this being repeated as I was able to notice the differences, based on the way they felt, and just in general. We were able to touch on my product progress and what is yet to come. I look forward to continuing observing this week and seeing what more I can learn about this astonishing career. Additionally, I hope to look into the cellular benefits of fasting to develop my final product. This is something many people asked me about when looking at my display board so I believe it will be something that will reach my target audience successfully. Looking into this topic will also be beneficial for my future as I intend to stay healthy and educate others. Further, if time allows, I plan to observe my past mentor for pediatric speech pathology as I would like to learn more about that topic additionally, and keep that bond. This career continues to amaze me as it is useful to my everyday lifestyle and habits, as well as has never ending learning opportunities.
Product Progress
April 4, 2022
Continuing my research on fasting has led me to more and more information, as it seems that one thing leads to another. Specifically, the benefits seem to be endless so it has been a challenge for me to limit the benefits down to a readable amount. I would like to include more benefits but I believe that for a successful product, I will need to make the information brief enough to where someone would read it. That being said, this week I intend to touch on those benefits and narrow them down to what is most important and may be most intriguing to someone who is interested in fasting. Additionally, this week I intend on looking into cellular healing as this is the part of my project I am least familiar with. Therefore, I am excited to look further into it and expand on my own knowledge, all the while educating others. This past week I was also able to analyze some of my own nutrition. Respectfully, I was unable to workout a couple of days, and ate poorly due to prom. This was interesting to notice the way my body felt differently as a result, I plan to look further into this on my own time.
The Start of Something New
November 15, 2021
This week I was finally able to have my first mentor visit. Excitingly, it confirmed that I chose the right mentor. We were able to meet and discuss the many things this mentorship involves. I am excited because she is just as excited to do this as I am. We are going to work together to work out when I can observe, as well as sit down and learn from the things she has to teach me. We addressed my original work a little bit and she was able to give me ideas of how to make my project even better. Specifically, because the few diets I chose to address are so similar, she suggested I look at Keto, carnivore and plant based diets. I really appreciated this suggestion because I will be able to make better contrasting points and address more of a variety of diets. I am now able to develop this project smoothly and be sure I will not have to change anything afterwards. I look forward to scheduling more visits with her in the upcoming weeks. I additionally was able to present my research to my ISM class and have been interested in hearing about others as well.
Halfway "Done"
December 13, 2021
I put "done" in quotes because this journey in my head is ongoing beyond due dates. I am very glad to have no more submissions, but I am looking forward to focusing on the less technical things this week and over the break. This past week I was able to finish my original work project, as well as reflect on how much I have grown in the field over the semester. I am very lucky to have a great mentor, as she is leading me exactly in the direction I intended for for this experience. I am anxious to start drafting ideas for my final product and extending on the knowledge I have already gained so far. I have been able to observe many clients that also helped in creation of my project, and will most likely inspire my final product ideas. I was glad to be able to observe a nutrition session this past week and look at my mentors 30 day whole foods cleanse, as well as experience her elaborating on it to a client. This week, I hope to focus on both observation and my relationship with my mentor because there is less things "due".
The Finer Details
January 10, 2022
Getting further into the year allows me to focus on the details of my future career as well as upcoming college experience. This past week I have done some brainstorming about what I am hoping to focus on for my final product. As of now, I am hoping to look into possibly fasting and how people do it successfully. Although this is something I do not think I could test on myself, because truthfully I do not think I could survive it, I hope to find a way to look deeper into it. This was originally something my mentor suggested I look into because of my interests and things she believed it would be good for me to learn about. I am further going to address my confirmed interest with her and consult some ideas of how I may be able to learn more about it. This week specifically, I am hoping to observe at least one session with my mentor, so I am able to write an assessment over what I gathered and further my product development. I also hope to do some independent research on over exercising and the negative effects that brings among society. I am looking forward to what the next few weeks brings as second semester continues.
Back To Routine
January 24, 2022
This week I spent majority of my time thinking about what I wanted to actually portray in regards to my final product. There has been numerous things that I have been very interested in and wanting to look into, so narrowing it down and choosing was quite difficult. After speaking with my mentor in weeks past I knew I wanted to look into fasting, but did not know the specifics. Because I am very active and young I knew doing a case study on myself probably was not the safest of options. After looking into the interesting aspects of fasting and speaking with my mentor, I thought I wanted to focus on fasting in children with autism, athletes, and as a general remedy. I proposed the idea to my mentor and she gave me the very logical advice of focusing on one of the three things so that I was able to dive deeper. Therefore I chose to focus on fasting on disease. This way I will be able to look into the various diseases, as well as diseases as a whole. I was then able to decide to display my information on a website because I believe that is how I will better reach my target audience. I am looking forward to beginning research and completing this project.
Presentation and Progress
February 7, 2022
Collaborating with my mentor and finding a time we are both able to meet is quite difficult, as we are both seemingly quite busy. We were not able to meet this week due to busy schedules, as well as the snow that came in and locked us home Thursday and Friday. Early in the week I was able to present my original work speech as well as listen to others'. I enjoy listening to others as this gives me ideas of how to make my speech more interesting as well as what I need to include. In regards to my own speech, I believe it went well and I was able to reflect the many components of nutrition I have learned so far. Additionally, I have been able to continue progressing on my final product, specifically with research. Doing so, I have been able to find out more and more about the interesting components of fasting and its effect of disease. I look forward to putting this information into my website and designing it to appeal to my target audience. This week I intend to further my research, as well as create my display board for the research showcase. I am excited to do so because it will allow me to analyze all I have done this year.
Back At It
February 21, 2022
Getting back to observing with my mentor has allowed me to feel that I am finally back on track. Not that I was not before, I just feel like mentor visits are so helpful to my journey, so the more I do the better I feel. That being said, this week I was able to meet with my mentor to talk about some of the questions I had about my research so far, as well as questions from her playlist about her own fasting experience. This was very helpful, as it helped me narrow down, as well as find interest in things I am going to include in my final product. After asking some questions, I was able to observe a training session for a mom and a daughter. This was intriguing as they both had very different weight loss goals, but also very different physical setbacks. These sessions help me develop a sense of understanding for why people may be willing to pay for these services, but more importantly how my mentor, as the professional, is able to adjust to these situations. This upcoming week I am looking forward to research showcase and allowing my mentor the opportunity to see the variety of careers in this class. As well as being able to present what I have learned so far to those who attend.
Work on "Break" in Cabo
March 14, 2022
As the end of the year draws nearer and nearer, it is difficult not to lose motivation, or develop what some call "senoritis". No seriously, it's a real thing, but for this class, I have not felt that, as this work does not end here. Knowing that what I am doing will be useful for my future, regardless of what I pursue, makes ISM seem to never be a "chore" or "homework". That being said, I got some work done over spring break. Although I was in Cabo and was not able to have a mentor visit, I was able to do some research and develop my final product. Respectively, I was able to develop the section about the types of fasting. Here I was able to include information on water fasting, intermittent fasting, and cultural fasting. I touched on when they eat, who does it, what it is, and included an interesting fact. Doing so, I believe I will educate others as I have myself. Additionally, I was able to develop ideas for the section about cellular healing, I am looking forward to doing more research on that in the upcoming weeks. I was able to get back on my mentor's schedule and I look forward to observing this week.
Drawing Nearer
March 28, 2022
Like I have mentioned many times, the year seems to be closing in on us as each day passes. This past week I was really able to see that as I have been learning the last of my new material in calculus, picked up my cap and gown, and now all focus is on finishing my final product in ISM. Time flies, and I continue to thank this course for allowing me to open my eyes to the quickly approaching future. In regards to work in ISM this week, I was able to look into the details of each of the benefits fasting contains. This was intriguing as there is so much more to each reason why fasting is a good idea, than I could have ever imagined. For example, I did not realize the significance of fasting to avoid diseases. I knew it was important once the disease has developed in the body, but I was entirely unaware of the prevention fasting partakes in as it heals the cells. I look forward to expanding on that page this upcoming week. I was able to get another look into the benefit of working from home and creating your own schedule. Respectively, my mentor and I had a visit scheduled and her son was having car issues so they were easily able to cancel. I hope to observe a session this week as well, if time permits.
Nearing the End
April 18, 2022
This week was a big week in regards to looking at my ISM journey as a whole, both years. Through writing my speech for my final presentation night, I was really able to reflect on how much I have learned. It was crazy difficult to sit down and try to put this journey into a 30 minute presentation. But, doing so, I was able to analyze what I am wanting to share with my family and friends and what I consider just useful knowledge for myself. Through completing my final product I was able to notice the numerous things I have learned about fasting that I never initially anticipated. Completing this project, I am excited to try fasting in the future and see how my results compare to what I have found. Now, as I gear up for final presentation night, I look forward to perfecting my speech and ensuring I adequately thank everyone who has helped me along the way. I also plan on having someone else listen to my speech to ensure they understand it, and I am speaking in a manner understandable to all listeners. As this year comes to a class, I hope to schedule more mentor visits and continue to grow in knowledge of the field.
Last Ride
May 2, 2022
Wow, I cannot believe the time is here. As I sit here and write my final blog, I cannot be more grateful for the experiences this class has allowed me. Although I can say it was a lot of work, and at times stressful, it was all worth it. My outlook on my future is so much brighter and I feel so much more secure. Being able to get a sneak peak into the professional world has been beyond amazing and eye-opening. It has opened me to the endless careers available as well as routes throughout the careers I have studied. I have grown expansive amounts in regards to professionalism as well as confidence in my interpersonal skills. This past week I was able to present my final product to my mentor, family, friends, and classmates. Doing so, I was able to reflect on the numerous career components I have become knowledgable of. Further, educating others by giving my speech, as well as presenting my display board is something I have loved to be able to do. It has been interesting to see what catches peoples' eyes and what they do not seem to care about as deeply. This time has been incredible, and I cannot wait to take this information with me into the next phases of my life.