Professional Development

Ditching Instagram: Focusing on Meaningful Connections

Yes! You heard it here first. Like all of you, I was excited for Instagram when it first hit the scene back in late 2010 and still had my original account from that time. Meta (formerly Facebook) famously purchased the business for $1 billion and successfully integrated it into its ad network and social graph, but I'm not here to relive or debate history -- we can save the positives and negatives for another post.

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Primary Source Material is Crucial for Facts & Research

Back in college we all had access to those often bulky, hard to use research databases, that sometimes worked, but often steered us in the wrong direction. We had to teach ourselves Boolean operators to properly navigate them. There was a reason other than torture for utilizing those; to help us all find primary source materials to write our research papers. As is often the case, that's about the only time we used academia, raw data and studies to conduct our analysis on any given topic.

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One Year at a Non-Profit

Volunteering has always been a part of my personal ethos. I'm reminded of my time as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Engaging Creative Minds, which I spent a year from 2017 until 2018. I wrote this post some years ago, but it is an experience that I hope that all younger folks will take advantage of. In creating my plans long ago, the thought never came into my mind about actively working for an educational non-profit for a year through the AmeriCorps VISTA program.

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Why I'm Taking a Year to Volunteer

Life experiences make up the structure of a person. Choosing to give time and effort takes dedication and sweat equity. Some may choose to give donations over their time. This all depends on what each individual is willing to commit and how dedicated they are to engulfing themselves into the effort. Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that only 24.9% of Americans are engaged in volunteering within their communities, a slow downward trajectory from only five years ago.

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Agile Methods Aren't Just for Startups

The very definition of agile is the ability to move quickly, make changes, and adapt as needed to changing circumstances. Agile is a frequented term in the development of software and startups, but these principles can also be used to improve the quality and outcomes of life. More importantly, it is the incremental improvement of processes and procedures to ensure these desired goals. Like any good product or business plan, its best to start out with goals.

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