Practicum Reflection

          For my practicum I took the class ENES 140, which is a class where students participate in evaluations and take weekly quizzes to learn entrepreneurial skills and trends. For the final project, students choose a field that interests them, and they then choose a market which they design a product for. 

          I originally planned on participating in a finance related internship in place of my practicum, but I had not yet secured a position for the summer. I thought that I should take one of the classes instead, so I looked through the list provided by Kelly Brower to students enrolled in CPMS 225, which I had just completed. I saw ENES 140 on this list. I had previously been interested in taking ENES 140, however I had already completed an equivalent course requirement for my degree. I thought that it would be wiser for me to take credits that would contribute to my four year plan instead. When I saw that this class could be taken to complete my practicum I immediately added it to my schedule. I would recommend that students use internships as their practicum so that they can gain experience in their desired career path. However, if students are not yet sure about what they want to do when they graduate, I would recommend that they look through the list of classes that Kelly provides and look for something that interests them and maybe does not relate exactly to their major. 

          I learned various skills from taking the course, and I learned what often distinguishes successful ventures from unsuccessful ventures. I learned things such as how knowledge and relationships are the most advantageous factors for success in startup companies. I also learned how sustainable competitive advantage can be very difficult to maintain and some strategies to maintain it. 

          Throughout taking this course I have grown as a person and a professional by trying something new and taking a course that I otherwise would not have taken. Entrepreneurship is something that I have always found very interesting and taking this class has shown me that it is important for me to explore my options and immerse myself in the opportunities around me instead of just following a strict path, which in this case was only taking classes that pertain to my major. I also developed my studying and reading comprehension skills through taking this course, which can be seen in various quiz performances of mine. 

          I can apply my practicum experience to my life moving forward by using a lot of the entrepreneurial skills I learned in ENES 140 if I operate my own business, which I plan on eventually doing. I also will use this experience as an example of how trying something new that might stray from my intended path can be a really rewarding and useful experience. 

          For the rest of my time at the University of Maryland, I plan on completing the finance major, as well as the sustainability minor with a good grade point average. I also plan on spending as much time with my friends as possible, because I am already about half way through college and it feels like my parents dropped me off in my freshman dorm yesterday. I have talked to seniors, and their main piece of advice always seems to be to spend as much time with your friends as possible and to cherish every moment. 

          As I stated earlier, I am majoring in finance and am hoping to find a financial management position with a firm in the Baltimore area when I graduate. I grew up in Baltimore County and love spending time in the city going to restaurants, Ravens and Orioles games, as well as being close to my family. Eventually I want to start my own business, but I am not quite sure what I want to do with that yet. My father started his own business and enjoys it very much. He is a role model for me so I would like to follow his footsteps in a way and start a business of my own.