COMM 323 Reflection

For the past 13 weeks, COMM 323 assigned us an ePortfolio to show our professional skills, abilities, and knowledge to the workforce. This was not my first experience with this project because last year I had to make one for my COMM 305 course. What I like most about my portfolio is that it is very simple and not over the top with different colors, unique word fonts, and other irrelevant things. I wanted it to focus solely on my skills and abilities in the event anybody who is important comes across it. It represents my potential to the Communication field because I have learned so much over the last 4 years. The professional world should only focus on the characteristics of the person as opposed to what they look like. Even though dressing in the right attire is a huge must, at the end of the day, a person’s actions define who they are and what they can bring to their career field.

The most challenging part of the ePortfolio project was not being able to bring a lot of work experience on the site. For the past 5 years, I have only worked at one job and was not able to get an internship either. It frustrates me at times because I know what I am capable of and not having several jobs and skills under my belt makes me upset. When I think about it, I am still young and have my whole life ahead of me. Once I graduate, I look forward to putting myself out there and showing the professional world that I am a fresh new face ready to make an impact.

My advice for future students who are creating their own ePortfolio is to make it a representation of yourself. Do not pretend to be someone that you are not and never be ashamed to make mistakes. As people we are going to fail at times and that is how we learn and grow to be successful at what we love. There is nothing wrong with making your portfolio unique, but it is important make the focus only your skills, abilities, and knowledge.

The ePortfolio that I have now is from my COMM 305 course. Nothing has really changed since than besides my relevant course work for my Communication degree. What I have learned from my experience now compared to a year ago is that you have to believe in yourself. In my previous class, I was not completely confident because I felt like I did not have skills to perform the tasks that were required. I thought I needed to be experienced and have a lot under my belt to be successful in this class. After working with this project again, I can say that there is nothing to be ashamed about because we are all learning each and every day. Some people will be more qualified than others, but that does not make them better than the one who is a novice. I feel much more confident in myself and know that I can do anything that I put my mind to.

The leadership style that best suits my personal communication skills and professional goals is the Democratic Leadership. I love listening to other people’s ideas and want to give them a chance to be able to express their views. Everyone brings something different to the table and it is great to learn something that you might not have known before. With this leadership style, you are able to learn from each other and that is how a leader and their followers get stronger.

My knowledge of leadership can influence my approach to managing events because I believe that you should always put the event first. Doing so will help get it going and once it is done, it is important to acknowledge the people who contributed to it. As a democratic leader, I want to get everyone’s insight and apply it to the process of creating and managing the events. This will make the followers feel appreciated because their hard work was utilized into making the event what it is. The more the leader and followers collaborate ideas, the better the events turn out to be.

My view of Communication is different now compared to when I first started the course because it is not just about speaking. You have to know to how use the different categories of communication as well how to interpret the messages that are being sent to you. I have taken 7 COMM courses in the past year and a half and I have learned how to understand the audience, use the different channels, encode and decode messages, and provide feedback to prevent misunderstandings. I love the field that I am in and look forward to working in it one day.