Exploring Paths for Academic and Personal Achievement

The No-Grade Plan was an opportunity in the Honors 300 course to not to see any grades until the semester ends. I still received feedback on all my assignments, I just didn’t get a letter/number grade.

I chose this PDP because it’s a useful challenge for me personally and academically. I generally tend to get good grades, so I’m used to being able to look at them and not be worried. However, not being able to see the grades will be difficult because I won’t be able to tell if I’m doing poorly in the class. Thus, this will challenge me to let go of that fear. Additionally, this could be helpful academically because I’ll have to focus more on the feedback rather than the numerical value. Therefore, I’ll think more about whether I actually understood the material well, which is vital to learning the content.

At the beginning of the semester, I was pretty worried about not knowing how I did. It was relieving to see that I received positive feedback on my first assignment. Even so, I was concerned that the actual grade may not reflect that. After a few more assignments, I continued to receive positive feedback, so most of my fears were alleviated. I was able to focus more on what I was writing rather than the score I might receive, since I wouldn’t be able to see it anyway. Furthermore, since I can’t alter the scores I got on past assignments, I focused more on what I would be doing in the future.

Another difficulty in not being able to see the scores was that seeing a high score usually makes me happy. However, I was still able to look at the feedback and get some joy from seeing it. Also, I was able to be more patient than usual about when the grading would be finished, since I wasn’t as worried about seeing the feedback. This was because there wouldn’t be a grade attached to it. Of course, I’ll eventually receive the grades, but it seems so far away that the assignments themselves feel more important.

Even though I was nervous at the beginning, I think this was a good experience for me. I was able to worry less about grades which was good for me mentally. Furthermore, I think I’ll be able to apply this to other classes and think more about what I’ll do on future assignments rather than worrying about past ones. Also, I was able to focus more on feedback than the numbers, which will be useful for my future in college. I’ll try to think more about what I can improve on my assignments rather than whether the grade is a good one or a bad one.

The STEM career fair took place on September 15 from 10 am to 1 pm in the engineering building and I stayed for about an hour. The event was for various STEM employers to go to CMU and try to recruit students for internships and full-time jobs.

My major is mechanical engineering, so I chose this PDP to learn more about career opportunities in my field. During the career fair, I'll be able to see what kinds of jobs mechanical engineers in Michigan actually do and what kinds of internships are available to me. Moreover, I’ll be able to talk to these employers which is a chance to practice necessary skills for interviews. I’m also very anxious about talking to people so this kind of event is generally a challenge for me.

At the beginning of the event I was very nervous and it was a bit overwhelming. There were 34 different employers there at various tables lined up through the STEM building’s main walkway. Eventually, I started talking to the Navy recruiter, who was very nice. I was able to talk about what kinds of internships and jobs the Navy offers and about my own skills and what I’m doing currently in my classes. I learned that mechanical engineers build the submarines that the Navy uses, which was something I had never considered. After that, I was a lot more comfortable talking to some of the other employers. I talked to a company named HDJ that does HVAC and plumbing systems, which wasn’t something that I was aware that mechanical engineers do. Additionally, I talked to a company called EDAG that makes cars and trucks, which is more of the typical mechanical engineer job.

Throughout this event, I was able to reflect on what did and did not interest me. For example, I wasn’t very interested in the Navy and I also learned that I’m barred from service anyway. It was still cool to explore my options and rule out what I don’t want to do. On the other hand, I was really interested in HVAC and plumbing, because as a kid I was always messing with pipes and the like. So, it was good to learn that’s something I can actually do and I was able to look at an internship that might interest me.

This was really helpful for me because it gave me a chance to think more about what my major actually means post-graduation. I hadn’t really previously considered what I would actually be doing as a career. Furthermore, I was able to look at a lot of internship opportunities and potentially apply to some for this summer. I was also able to gain some practice talking to employers, so I’ll be more confident in the future when doing so.