Stories from Experience Lab at Penn
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For My Resume or My Happiness?
by Isabella Montenegro Congrats, you landed your first job! How could you not be excited to jump right in and get down to the nitty-gritty work? However, after a few months, you start to realize that the work, the culture, this job is not what you were expecting. Do you stay and stick it out …
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The struggle for remote community
by Phoebe Sajor A few weeks ago, I hopped on a plane to San Francisco and was picked up at the airport by two people I had never met in-person before: my friends from Experience Lab Gabby and Harcourt. Gabby, Harcourt, and I had been friends for an entire year by the time we first …
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Learn by doing: Education in Workforce
by Sarah Armstrong Let’s start in March, when COVID-19 became a thing and all my job prospects seemed to fall dead in the water. Less than ideal. I was contemplating where I would find myself post the imminent virtual graduation. I wasn’t sure if I even felt ready to jump right into a full-time job, …
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Why Not? Yeah, Sure. The best four words during uncertain times
by Natalie Telegraph Who knew that the movie ‘Yes Man’ would have applied so closely to my journey, especially considering how unusual this year has been. Let’s start from the beginning. In 2016, I attended San Diego State University for my undergraduate degree in Business Management specialized in Entrepreneurship. During my freshman year I attended …
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Not Quite Certain but I’m Getting There
by Maddie Faircloth I’ve always struggled with the concept of uncertainty. If there was one thing in my life that was certain, it’s that I was not. It’s not that I don’t want certainty, I really do. It’s that I don’t know how to be certain. My parents have both worked in the corporate world …
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Finding your lifelong community
by Harcourt Allen Coming out of undergrad, I wanted to prioritize a few key things: being in San Francisco, getting more experience with UX Design, and having a cohort of people with whom to start my professional life. I had a plan that seemed realistic, exciting, and promising, but then, you know…COVID-19 happened. Suddenly, my …
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So, What is my life’s “Next Phase”?
by Hannah Hansen Like many soon-to-be college graduates, I had mixed emotions about my impending graduation. I was excited about the next phase of my life, but I was nervous because I was not sure what “the next phase” was going to look like. Many of my peers appeared to have such clear paths. Friends …
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Community, support, and my future
by Phoebe Sajor Let’s all just be honest with ourselves and admit that this year was rough. Leading up to the end of my senior year at UCLA, I had no idea that my future was going to be dramatically altered by an airborne virus. I mean…”it is what it is” and all, but wow …
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Gaining Confidence
by Sabrina Godwin Growing up, I never felt comfortable in my own skin. I was painfully shy. I couldn’t even raise my hand to ask a question, both out of fear of having unwanted attention and for fear of being wrong. I almost always had questions or comments though; I was curious by nature. Even …
