Wep Reflective Essay

The most important lesson that WEP has helped me learn this year is that conversing with people, recruiters and my peers, is easy and can even be fun. When I arrived at UT for the fall semester, I was that freshman; the one who kept to herself and only managed to have monosyllabic conversations. I was petrified of EXPO and just could not seem to separate the recruiters from their companies even though I knew they were ordinary people. WEP changed all of that for me. The first WEP activity that I attended was FYIsland, where I learned that the best way to get over the fear of talking to people is to just go for it. That night I talked to more people than I had during the entirety of orientation. My FIG seminars with the Rockin’ Pipettes also helped me to get over my diffidence because meeting company representatives in such a casual atmosphere made me realize that they had been in my situation before. The recruiters weren’t there to judge my eloquence, they just wanted to get to know me.

By volunteering, I was able to interact with all of the recruiters on a more personal level than everyone else. Additionally, volunteering allowed me to become familiar with the layout of EXPO so I did not have to struggle to find the companies I wanted to talk to at the conclusion of my shift. I managed to have discussions with several recruiters and students, and I even received an interview. By helping me overcome my insecurities, WEP also enabled me to have an excellent interview. While I did not get the internship, participating in WEP activities made me realize that I could look upon my experience as an opportunity to practice and learn for future