By Kayla Turbyfill, Career Ambassador & Intern, Career & Professional Development Center
I remember beginning college and feeling so sure of myself. I thought it would all come easily to me. The football games, finding my community, joining clubs, doing the readings and homework, understanding and pursuing my degree path. I imagined somewhere along the way I’d be offered an amazing internship and research experience, and I would feel prepared for that perfect job I was bound to get fresh out of college. I could see it all, and I thrived off that perfect picture. And then it cracked –shattered really – once I started college, and I felt adrift. I still do, to be honest.
Over the next few months, I will be heading a new column for our CPDC Peaks & Valleys Blog called “Turby Talks.” Alongside the blog, I will be utilizing the CPDC Instagram, @UofUCareers, to reach out to students to learn about your perspectives and share your stories. I created this conversation with students for all of you who have also spent hours feeling like you’re lost in a textbook wilderness, clawing and scraping to make sense of it all. “Turby Talks” is a nod to students who have gone through hard times of helplessness mixed with bits of triumph, when you’ve asked for help when you knew you didn’t want to ask. For the instances when your world turned upside down when another career or degree path caught your eye and disrupted your initial plans. And for those moments of humanness that remind us that life, and our career and professional development, are journeys full of ups and downs.
It can be tremendously difficult to find your way along this journey when you are simultaneously learning about yourself, what professionalism looks like for you, how to achieve the goals you’ve been dreaming of since you were little, and sometimes letting go of those dreams to find a better path forward. There are so many things that contribute to the peaks and valleys of college – career exploration, major selection, choosing to take time away from school or work, dealing with losses of all shapes and forms, and learning to be resilient through all of these things, just to name a few. In the coming months, you can look forward to discussions about many of these topics, featured on our Peaks & Valleys blog through the “Turby Talks” column.
If nothing else, I hope that “Turby Talks” will help you feel heard. I hope these posts make you feel seen and understood. I eagerly await the day that you celebrate yourself alongside your biggest fans. I long for the moment when you feel like you’ve made it and you manifested your dreams into reality, and I happily walk next to you as you make your way through your journey.
