Christian Cox

Describe the steps you took to obtain your experiential learning opportunity.
   At the end of my freshman year of undergrad, I was looking for ways to get more involved on campus. I found myself on the the Center for Leadership and Social Change website and applied to become a part of the Community Ambassador Program. I heard back quickly and was interviewed by a team of graduate assistants. 

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?
    To be completely honest, I did not plan as far in advance as I should have for my experiential learning opportunity. However, I am so grateful that I applied. This whole process has taught me that sometimes instead of overthinking, there are great, fulfilling decisions to be made on intuition and spur of the moment action. 

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity, and what a typical day was like "on the job".
      With Gift of Life, I participated in drives to collect DNA swabs to find miracle donor matches for people with a variety of different blood diseases and cancers. Some responsibilities included picking up materials, setting up drives, planning presentations for different organizations across FSU, and creating marketing tools like social media posts. My workload was dependent on what Gift of Life needed me to do that week, which made each week fun and unique. I had a weekly meeting with my recruiting specialist who would keep me and the other ambassadors up to date and generate ideas for new events. 

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?
   Some major takeaways from my experience is how much I enjoy helping other people. The work I have done thus far with Gift of Life is beyond satisfying because it makes me feel like I am making a difference in the lives of the other people who really need it. Additionally, I took away from this experience a better understanding of the responsibilities and obligations of an important job. Both if these takeaways will help me prepare for the next step after graduation because they are essential to tailoring my career path and being successful in it. 

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?
   I would say that this experience helped clarify my career path in a unique way. I now know that my career needs to be tailored to helping other people, especially those who have been marginalized or struck with bad fortune. The act of serving others was always important to me but was able to manifest itself in real life for the first time through this experience, and for that I am forever grateful.