20 Year Vision
At only 17, it is hard to imagine where I will be in twenty years. 37 seems so far away! Although I do not know where I will end up, I do have some plans and ideas for where my life is heading next.
After getting my high school diploma from ACLC in June, I will be looking forward to the summer. I am working right now to save up money, and in the summer I hope to go on my first self-funded vacation. I plan to return to Spain for about a month to visit my host family and friends, as well as my cousins who live there. In this way I will be continuing to fulfill my dream and passion to see the world and immerse myself in other cultures. This is a life-long goal of mine that I believe I will still be pursuing in 20 years and beyond.
In the fall of 2013, I will start to study engineering at a 4-year university. I have already received a few acceptances, so it is nice to know that I will definitely be going to college. Because I have not decided where I will be attending in the fall, I am not sure exactly what program I will be pursuing. However, I do know that I will be majoring in some type of engineering, and the two that interest me most at the moment are Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. I will also minor, probably in Spanish. Some additional programs I am interested in pursuing during college are a Co-op or internship, 5-year Masters, or an Engineering Management combination program or degree. I will probably pick only one of these options, which will extend my college education to a 5-year program. I will also definitely be studying abroad again during college, but I hope to plan this well and still be able to graduate in 5 years.
After graduating from college in 5 years time, I will be 23 years old. If I did not decide to earn a Masters degree through a 5-year program at my school, I will probably not be pursuing another degree immediately. I definitely plan to get some engineering work experience during college, either through a Co-op program or at least during the summer, so after graduation I will be attempting to enter industry immediately. Obviously the economic situation at the time will influence this, but many engineering students who participate in Co-op programs through some of the more prestigious private universities I am considering make valuable connections that help them find jobs quickly after graduation. If I decided to pursue Engineering Management in some way, such as through a dual-degree, interdisciplinary program, or certificate program, I would want to pursue this in the workplace, which would probably require working my way up through multiple lower-level positions. This will offer me a dynamic and engaging career, and give me something to always be striving towards.
Even though Engineering can be a demanding subject, both in university and the workplace, I hope to live a well-rounded life that is not entirely dominated by my studies or work. In college I hope to be involved in campus life and extra-curricular clubs and activities, which is why I think I will attend a smaller private school with a strong sense of community on campus. Even though I plan to have a successful career, in my twenties I hope to be in a relationship and eventually have kids. This may be challenging to manage, but it is hard to predict what choices I will have to make.
At age 37, my kids will be in elementary school. Depending on our financial situation, I hope that either my husband or I will be able to stop working or at least work part-time in order to spend more time raising ours kids. I hope to own our own house somewhere in the world where my kids can get a good education, but also travel or host exchange students so that they can develop a global perspective and acceptance of all cultures. Clearly the road ahead of me is long and unclear, but as long as I manage to get through any potential bumps along the way, I hope to get there in the next 20 years.
After getting my high school diploma from ACLC in June, I will be looking forward to the summer. I am working right now to save up money, and in the summer I hope to go on my first self-funded vacation. I plan to return to Spain for about a month to visit my host family and friends, as well as my cousins who live there. In this way I will be continuing to fulfill my dream and passion to see the world and immerse myself in other cultures. This is a life-long goal of mine that I believe I will still be pursuing in 20 years and beyond.
In the fall of 2013, I will start to study engineering at a 4-year university. I have already received a few acceptances, so it is nice to know that I will definitely be going to college. Because I have not decided where I will be attending in the fall, I am not sure exactly what program I will be pursuing. However, I do know that I will be majoring in some type of engineering, and the two that interest me most at the moment are Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. I will also minor, probably in Spanish. Some additional programs I am interested in pursuing during college are a Co-op or internship, 5-year Masters, or an Engineering Management combination program or degree. I will probably pick only one of these options, which will extend my college education to a 5-year program. I will also definitely be studying abroad again during college, but I hope to plan this well and still be able to graduate in 5 years.
After graduating from college in 5 years time, I will be 23 years old. If I did not decide to earn a Masters degree through a 5-year program at my school, I will probably not be pursuing another degree immediately. I definitely plan to get some engineering work experience during college, either through a Co-op program or at least during the summer, so after graduation I will be attempting to enter industry immediately. Obviously the economic situation at the time will influence this, but many engineering students who participate in Co-op programs through some of the more prestigious private universities I am considering make valuable connections that help them find jobs quickly after graduation. If I decided to pursue Engineering Management in some way, such as through a dual-degree, interdisciplinary program, or certificate program, I would want to pursue this in the workplace, which would probably require working my way up through multiple lower-level positions. This will offer me a dynamic and engaging career, and give me something to always be striving towards.
Even though Engineering can be a demanding subject, both in university and the workplace, I hope to live a well-rounded life that is not entirely dominated by my studies or work. In college I hope to be involved in campus life and extra-curricular clubs and activities, which is why I think I will attend a smaller private school with a strong sense of community on campus. Even though I plan to have a successful career, in my twenties I hope to be in a relationship and eventually have kids. This may be challenging to manage, but it is hard to predict what choices I will have to make.
At age 37, my kids will be in elementary school. Depending on our financial situation, I hope that either my husband or I will be able to stop working or at least work part-time in order to spend more time raising ours kids. I hope to own our own house somewhere in the world where my kids can get a good education, but also travel or host exchange students so that they can develop a global perspective and acceptance of all cultures. Clearly the road ahead of me is long and unclear, but as long as I manage to get through any potential bumps along the way, I hope to get there in the next 20 years.