Caroline Sprinkle

CNS 360
Professor Robinson
20 October, 2016
Meta-Reflection
After reviewing my ePortfolio, I realized how prepared I am with my experiences at
Wake and beyond. I have the skills and experiences to succeed in the world post-graduation, but
I just need to communicate those specific skills and my growth as a person in my artifacts. My
first artifact for Personal and Professional Management was an excellent example, since I
managed myself and my internship through perseverance and focus this summer in the Summer
Non-profit Immersion Program. I did not use the STAR model, even though I did have details, to
demonstrate the situation, what I did, and the results in the internship. So while it demonstrates
my competency, it is not a compelling story. Despite this, my ePortfolio and mentor groups
enable me to show more effectively how prepared I am for various careers. The last artifact of
my job at the Wake Forest Call Center is more detailed and pointed in showing how I have used
multiple computer skills and programs to manage and supervise callers. In order to select the best
artifact for each category, I reflected on all of my experiences at Wake and determined what I did
and learned. I would consider adding experiences to my portfolio that I never thought would
demonstrate skills like technical literacy. I have noticed that I am more confident in my abilities
and past experiences, since I can find value in anything I have done, from an internship to just a
class. I have made a measurable change as a result of creating my ePortfolio and being in class
because I feel more prepared thinking about my future.
Focusing on my liberal arts education has allowed me to find value and meaning in
experiences that I wrote off as unnecessary and unhelpful. While I may have enjoyed classes that
had to take as a student at a liberal arts school, I didnt think I could come back to them to
demonstrate what I learned, since they were not within my major or minors. My respect for a
liberal arts education has actually increased since taking this class, since I just thought I learned
about a subject, not skills that were not necessarily in my field of study. Now how I think about
experience I might tout as unimportant has changed- I can find value in what might initially seem
insignificant. My individual education has given me skills from everything, whether it was my
difficult freshman Chemistry class or unbearable First Year Seminar. Even though they took hard
work, I learned critical thinking skills and perseverance. My divisional classes and fields of study
can be utilized in interviews and my story as I start my post-graduate life soon.
The process of creating the ePortfolio itself has shown me the importance of details and a
cohesive story, even in your writing of your artifacts. When I wrote my second artifact of
communication skills about my student adviser role, I realized preparation in the writing was the
key to success in talking about your story. If you have your story already in your head, it is much
easier to tell people. I didnt give as much details on how I helped first-year students navigate
their first few years at Wake Forest because I didnt prepare it well on my ePortfolio. However,

after completing my ePortfolio, I do feel more prepared to practice and excel in interviews by
telling about my experiences and why they made me the way I am today.
I was surprised that I actually had to choose between certain experiences. The fact that I
had multiple personal and professional management experiences gave me confidence. I had to
choose between the spring break service trip I led and my internship this summer. I was surprised
at how unprepared I was to use the STAR model in the beginning of class and how I was slowly
able to use it more, even if I can include it even more in my answers. I had to go back and edit
my Personal and Professional Management artifact to have more of the STAR model in the
details. When I presented my Critical Thinking and Problem Solving artifact, I realized that you
want to succeed for yourself, but that others actually do want to hear more details because it is a
story they are interested with. My mentor wanted to hear more about my experience because it
was engaging, which surprised me. Practicing and realizing how important these experiences are
has been most valuable. Especially receiving feedback has been helpful. I am not the best at
receiving feedback, so having to do that multiple times this semester has gotten me used to doing
so. Learning about emotional intelligence has shown me the areas I need to improve on. I always
thought skills were all you needed in a job, but the stories in the EQ book and test allowed me to
see how EQ is vital in succeeding in your field. Even the unusual death activity showed me how
a detailed life plan is priceless in moving forward in life. I never thought about how each of the
time periods in my life are connected, but that activity clearly showed me that.
Experiencing this class with other seniors has shown me the universality and diversity in
Wake Forests students, which is incredible. We are all connected by success and purpose, yet we
all have different skills and experiences. The support I felt in the class validated again why I
chose Wake Forest. This process of creating and practicing these stories means that you are
reflecting on all of the incredible things you have done at Wake. That is invaluable because it
boosts your confidence and makes you more articulate in conveying what you bring to the table.