What Have I Learned About Myself in Comm 299
by Kevin (Kun Hao) Wang
As my first year at the Sauder School of Business comes to an end, I have learned a very important fact about myself in Comm 299. I have discovered that I still have a very long way to go before I can be qualified as a successful business student. Upon being accepted by the Sauder School of Business, I felt like being on the top of the world and nothing could stop me (aliens included). However, the public speaking portion of Comm 299 taught me a valuable lesson. It has never been so hard for me to open my mouth and speak openly and fluently on a topic for a few minutes straight. I discovered that I have in fact, very poor public speaking skills. Therefore, I took initiative and overcome the problem by practicing over and over again in front of a mirror before each week’s presentation. As the months went by, I gradually conquered the shyness and anxiety within my mind as I delivered my speeches.
Moreover, in the latter portion of Comm 299, I was devastated by how unprofessional and immature my resume looked. Having gotten 9/10 on the high school criteria, the cover letter and resume format that was taught to me in Comm 299 was beyond my imaginations. All those years have I done it the wrong way. For the very first time, I learned of CAR (context, action, result) statements and Linkedin profiles. Without Comm 299, I’d still be in the clouds wondering why I did get an interview for a certain position. With that in mind, I took initiative and restructured my resume and cover letter. Despite not getting a high mark on the assignment, I’m glad that I did not receive a zero. On this very day, I have decided to once again redo my entire cover letter and resume immediately once final exams end.
Having to know Kevin as a personal friend and professional colleague, I truly believe his blog posts realistically reflect on his learnings in Comm 299. I admire Kevin’s courage in coming clean with his weakness as he has taken initiative to conquer the demon inside him. Having to comment on blogs for Comm 101, Kevin amazed me as I have never seen anyone else being so truthful in admitting that he/she is not an exceptional business student. Moreover, I feel that Kevin’s grandfather really taught him a good lesson on teamwork. Teamwork in fact is one of the most important aspects of the business world as collective minds think and perform better than one.