Belk College of Business

Commitment to Success

PFS Paper #1

S. Wyatt Shely

Honors Introduction to Business & Professional Development- BUSN 1101

Ms. Riter

September 29, 2015

Success is more effectively attained by organizing and managing one’s life in order to

achieve the goals one has set for their life. These goals serve as motivational stepping stones

that keep a person constantly analyzing and progressing their lives toward the right direction.

The way in which I have constructed a collegiate career map serves as the tangible pathway

that determines what I need to do in order to achieve the goals I have set for my life. My

career map identifies all the classes I need to take for my major, the useful skill building tools

that will aid me through my collegiate progression, and the numerous avenues of career

preparation. Through the creation of this career map I will benefit from not only being more

organized in my academic life, but I will also have more confidence going into my first job after

college. This four-year plan will serve as an outline for my road to success. It does not have to

be set in stone for the entirety of my time at college. Life can be unpredictable at times. This is

why it is formatted in a way that can be easily adjusted.

The four-year plan (career map) was created with the purpose of complementing my

route to achieve a number of goals I hold for my academic career and future professional

career. These goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.).

The S.M.A.R.T. goals include: maintaining a 4.0 grade point average for my undergraduate

degree in business analytics, obtaining an undergraduate degree in business analytics in three

and a half years, preparing myself for a career in the financial industry by focusing on a

combination of academic courses as well as avenues of career preparation during the four years

of my undergraduate degree, and building a competitive resume during the four years of my

undergraduate degree. Obviously, all of these goals are specific. By stating specific goals, I will

be more apt to do what is necessary to achieve them. I will be able to measure my progression

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toward these goals on a semester by semester basis. By witnessing my achievements of

progression, I will be more motivated to continue. All of these goals are attainable through my

effort to plan skill building activities I will participate in, as well as career preparation. All of the

goals are realistic considering the effort I am, and will continue to put forth in all aspects of my

life. Finally, every one of the goals has a concrete time frame placed upon them. Intentionally

making the goals time-bound produces an intrinsic sense of urgency to meet them. As one can

obviously detect, I have goals that relate specifically toward academia, a goal pertaining

primarily to a future job, and then a goal that combines both professional and academic life.

These goals complement one another in a way that enriches both my near and further off

future. If I succeed at one goal, I will more likely succeed at achieving the next goal. This notion

of complementary goals allows me to be more aware of the importance of the various tasks I

have, and will have, in my life. For example, by maintaining a 4.0 grade point average my

freshman year, the competitiveness of my resume will also be enhanced.

In order to achieve the goals I explained earlier, I will need to seek beneficial strategies

that will enhance my chances for success. Maintaining a 4.0 grade point average for my

undergraduate degree seems like a daunting task. Supplemental instruction and other

resources will be vital to achieve this goal. I will use the Writing Resources Center in order to

improve upon my writing skills, and to critique papers that are assigned in a variety of classes.

This will not only help me to obtain a high grade on writing assignments, but also with the

writing I will have to do in the business world once I graduate. Another resource I will utilize is

the Mathematics Learning Center (MLC). When I take higher level mathematics courses such as

Calculus II and Calculus III, I will visit the MLC for additional instruction on the more difficult

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topics taught in these courses. An additional strategy I will employ will be to get involved in

clubs and organizations that align with my future career aspirations. One way I am planning to

do this is by getting involved with Enactus here on campus. This will help me improve upon

time-management and entrepreneurial skills that can help me in the professional business

world. When I get older I want to be even more involved with Enactus by acquiring a leadership

position. Not only will getting involved with Enactus help me prepare for my future career, but

it will also assist my goal of building a competitive resume.

As I stated earlier, this four-year plan will definitely experience revision when necessary.

I do not know how difficult my Junior and Senior classes will be. When it comes time to

schedule for these classes, I might have to shift my schedule around in order to balance the

difficulty of my courses. I do not want to take a full schedule of highly demanding course work.

By balancing the difficult courses I will be able to spend more time focusing on the more

strenuous material. This will in turn help me achieve a higher grade in the course, while

simultaneously comprehending the material with a deeper understanding. Another aspect of

the career map that will possibly undergo a considerable amount of revision is the material in

the career preparation. One aspect in particular is when and where I will have an internship my

Junior year. That internship is two years in the horizon. I will continue to research the optimal

internship for my goals, but the specific one is contingent to my schedule changes and

openings. Although my four-year plan may need adjustments, it will be a crucial component

on my journey of achieving the S.M.A.R.T. goals I have set for my life.

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