1. What did you learn about the research process?

a. During the research process I learned several different lessons.

The first is the inability to get everything done in one sitting. Truly in depth
research occurs over many different sessions over a long period of time. I also
learned how to organize and retain vast amounts as well as take better notes.
By keeping notes short and sticking to the main idea I was able to recall
information easily.
2. How did what you researched for the paper help you with your hours?
a. My research helped me with my hours because the knowledge
required for my hours was entirely based off the research paper. The only
difference between the information I researched for the paper and the information
I learned and applied during my hours was that the information I learned with my
mentor was more in depth and specific towards his career. The material in the
paper served as a prerequisite for what I did with my mentor in New York.
3. How was the research related to your project hours?
a. My research served as prerequisite for my mentor hours. If I had
not done the paper, understanding what me in my mentor did would have been
extremely challenging. However, because writing the paper taught the basics of
economics, understanding the indepth information was fairly easy.
4. Summarize the project hours that you completed.
a. For my mentor hours I traveled to New York city in late July to
work with my mentor. me and my mentor spent two day together. During the first
my mentor explained his job and daily life. I had the privilege to sit in on several
conference calls, attend two meetings as well as track investments made in
organizations from different parts of the world. On the second day my mentor
and I traveled to another one of his offices where we brainstormed and began
work on my pride product.
5. What lifeskills did you acquire from your learning during the project hours?
a. During the project I learned several different life skills. The most
important and obvious is learning how to invest. This skill is necessary for
retirement as well as making extra income. I also learned professional
communication skills. From the constant exchange of emails between me and
my mentor and the time spent in the office, I now have a better understanding of
how professional environments run and what is expected of each individual. This
is extremely useful and will help me transition from college to my first
professional career
6. How did creating a product and completing the hours challenge you
professionally and personally?
a. Creating and completing the product challenged me professionally
and personally in many ways. Professionally, I had several conference calls with
my mentor throughout the entire process. I also had to graph and organize vast
amounts of data then interpret that data and design graphs to properly represent
the data. personally I had to learn to organize my time and begin working on my
product weeks out from the due date. This was challenging for me because I
usually procrastinate and wait until the last minute to begin an assignment.

However, forcing myself to work on the product earlier improved my self

discipline and time management skills.
7. How did working with your mentor affect your understanding of the topic and your
development of the product?
a. Working with my mentor deepened my understanding of the
material researched for my paper. Looking back at the entire experience the
paper helped me grasp the basics of the field while my mentor taught me the
more challenging topics. From there we discussed what I wanted for the product
and once decided he helped me device the portfolios using a Bloomberg, an
online investment software, which he had access to through his company.
8. What are you feeling about the impending presentation that you are planning?
a. I am currently nervous for my impending presentation however I
understand the material and am very familiar with the layout of my project.
Although presenting in front of my peers seemed easy and effortless, I believe
that presenting to a set of judges will be extremely stressful. I feel this way
because my peers during public speaking were not making assessments as the
judges will. Also I understood the presentation during public speaking was just a
mock run and not detrimental to my graduation.
9. What experiences do you have with presentation that you are planning?
a. The experience I have with my Pride Presentation includes
several practice runs as well as presenting the project in public speaking which
counted as a final. Although every practice attempts at the presentation has
gone well I still feel the pressure of projects importance.
10. What are you doing to prepare for the presentation to ensure your successful
completion?
a. For my presentation I am continuously updating and correcting my
presentation. I am adding information that I believe is useful while deleting
others. To ensure I do not forget what to say in front of the judges I have
practiced several times and continuously trying to memorize more and more of
the project.
11. if you had to go back and do parts of the project again, what would you do
differently?
a. If I had to go back and do parts of the project again I would do just
about everything the same. The only difference is I would budget my time wisely
and avoid working up to the deadline. Making my work time more efficient would
help me to avoid much of the stress I felt during the first attempt at the project.
12. How did the entire process stretch you as a learner, a professional, and as an
individual?
a. The project taught me to handle and organize large amounts of
information for long periods of time. Both the research paper and the product
required vast amounts research and time commitment. Also the assignment
involved teaching myself a topic where I had almost no previous exposure. Aside
from an interview the only outside guidance I received was from my mentor
months after the paper was completed.
13. How did you surprise yourself when you encountered obstacles?

a. When I encountered obstacles I was able to push through them

and learn from them. Over the summer for instance, I almost lost my mentor due
to job complications and was able to line up a contingency plan in case my
current schedule collapsed. Another example is when I was reviewing my
research paper the night before its due date and realized my conclusion page,
due to technical issues, had disappeared. As a result I had to stay up extremely
late to recreate what was lost.
14. How will the skills you learned and mastered during the project help you in life?
a. The skills I learned and mastered during the project will help me
with most if not all of my financial issues later in life. Using the investment skills I
have learned during this process will not only help me in any future economic job
I may have, but with planning investments for retirement, as well as any other
investments I make during my lifetime, which is one of the underlying reasons I
chose this topic. Whether I enter the business field or not, the skills and
information I learned during the project will be important.