Have you ever felt that, in spite of completing your education or training, you still don’t know what you want to do when you grow up? …Yeah, me neither…
Wait…
Actually I have felt that many times (or maybe continuously) since graduation from college in 2007 until recently. As a Rhetoric & Speech Communications major, I was told I could do anything I wanted, “Oh, you have so many things you can do with this major, really, Lindsey. You could go into marketing, public relations, and human resources!”
You know what I do? I work as a project coordinator for Shive-Hattery Architecture & Engineering.
Thankfully, post college, I was able to get placed via a temp agency with Shive-Hattery. I’d never heard of them and didn’t know what they did (nothing to do with hats, turns out). But I was eager to work, eager to join the workforce, eager to begin my “adult life.” And so, for three years, I worked in administrative support. You name an administrative task, I’ve probably done it. And in three years, my skill set grew exponentially.
However, I wanted more. I began looking into civic organizations I could become involved with, charities I could volunteer for. Anything I could get excited about. Delivering mail and answering phones wasn’t it.
It was then I learned about New View. It was brand new; in fact, their very first event was coming up. I decided to check it out. It was…intimidating. There were at least 100 people there, and I really only knew one of them, my roommate. I’m not shy, by any means, but 100 people in a small space was overwhelming for me.
I collected a couple business cards from people whose names I’ve long forgotten (sorry!) and went on home. I went to a few more events, but wasn’t enthusiastic about it just yet. Small talk isn’t really my thing. I figured I’d have to find something else.
Fortunately, Shive-Hattery genuinely encourages growth within the company. I was able to move into the Project Coordinator position at the beginning of this year. Now I serve as a liaison between the architects and engineers in my office and the many people it takes to make a design come to life outside of our office. In addition to that, the opportunity to serve on the 2011 New View board popped up. I was reluctant. But I went to the meeting and found myself willing to give it a go.
That room of 10-15 people was much more manageable for me than 100. It was then I realized that committee work is where I could make my difference. I could talk genuinely with the people I’d met, rather than worrying how I wasn’t shaking hands with the other 75 people in the room. I also get to be part of creating and accomplishing goals within my committee. Currently, the Outreach Committee is working on one major goal and a few small ones, all of which are coming along quite well, I might add. We are aiming to make New View known in the Des Moines area and motivate young professionals to get involved.
All in all, 2011 has shaped up pretty nicely. I was promoted, AND I found myself the chair of a New View committee.
At the risk of sounding salesman-ish: Being a part of New View has offered me the opportunity to learn concepts that actually help me be a better project coordinator. I get to meet people from all kinds of industries. I get to hear ideas and suggestions that I never would have thought about on my own. I attend luncheons with speakers that I likely would not have heard of otherwise.
So, if you’re out there reading this and you’re feeling a little lost, unfulfilled or maybe you just want a way to get more involved in the community and meet some helpful, entertaining, and/or awesome people, I recommend checking out New View’s next event. It’ll be May 5th (Cinco de Mayo, come have a drink before eating your weight in nachos at the nearest Mexican restaurant). Or, if you’d prefer, you can email me at outreach@wdmnewview.org to get some information on the next Outreach Committee meeting. Hope to see you there!
Lindsey Mathews
New View Outreach Chair
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