Personal Creativity Reflection

The Start-Up of You

Career Planning
The Start-Up of You is a comprehensive look at how you can improve yourself to become the best
professional that you can be. Hoffman and Casnocha stress that in order to adapt to the fact-paced,
ever-changing world that we work in, you need to reinvent your professional mindset and continue to
improve yourself every day. As a pre-med student, my plan for life has a pretty set plan. I need to
fulfill many requirements for medical school, take my MCATS, apply for medical school, get into a
good school, graduate with good grades and apply for a residency. There is a formula that most
students who desire an MD must follow. I have already diversified myself by joining the honors college
Digital Cultures and Creativity (DCC).
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DCC is a multifaceted living-learning program that

explores the relationship between emerging media,

society and creative practices. The program is housed
in Prince Frederick Hall, and by living together we are
able to interact, collaborate, and grow together as a
student body. By participating in this program, I have
set myself apart from the other pre-med students. I am
not just in University Honors or a biology specific
program, I am doing something different and that sets
me apart. DCC requires four specific classes for the
program, culminating in the last semester with the
capstone course. My DCC capstone5, the DCC ETC,
integrates the concepts I have explored in my time in DCC, both in class and the workshops held
outside of class. DCC ETC is a data visualization project that attempts to change meaningless
information as a thing and turn it into something much more impactful. Many introductory biology

Graphic is from the Digital Cultures and Creativity Website, dcc.umd.edu

There is more information regarding my capstone presentation in the Creative Confidence
section.

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Personal Creativity Reflection

students are often baffled by, arguably, the most vital, yet abstruse function in living systems cellular
respiration. My capstone will attempt to convey how one of the parts of cellular respiration, the
electron transport chain, operates through an interactive model of the system. DCC ETC will utilize 3D
printing and an Arduino to ensure that my model is more accurate, engaging, and interactive than
other models that Ive come across
in my career as a biology student.
Though DCC has definitely helped
me to stand out from the vast
expanse of medical school
applicants, The Start-Up of You has
inspired me to further develop my soft assets. This semester I applied, and was accepted to the Quality
Enhancement Systems and Teams honors program, or QUEST for short. QUEST 6is an interdisciplinary
program that builds the leaders of tomorrow. Through group collaboration and community
engagement, students provide tangible solutions to real-world problems. QUEST innovators learn to
think outside the box to provide the best solutions for their customers. The students in QUEST
challenge each other daily both inside and outside the classroom, collaborating and learning from their
peers. QUEST is a completely different academic setting than I am used to, and participating in the
program will lead to more connections in many different and diverse areas of industry. I will learn
many more skills from the QUEST classes I will take, and I have developed a very solid plan Z with the
new skills I will learn in the program. My thinking about my aspirations and goals has changed over
the course of the semester; I have started to consider different professions besides being a doctor. My
high ranked Iliad Assessment score has reinforced my confidence in my ability to succeed in this type
of environment. A more detailed score breakdown is available in the Iliad Assessment section.
The Start-Up of You has inspired me to diversify my extracurricular activities and stand out from the
crowd of other pre-medical students. Standing out and being different is something that will catch the

Graphic is from the Smith Schools special programs website:

http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-
programs/quest

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Personal Creativity Reflection

eye of the medical school admissions boards, and will help me with my plan A to get an MD and
practice medicine. If my plan A doesnt work out, then I will still try to practice medicine with a
different type of degree a DO, or doctor of osteopathic medicine. This will still allow me to have a
medical degree and practice medicine, but it is slightly different from allopathic medicine because
osteopathic medicine focuses on the holistic view of the body. My plan Z is completely different from
my plans A and B. My plan Z would be to go into a consulting or management position. This would
require some graduate school, so I would go and get my MBA or a masters in public health. With my
biology background I will have an advantage over my peers in a management position, or I could do
management in a pharmaceutical company or a hospital. My soft assets will build indefinitely with my
commitment to being a lifelong leaner and in a state of permanent beta. My employers will hire me
over others because I am committed to growing, adapting, and learning every day to become the very
best person and professional that I am capable of being.

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Personal Creativity Reflection

Networking
Reading the book The Start-Up of You really helped me to understand the importance of people that
surround us. As the course has progressed, I have started to pay more attention to my daily
interactions with friends, classmates, and professors. The significance of those interactions has been
impressed upon me after reading the networking chapter in the book. I have started to think of my
connections in terms of allies and weaker ties, it has certainly brought a new perspective into the way I
interact with and perceive people. With this class, my presence in my honors college, Digital Cultures
and Creativity, and with the entrance into the QUEST honors program, I have begun to shape my
weaker network to find more opportunities in different areas. I have also been developing my
relationships within my field, because it is important to find and work with allies.
How Do Innovators Think? is a class geared towards working with others and getting to know your
peers. The sections are set up so that a discussion about the material is encouraged, and everyones
thoughts and perspectives are welcome, much like the IDEO design thinking exercises or the Necessity
of Strangers technique. Over the course of the semester, I have had the pleasure of meeting and
interacting with students in many different disciplines and from all corners of campus and of the
United States. During the design thinking exercise, I was able to brainstorm with four different people
on ways to stop procrastination among University of Maryland students. We came up with a
wonderful app idea, and I enjoyed making many connections that I know I will have in the future. One
of the members of the group and I have even discussed making the app a reality! The Team Learning
Adventure in Washington DC with Alan Gregerman was another wonderful opportunity to spend the
day getting to know my classmates. I had a great time working with students in my class, and we have
plans to work on some small projects outside of class spurred by common interests. I would never have
met these students or have been able to talk or go on these amazing events without taking this honors
seminar. I am very grateful and excited for this opportunity to have met many new students.
Digital Cultures and Creativity (DCC) is a living-learning program that fosters collaboration and
enthusiasm in all areas of knowledge. As one of the most diverse programs on campus, DCC attracts
many students who are inquisitive and passionate about learning. The program encourages
interactions between students and their classmates, and provides equipment for students to use to

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Personal Creativity Reflection

learn and explore new concepts. As a lab manager for DCC, I interact with far more students on a day
to day basis than the average student does. I am educated on how to use all of the tools available in the
lab, such as a 3D printer, software applications on a cart of computers, soldering equipment, a green
screen, and so much more. DCC has definitely broadened my mind, and the interaction with
mechanical engineering and computer science students has inspired me to independently pursue
learning how to model with CAD programs and how to control microprocessors like an Arduino.
These are all competitive advantages that I have over a typical biology pre-med student, and I was only
exposed to them because I joined the Digital Cultures and Creativity honors program.
Recently, I became a member of the co-ed, pre-health fraternity, Delta
Epsilon Mu7. There are about eighty members on campus that span
across all different fields psychology, public health, animal science,
biology, chemistry, math, and more. Members of Delta Epsilon Mu
are interested in a variety of different things; they are not all on pre-
professional tracks such as pre-veterinary and pre-physical therapy.
They each have different networks and connections both around
campus and in local areas. I consult with them for advice on
everything from how to get research
and clinical experience, to where to
find the best restaurants around
campus, to which professors I should
take for classes next semester. Being in
EM has also broadened my
connections and soft assets outside of
the fraternity. EM has a commitment
to education and community service,
and the members attend monthly

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Graphic obtained from the Gamma Chapter Executive Board of Delta Epsilon Mu
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Personal Creativity Reflection

events for education and community service. I have learned about everything from different
engineering innovations to meditation. Through various education events I have learned many
different things and have met a wide range of people. I volunteer at a hospital every week to fulfill my
community service requirements. In the Pediatric Emergency room, there are always a multitude of
diverse individuals both as patients and staff. My experience as a volunteer at Anne Arundel Medical
Center always has something new and exciting for me to learn every day. EM has enabled me to form
these connections and develop new skills through these educations and community service events both
on and off campus. I am grateful and fortunate to have had these opportunities, and will continue to
grow my network through Delta Epsilon Mu.
Reid Hoffman, the author of The Start-Up of You, is also the
creator of LinkedIn8, a networking tool that shows a visual
network of professional and personal contacts. LinkedIn is a
wonderful way to see which colleagues or friends might know someone you need to get in touch with,
and to find job opportunities. Employers today are using it to find prospective employees and research
their brand. Forbes has a list of nine reasons why you should have a LinkedIn profile and keep it
regularly updated:
1. It has millions of members
2. It shows up at the top of Google searches
3. People are researching you
4. Its packed with invaluable resources
5. You dont know what youre missing out on
6. Youll stay ultra-current
7. Youll automatically remain connected
8. Its the most efficient way to manage your network
9. Its the ultimate personal branding platform

The Start-Up of You has definitely encouraged me to shape and grow the network around me, and part
of this is to establish a LinkedIn profile online. It has been interesting connecting with classmates and
exploring the LinkedIn world; preparing my profile and familiarizing myself with the interface will

Official LinkedIn Logo

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Personal Creativity Reflection

definitely prepare me for later on in my professional life. A pdf of my profile can be found in Appendix
I.

The Start-Up of You 36