Praxis Capstone
My time as a Praxis student is coming to an end and over the last three months, I’ve been completing my final capstone project. I learned a great deal about myself, how I work, and what’s important to me, as well as working towards goals and adding new skills to my resume. Here’s an overview of everything that’s been keeping me busy over the last 90 days!
Overview
My capstone project was split into three sections: career outcome, professional development, and personal development. We were directed to choose one career outcome goal and up to three personal and professional development goals. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time planning my project because I know my goals would have been different (as they ended up changing multiple times). However, here is where I started:
Career Outcome: Land a Remote Job
Professional Development: Build my content marketing portfolio & complete a new
praxis module
Personal Development: Stick to a health and fitness plan & get better at playing the guitar
Next, I made a twelve-week plan to go along with these goals.
In order to achieve my career outcome I made it a goal to complete the Praxis job hunt module for the first four weeks, followed by researching industries/positions and applying to 3+ jobs in addition to one personalized pitch for the remainder. My personal development plan was to exercise four times each week, go on a daily walk, and complete two guitar lessons with my dad.
As for my professional development, I started with the goal of filming 3+ content marketing videos each week, sending brand pitches, and completing the Marketing Analytics and Copywriting modules. I wish I could say it went as planned, but I must admit that I had to change my goals in light of new circumstances.
Three weeks into my capstone project I was presented with an amazing opportunity to intern in the marketing department for a company called Forever Living. I couldn’t turn away the chance to learn new skills and gain applicable work experience so of course I jumped at this offer. Although I’ve had a great involvement so far, this internship added 40+ hours to my week including a two-hour commute every day, leaving ample time to direct toward this capstone project.
Due to a lack of time and a change in my career goals, I decided to switch gears around seven weeks in. Instead of filming content marketing videos and working on praxis modules, I was going to work my way through Google’s project management course. This course caught my eye because I thought it would be less of a time commitment, and I am very interested in a career in project management.
Overall, shaping my capstone was a lot of trial and error, and in the end, I don’t think I capitalized off of this project as much as I could have. Being the recovering perfectionist that I am, this is hard to admit. However, I have learned to give myself grace because a lot of my time and focus were shifted in ways that I couldn’t have predicted. Either way, I learned so much over the last 90 days and I am grateful for my ‘failures’ just as much as my wins.
Motivations
As I look back, I believe a loss of direction in certain areas of my life is what caused my goals to lack the motivation I needed to achieve them. I have slowly been learning that it’s okay to not have everything figured out at the ripe age of nineteen. There is still so much I don’t know yet. And that’s okay. I don’t think I’ll ever have it all figured out.
I can however work with what I do know. For my personal development goals, I knew I wanted to grow my hobbies and get back into shape after traveling. This direction allowed me to stay consistent with these goals.
When it comes to my career outcome and professional development I’ve had a much more difficult time figuring out which direction I want to go. I eventually dove into project management which I believe aligns more with my current skillset, but I didn’t even know this was a position when I was building my plan.
It goes to show that direction plays a huge role in my personal motivation. I need to know why I’m doing what I’m doing. Also, I’ve learned to worry less when I’m not sure where to focus my energy. New opportunities will present themselves and all that matters is taking the next right step from there.
The End
Although it’s hard to admit, I only ‘accomplished’ my personal development goal of sticking to a fitness plan. I can sit here and tell you all the reasons why I didn’t have time, space, or energy to complete the rest but I figured it’s a waste for both of us.
In the end, I can say I learned more about myself over the last 90 days than the last nine months and I call that a win. I learned that a healthy work-life balance is my number one priority. I know my career won’t be my sole measurement to a successful life, which means I need time to prioritize my other pillars including spirituality, relationships, health, etc.
I learned that I’m good at learning! In my internship role, I’ve been able to pick up skills such as proficiency in Adobe applications, and improvement in communication and collaboration, alongside my education through Praxis.
I learned what I don’t want in a job. My career goal was to land a remote job, which I am still on the hunt for, but now I have a better idea of what that looks like. I love working with a team, helping others, being challenged, and pursuing something bigger than myself.
If I were to do this capstone project differently, I would focus on a certain outcome and cultivate my goals in that direction. I think tying everything together would help me see the bigger picture. I also think my work would be stronger and more cohesive.
Overall, this capstone project was a great learning experience. Though I faced many trials and the result doesn’t look like what I hoped, I’m proud of myself and the way I showed up over the last three months. Navigating the many changes in my recent life hasn’t been easy but I am incredibly grateful for the lessons that have come from it. I’m ready to enter the next twelve weeks post-praxis with the knowledge and skills from the last three months.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. I hope to see you back soon!
