by Harper Self
My first experience with Beyond120 was actually at Preview when I was an incoming freshman. My major was undecided at the time, however, I knew I was interested in a lot of the majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences so I went to a presentation given by Ryan Bruan, the director of Beyond120. He gave a really interesting presentation about the resources available through the Beyond120 Program and I immediately added one of the 1 credit hour professional development courses offered through the program to my schedule! Being undecided about my major I thought it was good to at least get some tips early in my college career about the world of professional development.
I thoroughly enjoyed the class and my instructor, Brittany Grubbs-Hodges was incredible. She helped me polish up my resume, build a good LinkedIn profile and gave me a new perspective about how to succeed in the professional world. Through this class I learned about a special Beyond120 experiential learning opportunity in London. I applied and was so fortunate to be accepted. In London I not only became friends with like-minded Liberal Arts and Sciences students, but I was also able to network with UF CLAS Alumni and learn more about the kinds of career fields my degree could take me. I learned that Liberal Arts and Sciences majors are actually very desirable in the business world and fun fact - we make more money on average in the long run than students from other majors. This was interesting to me, not because I’m all about money, but I think it’s been instilled in me and many others for a long time that stereotypically you cannot do much with a CLAS degree. This trip blew my mind in that sense because there I was meeting dozens of CLAS majors from the University of Florida who have established themselves in such incredible careers abroad.
After that trip the rest was history, I decided on becoming a history and spanish major and have been involved in Beyond120 ever since. This program has been so instrumental in providing me endless opportunities to learn more professional skills even during the Coronavirus quarantine. I became a part of the program’s virtual PR Team over the summer and learned invaluable marketing and social media management skills.
Beyond120 also helped connect me with two CLAS Alumni and earn virtual internships where I was able to use these marketing and social media management skills in a real professional environment.
I think my involvement in Beyond120 has made me a better and more confident person. I no longer feel lost and confused about entering the professional world because I know I have an arsenal of essential skills thanks to Beyond120.
