Frances Ventura '13

I have always and will always be a self-motivator. I believe that someone will reach out to you as long as you are willing to reach back. But in order to be helped you need to be able to help yourself first.

Education has always been important to me and is one of the values my family implemented at home. My parents always told me that education is the key to success. During my senior year of high school I knew that I would soon experience an important transition in my life.  This new beginning was college. I was undecided on what to study and did not know how I would make the decision. I was always interested in Social Studies and the Arts so I decided that Liberal Arts and Sciences would be a safe major that would allow me the opportunity to explore different career options without jeopardizing my time in school.

My college experience at QCC has been filled with opportunities and a lot of self-growth and maturation which I credit to finding the right guidance. In my final semester as I approached graduation and the continuation of my education at a four-year school, I found myself in the same situation as I did in my senior year of high school. I didn’t know what career path I really wanted to pursue nor did I know the career that interested me. That’s when I decided to do some research and investigation.

I scheduled an appointment with the Office of Career Services to find out what careers best fit my personality and skills. I met Ms. Strauss, the Career Advisement Coordinator, and she introduced me to Focus-2. The program allowed me to complete several self-assessment tests and matched numerous possible career paths that best suited my character traits and abilities. This helped me tremendously in narrowing down my career options. Along with the guidance of Ms. Strauss, Focus-2 also helped me learn and identify new things about myself. I learned that I am action oriented, enjoy working with people who share similar values, and that I prefer to work on projects that make a contribution to the well-being of others. I guess you can say I’m an all-around people person.

Since graduating from QQC this past spring, I am now attending Hunter College where I intend to major in Psychology and pursue a Pre-Med program. I see myself being successful in the medical field one day and most importantly applying my motivation and patience into helping those in need.

Before discovering the Focus-2 program I was in a ball of confusion and was disoriented. Fortunately for me the help was there, all I had to do was reach out for it. Not only did it allow me to choose the right career path, but also influenced my decision to continue to further my education.