To complete my degree, I must take Portfolio 399 and complete my professional competency requirement. I am taking Portfolio 399 in Winter 2021 and for my professional competency, I have completed and sent my Professional Competency e-Portfolio Package to Advising, and I am waiting for the results. I am hoping to develop professional writing skills as well as journaling, in order to become more self-reflective. These are the only mandatory courses left for me to complete; however, I still need twenty-nine credits after this semester to graduate. I am taking seventeen credits next semester, and one of the courses I am taking is Communications 235, which is public speaking. By doing so, I will obtain a communications certificate, which I can add to my resume and portfolio. Having two certificates (one in French, which I have already, and then one in communications) will document that I am determined and hardworking and show that I am able to communicate effectively and professionally.
One class that I am taking next semester is video journalism. Since we are in the middle of a pandemic, it might be hard to do any true journalism, so I am not sure how this is going to go. However, since my parents are musicians, I do have access to audio and video editing equipment, and I plan to develop these skills. Also, I believe that I need to work on my television persona. On my Instagram spam account, I have had some success at being funny, and perhaps this is because I am most comfortable when I am being self-deprecating. I would also like to work on presenting as serious and articulate. If I am able to do this, I may feel more confident about applying to law school. This course is a nice complement to the oral communications course.
Either during my final semesters or immediately afterwards, I plan to read an essay every day. I plan to start with Bertrand Russell and Christopher Hitchens. I want to make the art of introducing, presenting, and closing an argument come more naturally to me. I think that by reading several hundred essays by public intellectuals, I will begin to get the hang of it. What I write for school tends to be research essays, which is not the same thing as strongly arguing a particular position. Again, this will be a way for me to test myself to see whether I should be pursuing a career in law.
After I have completed the above, I will re-examine my portfolio. Often if we make written goals, we surprise ourselves by achieving them. If I complete these tasks that I set out to do, and I find that I am developing the type of skills that suggest I should become a lawyer, then I will study and sit the LSAT. Otherwise, I will have found out something else about myself, which I hope will suggest another possible career path. Either way I expect to have some interesting things to add to my portfolio.