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My two teammates (on the right) and I (on the left) with our guest speakers

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Hi class and Professor! My name is Lindsey Goffena. I'm a mom of two boys. Almost ten years ago I received my Associate's degree. It took dropping out of my dream school, moving across the country, getting married to a sailor, and moving back home to get, but I did it. I always wanted to go back for my Bachelor's but I never knew in what, until last year.

Three and a half years ago I started working at Citi, a job I only signed up for, because I needed something more than being just a stay at home mom (P.S. beginning the journey of being a stay at home parent in the middle of a global pandemic is not for the weak). After the company began integrating employees back into the office in 2022, I started connecting with coworkers beyond my team through our diversity networks. From there, I realized all the things that Citi had to offer and took off running.

I began volunteering for network events, joined a program geared toward adopting the habits linked towards "Citi's New Way". This program linked me with so many learning and development opportunities and connected me with even more people within the company. Through these interactions with people who became mentor's I realized that I loved helping those around me learn and develop themselves too. My goal is to be a learning advisor or professional development coordinator.

Last year, I embarked in a 9 month program Citi offers to female, and female identifying, employees to get a chance to develop an idea into a project and dive headfirst into project management. My teammates and I ran a weeklong event geared towards Women's Health back in May. The attached picture is from our event with guest Speakers from Roswell Park and the Ovarian Cancer Project. It was a great success and I graduated the program in June.

Since then, I have been working with a group of employees on site geared towards growing onsite engagement and connecting the 2,000+ employees on site, I'm continuing to work with the women's development program and assist this year's class, I am helping host a book club series for this fall, and I am on the steering committee of our DisAbility and Neurodiversity Network. All while working with my team during a major transition into a new workspace.

If that's not enough to keep me busy, I volunteer with the PTO (PTA) at my oldest son's school and take classes part time so I can finally get that Bachelor's Degree I've had my eye on for 15 years.

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My name is Laura Lampert and I've just transferred into Oswego after completing my Associate's degree in May (I didn't realize that after all those years after I'd left college I had enough credits), and am now a Criminal Justice major. For many years I worked as a law department document specialist and an administrative assistant with tasks of the legal assistants. Several years ago I started a new career as a Medicaid fraud auditor for another agency and I enjoy it much more than I expected. I did take the next promotional exam and because that position would require higher-level skills, time management and a weightier work load, I feel that this course will give me many of the tools I will need to be successful whether I stay in this position, move on, or find a way to be useful to my teen daughter when she is in college and then enters the work force. My work assistant on my telecommuting days is my dog Bella, though it would be unethical if I sought her guidance for my courses and didn't cite to her. Wishing you all the best in your classes and endeavors!

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My name is Megan Beck and I am 29 years old. My preferred pronouns are she/her/hers, I am physically located right here in our lovely city of Oswego, my zodiac sign is a Leo so you can be sure that I have tendencies of being very dramatic and over the top in real life and when I write. Apologies in advance to you all. I have two fur babies; a Shiba Inu named Himiko (a mythological Japanese princess) and a Cocker Spaniel named Charles Xavier (an X-Men reference to any nerds in this class).

A fun fact about me is that I am a quarter Japanese and this past March, my family and I had the opportunity of traveling to Japan to see where our extended family originates from. The experience was so remarkable and life changing that I have readjusted my life trajectory at almost 360 degrees and now plan to achieve my BA and travel to Japan to be an English teacher abroad in a public school in Tokyo.

Currently, I work as a hearing aid specialist and co-own a hearing aid dispensing practice in Oswego with my step father, which was established at the end of 2020. I have been a licensed practitioner in NYS since 2022, and am seeking to expand on my licensure by taking my board certifying exam in my field of work.

I have recently started down the path of continuing my education in pursuit of attaining my bachelors degree and perhaps beyond. I received my Associated degree from Cayuga Community College back in 2019 and am excited about accomplishing my academic goals.

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The things I have done. Well, just a couple.

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The things I have done. Well, just a couple.

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My name is Olivia.

I am the classic changed my major and my school a million times adult.

I currently am a director for the YMCA and oversee school age child care, UPK and family programming. This involves a lot of budgeting (I oversee over 600k in revenue a year) and developing young staff. The average age of my staff is typically between 19-27, so I take care of them while they take care of the kids. I follow the servant leader philosophy, and strive to be trauma informed in my coaching and guiding of staff.

Prior to the YMCA, I was an advocate for individuals who experienced sexual assault or domestic violence. I spent a lot of time in court houses and police stations, and learned a lot about navigating systems that weren't built to support victims.

I have worked in human resources, mental health and more.

I have an embarrassing amount of college credits, but only finished an Associates Degree in Human Services over 10 years ago. At this juncture, I recognize that shaping workplace culture and strategic development are where my interest really are. I would like to step into higher levels of leadership, and I need another degree to support me in that next step.

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Hi, my name is Amy. I am in my second year at SUNY Oswego and I am majoring in Integrative Professional Studies. Currently, I am a Distance Learning Coordinator at a local high school. I coordinate and facilitate distance learning college courses for high school students. It is a great program that has allowed many students to earn anywhere from 3-30 collage credits upon graduation. This program has also taught me skills that have helped me in my return to collage. There have been times that my students and myself were taking the same course (different colleges) which was really fun!

In addition to running this program, I am also the coordinator for the Christmas Bureau at our high school. The Christmas Bureau is a program that helps families in need by giving food and toy boxes to them during the holiday season. I keep track of all of the applications, the number of adults, children, their ages, if they need delivery of the boxes, etc. I coordinate with local businesses and food pantries to make sure that we have a variety (and enough) food to fill the boxes based on the number of people in the family and I also coordinate with a Toys 4 Tots agency, local companies, and individuals for donations of toys for the boxes that have children. I make sure that all the delivery routes are coordinated for delivery day as well. In support of the Christmas Bureau, we have a fundraiser, the Christmas Carnival, that I coordinate as well.

My hope is to continue my career at the high school where I work after receiving my bachelors degree. Eventually, I would like to be able to get my masters and work as a guidance counselor.

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Hi Everyone,

Hello, I’m Veronica. This is my first class at SUNY Oswego, and I’m eager to get started.

I’m currently the Operations Manager for a large Outpatient/Ambulatory Pharmacy department at Upstate Medical University. My journey with Upstate Medical University began 18 years ago as a certified pharmacy technician. Since then, I’ve progressed through various roles, including positions in the Auditing department and Accounts Receivable, eventually reaching my current role.

In my current position, I manage the operations of three locations and serve as the project manager for two new locations set to open in 2025. Beyond overseeing daily operations and managing my team, I also ensure that we comply with guidelines from various healthcare and government agencies, accreditation bodies, labor unions, and insurance providers.

Outside of work, I am actively involved in my community through various volunteer activities. I have served on the board of a nonprofit organization supporting children with Down syndrome and have tutored individuals with special needs. Currently, I am the President and Lead Chair of Emerging Leaders United of Upstate, an affiliate of United Way, where we focus on engaging workplace leaders through volunteerism and networking. Additionally, I participate in several committees at Upstate Hospital aimed at improving both our community and workplace. Over the past six years, I have also written and secured various grants for our institution.

It took me 20 years to finally finish my Associates Degree (after starting and stopping at different points) and I am excited to explore and work toward my Bachelors Degree. I believe this class is an excellent fit for my current career stage and will greatly enhance my professional development.

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Hello everyone,

My name is Dylan. I've worked Full Time for Visions Federal Credit Union for over 9 years holding many positions from Teller to Service & Sales Representative. In my time there I have learned quite a few new skills in the financial services industry that had allowed me to really use my knowledge from my 2 year college SUNY Broome after studying Marketing, Management & Sales and apply to my every day tasks. Additionally, I help manage my family's social media accounts and website for their business.

It wasn't until around 2020 when I decided to start my adventure back into school to pursue my Bachelor's Degree. After the first year I took two semesters off and I was bound and determined to get back into the swing of things and get moving.

I recently completed an incredible 8 week Dale Carnegie Course that my employer had sponsored that taught me a lot in leadership with effective communication. I'm hoping to learn more in this course about how to piece everything together and create my portfolio.

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Hi everyone,

My name is Corey.

I’ve worked Part-Time for Apple for about 6 years as a technician. In my time there I have learned a great deal about providing a great experience around a product for customers as well as providing solutions to problems that arise. I also manage rental properties on the side, attend school full-time as I am in my last year of my bachelor’s. I am starting my Master’s Program in education this May. Hope to add to my skill sets I’ve developed over the years.