Preparing for the Future

 

    On January 11th, I got the pleasure to attend a zoom call with author and sociologist, Dr. Mary Gatta. Some of her works include Waiting on Retirement, Not Just Getting By,Public Policy on Democratizing Access to Education for Marginalized Groups, and All I Want Is a Job! Unemployed Women Navigating the Public Workforce System. I connected with her through professor, advocate and former Florida president of American Association of University Women, Dr. Pat Dewitt. Dr. Dewitt is a family friend of ours and was open to conversations about future majors and career paths for me. She mentioned Dr. Gatta's name when I mentioned going into sociology. After a few days, Dr. Gatta reached out to me via email and wanted to set up a Zoom meeting to introduce ourselves and to have a conversation about possible pathways for my future!

    The Zoom started by me telling her my interests. I told her that I am interested in human behavior, religious faith, social causes, education and problem solving. Then I listed the things I care about, such as language, mindset, injustice, poverty and a better future. Later, I asked her which colleges I should be looking at. She replied with colleges like Rutgers, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Georgetown and University of Maryland. She then gave some examples of internships I could be participating in like the Youth Volunteer Council.

    Dr. Gatta has worked in many organizations including Wider Opportunity for Women, Women's Economic Institute for Women's Policy, and AAUW. She believes that the first thing that anyone should know when looking for colleges is the learning environment. She attended Rutgers and later on became a professor at many other schools across the US. She worked in the White House doing research about workplace flexibility and economic insecurity for women.

    I am very thankful to have had this opportunity to talk with her and retain some information I have not had previously. Now that we have gotten to know each other, she is willing to help me with my extended essay and is open to giving me a college recommendation! This is a lesson for all who are nervous with getting out of their comfort zone and trying new things. A year ago, I would not be willing to talk to new people about what my future would look like. Networking and meeting new people is totally worth doing when wanting to explore more about your future.