WELCOME TO KIM O'CONNELL'S PORTFOLIO
Benchmark 4
Exhibit: Track & Field Attendance and Varsity Certificate
Skills: P101: Have a good attendance record at school, work, and/or extracurricular activities and P110: Accept new and changing responsibilities
Every year I have attended high school, I have participated in Track. My training starts in the off season exactly two weeks after cross country season ends. I run middle to long distance events including the 800m, 1600m, 3200m, 3200m relay, and sometimes the 1600m relay. Each year our team competes to be one of the top teams in the state.
Track involves a lot work and dedication. Part of that is coming to practice whenever you can. It is important to (P101) Have a good attendance record at school, work, and/or extracurricular activities. If you miss a practice, you miss a day of training. If you miss a day of training, you miss a day to improve. It is vital to keep in shape and running every practice you can make it to.
When I eventually get a job in the engineering field, it will be important that I show up every day I can to complete work assignments. Missing work could result in the loss of my job. Of course there are a few exceptions such as sick days or vacation, but you really should show up to work whenever you can.
In my personal life, it will be important to show up to family events. The last group of people you want disliking you is your family so show up to family events regularly. Making a habit of good attendance in your personal and work life will be good practice to where you will never miss anything.
I am a lot faster in Track than I was as a freshman or a sophomore. The coaches are starting to rely on me especially in relay teams. That is why it is important for me to (P110) Accept new and changing responsibilities. For the first time in my high school career this last year, I made it to a varsity spot. In order to get a varsity spot in track, you have to score a certain amount of points for the team. I scored more than enough with all of the relays I ran.
When I enter the workforce, I must take responsibility for everything I do professionally. It is up to me to complete tasks, make sure everything meets quality standards, and to do it all on time. The company I work for will rely on me to do a certain job and I better do it.
In my personal life, I will have to start living on my own. I will need to feed myself, do my own laundry, and everything else. I will have to accept those responsibilities without choice. But learning those responsibilities is a part of life.
Exhibit: Eagle Scout Project Pictures
Skills: P105: Use Timelines, document steps you take, and evaluate your results in a problem and P106: Use charts, graphs, or graphic organizers to demonstrate organizational skills
During the summer of 2011, I completed my Eagle Scout project. My project involved repairing, landscaping, and adding to the Senior Center in Jackson. It took months of preparation and hours of manual labor. We ended up adding new plants, weeding the area, adding new grass, leveling the land, and we built a bench. The whole project totaled to 110 community service hours.
In order to submit the eagle project to the board, I needed to document everything. For this reason, it was important to (P105) use timelines, document steps you take, and evaluate your results in a problem. During the actual project, we recorded everyone’s name, hours they worked, and what they did specifically. We took photographs before we started and after we finished. I put everything into one giant record.
When I get a job as an engineer someday, it will be important to record everything I do. If there is ever a legal issue or mistake made, I may need to refer back to it. I never know when the records may need use. I may have to keep them as a requirement of my job.In my personal life, it is important to stay organized and keep financial records. I will need them to balance my budget. I may also need the records for taxes. Losing those records could cost me.
During my Eagle Scout Board of Review, I needed to present my results in a portfolio binder. It was important to (P106) use charts, graphs, or graphic organizers to demonstrate organizational skills. All the documentation steps had to be organized into the binder. Each section fulfilled a different requirement. I used graphs to display costs of the project and how I found money for it. When I presented it, the board needed to be able to examine it easily.
When I get a job someday, I will need to stay organized. I will need to be able to find records easily in case I need them. I will use graphs to present information in the future too. This will all be required in my field.
In my personal life, organization will help keep the household working and prevent headaches. I never know when I will need to find things, so a filing cabinet could become my best friend. Organization is a key factor in everything I do.
Exhibit: Principles of Engineering Projects Video
Skills: P103: Meet school and/or work deadlines and P108: Go Beyond what is asked to improve personal, educational, or work-related projects
Principles of Engineering was a class designed to introduce the basic concept of engineering. Our main project during this class was to build, program, and design a machine that sorted marbles by color. Each person would be assigned a partner to work with to complete the project. The project would last a month.
This was a school assignment with a due date stamped from the very beginning so it was important to (P103) Meet school and/or work deadlines. The initial building and programming process went by quite easily, but the actual testing and tweaking took a long time. As deadlines drew in closer, we would have to work on it after school for a few hours each day. We divided our work into two. I would write the program on a computer and my partner would do the actual construction. This worked well as we finished the project with much time to spare.
When I someday become an engineer, deadlines will be very important to make. If I want to keep my job, it will be important to use my time wisely and efficiently. If all else fails, I may have to spend extra time finishing projects to make deadlines. Deadlines are important to follow up on.
In my personal life, deadlines will be important to do things such as pay taxes or bills. If I fail to pay my debts on time, I could get a fine, lose my house or car, or go to jail. I obviously wish none of these things to happen so to prevent this- I will pay everything on time and perhaps earlier if possible.
After we completed our project, we had to present it. The presentation made up half of the grade so it was important to (P108) Go Beyond what is asked to improve personal, educational, or work-related projects. Most of the students in the class did a form of PowerPoint presentation. I wanted mine to be unique and outstanding, so I decided to make it into a short film. I spent two days filming, adding effects, editing, and making animations to assist in the display. I was the last person to present and my teacher thought I did such a good job that I received extra credit for my efforts.
When I get a job as an engineer someday and enter the workforce, it will be important to go above and beyond for maximum quality. My employers will admire me if I do so. I will move up in my career quickly by doing the extra step. The extra touches are what divides a good product from a great product.
In my personal life, anything I do for me will probably be important. I want the very best for my everyday life, so it will be important to go above and beyond to higher my standard of living. For example, I will want to go above and beyond cleaning by organizing at the same time. It is never a bad thing to do the extra work.
Personal Management
Exhibit: Driver's License
Skills: P102: Demonstrate Saftey and self-control requiring minumum direction and Supervision
After what seemed like a lifetime, I finally received my driver’s license in July of 2012. I received my Level 3 driver’s license six months later allowing me to drive past 10:00 P.M and with as many people as I can legally fit into my vehicle. Driving gave me freedom to go where I wanted to when I wanted to.
Learning how to drive is a long process as you have to know what to do in every driving situation and follow rules with no one there to help you. One you get your driver’s license, it is important to (P102) and self-control requiring minimum direction and supervision. Your vehicle is very dangerous. It has the power to cause a lot of damage so it is important to be careful. Once I got my license, one of the main trips I had to make was driving into town to receive allergy immunization shots every week. To make it more difficult, this was during rush hour. The first few trips were very difficult, but after a while it became very easy driving in heavy traffic.
When I eventually get a job as an engineer, I will not have much supervision with my projects. What I do is all my responsibility. I have to do things safely and the right way or people could end up getting hurt.
In my personal life, I will need to do things all on my own such as driving. I must keep safety in mind. The worst way to get hurt or killed is by doing something imprudent and preventable. I have to keep my head up.
Exhibit: Cross Country Training Plan
Skills: P107: Be self motivated in taking responsibility and P109: Recognize a need or opportunity and take appropriate action.
Cross Country requires a lot of dedication and hard work. I have participated in cross country for four years. I have made varsity all four of those years. Cross country itself involves running a five-kilometer race even in the toughest of conditions and terrain.
Cross Country starts in the off season. For this reason it’s important to (P107) be self motivated in taking responsibility. It’s the middle of summer and you really just do not want to get out of bed early in the morning. All of your friends are sleeping in till noon and you’d prefer to do the same. But your own self-discipline finally wakes you up. You know that what you put into it now will show during the season. That requires a lot of self motivation in itself. You also must responsibly be consistent in your efforts running every day.
When I get a job as an engineer someday, I will need to be self motivated in my work. I will not always have people on my back telling me to get it done; instead I will just have to do it myself. If I do end up having people always nagging me, chances are I am not working hard enough.
In my personal life, everything I do myself requires self motivation. I will want to be physically fit, so I will have to make myself exercise. I will have to get myself up to do simple chores even when I do not want to do them.
I recall a hot-humid day at a cross country meet. Temperatures were exceeding ninety-five and the sun beat down on you like a furnace. The course was an open field with little shade available. I was at the finish line, watching the end of the girls’ race; they finished exhausted. I then noticed one of my teammates barely able to breathe. It is here especially that I needed to (P109) recognize a need or opportunity and take appropriate action. The adults in the area were standing her up trying to wake her, but she slowly slipped from consciousness. I remembered from first aid how to treat shock and heat exhaustion. I stepped in immediately, and advised them to lay her down. We then elevated her legs, so as to return blood to her head. I cooled her with water, careful not to use ice as it could put her into temperature shock. In the end, she walked off fully recovered from the incident. The team told me later that I was the only one who knew what to do.
When I enter a career in my future, it will be important for me to recognize times when I need to step up and take action. Doing so will take me far in my career. I will never know when it might matter most.
In my personal life, recognizing the need to take action will do a lot for me. If I ever encounter anyone else that needs help with anything, I will know to step up. It could also be as simple as knowing when to do things for people or not also. There is an unlimited amount of scenarios this could apply to.
Exhibit: Concert Sound Board
Skills: P104: Find new or creative ways to solve problems.
Each year during the concert, I assist in setting up the very complicated audio system. I open the sound board, balance the speakers, turn on microphones, and test for feedback. I help make setting up go quicker and easier as I am one of the few people in the school with knowledge of how to set such equipment up. Mr. Rouster really appreciates my extra efforts. Because of the extra efforts, Mr. Rouster can focus on other aspects of organizing the concert.
We encountered a very serious problem during the 2013 Jazz Bash. The Jazz Singers required an external speaker to hear the background music. They could not, however, hear their own voices through the microphones because it would cause them to go flat. I needed to (P104) find new or creative ways to solve problems. I came up with the idea of using the CD player’s general speaker that the AUX cord was connected to in the sound board to generate its own audio separate from the primary speakers. It worked well enough to where we didn’t get feedback and the Jazz Singers gave us a wonderful performance.
When I enter a career as an engineer, I will need to use many creative ways for projects. It is a major aspect of my job that will give me an edge in the market. Sometimes problems require something very unique to fix.
In my personal life, I will need to find creative ways to fix things and entertain people. Household items break down often and sometimes a temporary fix is all you need. When you have guests in your home, they may need entertaining. Finding new ways will bring relationships closer to you.
