College Experiences That Helped an Environmental Planner at SWCA Succeed

In the grand scheme of things, I think I ended up setting myself up for more success in my first position after college. My perspective changed a lot from finishing my undergraduate degree to being in my first full-time position.

I was driven in school, but I found myself feeling even more drive once I was in my full-time positions, and that really surprised me. One thing I found most valuable from being an undergraduate was learning how to communicate with a variety of people and build relationships with them.

Even though I didn't realize I was networking, I got my current position through networking. I don't think I would have been able to do that as naturally had it not been for the community building and relationship building I did at UCLA.

That was also part of me learning how to push myself out of my comfort zone. That's been really incredible and helpful as I've navigated moving to new places by myself and taking on new work and roles that I was unfamiliar with or unsure about.

Communication and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone are things you can best do in undergrad, or at least I could. I feel like I am reaping the benefits now.