By: Vicki Ungvarsky
My commencement is in May. There are deadlines, sought after opportunities, and easily the most fun – planning my family’s summer Disney Cruise vacation looming over me as I type. I am taking a few moments here to reflect on my semesters at Tri-C and what opportunities it has given me which helped me lean closer into some things and navigate a tad away from others in terms of my studies and future career possibilities.
I started off as a photography major, able to see some beauty in everything and wanting to capture it. I ruled out studying photography as a major after realizing I do not enjoy my artwork being critiqued because, at least to me, much of visual art is extremely subjective. Shortly after, I placed a call to an academic advisor who told me about the Liberal Arts program which would allow me to learn a bit about each subject I was interested in while completing almost, if not all the core prerequisites to transfer to a university. That is how I found my interest in Art History.
Later, I began writing for The Voice because I enjoyed writing since high school and really wanted my work to be published somewhere. During my time as a newspaper writer, I have discovered some things about myself. My writing is not what anyone would define as “journalistic,” but there is a unique and quirky quality to it that reflects my personality quite well. I also quickly became aware of my favorite topics to write about: history, politics, and developmental disabilities – mostly autism because my son has that diagnosis.
When I participated in the Interview Fair for Tri-C’s Summer Internship Program, I knew exactly which employer I wanted to speak with first. It was a well-known autism resource organization in the area. I got hired and helped with the marketing, planning, and execution of their annual conference after which I organized much of their materials used during the event. I completed my mission in wanting to help families like mine but had ruled out yet another career: Event Planner. I much preferred organizing the massive amounts of materials after the conference than participating in the event itself. Between my interests in history and organization, I started to think about an archival career. I reached out to Western Reserve Historical Society and was taken on as a spring Archive Processing Intern, and it all came into full circle. I ended up processing donated materials from the same local autism organization for which I had also interned. They had merged with another organization and gifted materials concerning their original independent one, the resources they provided, the perception of autism, and how it was treated over the course of over twenty years.
What is next for me? I am seeking opportunities to work within art and history circles. I am working with admissions counselors at a few universities trying to find the best fit for me to attend while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Art History. The other option I am looking at is majoring in History and minoring in Art History. I am interested in museum education, as well as curation and archivist work. Part of my mission with any of those opportunities is to make museum environments and their exhibitions more accessible to developmentally disabled individuals.
Tri-C gave me a strong academic foundation for any chosen career. It provided opportunities for career and personal growth. My advice to anyone just starting out their college career is to treat missteps as learning opportunities. Open your eyes and heart to all opportunities for self-discovery, personal, and professional growth.
