Tracy L. Paulsen

To effectively accomplish this task, I read through the assignment instructions carefully to make sure I knew what was required and expected. I needed not only to be self-aware of things that matter to me, but also open to the areas where I could improve — and I spent time being open to the career path God had laid out before me.

Using brainstorming, I located my skills and areas where I needed growth. I used examples from class projects to illustrate my communication strengths, and recognized a need to improve my time management skills through team project experiences. These examples helped me relate my reflection to real-life situations — showing that I was reflecting on facts, not general ideas.

After deciding what to include, I arranged it in a logical sequence — starting with my skills to give the right feeling about "me," then moving to areas for improvement, and ending with where I need to grow. My presentation is the story of Tracy L. Paulsen.

In particular, I exercised critical thinking by considering which examples best supported my thoughts, and by theorizing about my future career — how my skills and areas for improvement would affect it. I also considered the need for honesty alongside professionalism. I practiced my presentation several times, evaluating what sounded natural and what needed revision, so that the final result was concise, informative, and an engaging screencast.

My assessment allowed me to create a detailed presentation illustrating my skills, areas for improvement, and objectives for my professional development. The assessment demonstrates how I analyze myself and how I can clearly present that analysis to others.

At my place of work, these same skills will help me make decisions, solve problems, and present information in a persuasive and professional way. I plan to apply the same critical thinking skills in the workplace by assessing problems from multiple perspectives, making evidence-based decisions, and reflecting on outcomes to improve future performance.

Building my ePortfolio became an adventure. I started with Wix as suggested in the course directions, but even after making purchases, the results were disappointing. I moved on to Squarespace — but everything terminates in two weeks, and it felt like a repeat of the same frustration.

Then I found GoDaddy. I created and designed a complete domain before they asked me for any money — I found it effortless and a dream. The words that had been running around in my head as I went from site to site finally flowed with ease. I purchased my domain: visitationhub.org. I was so relieved to finally have my site created that I initially forgot to add my resume — but it is on there now.

I took advantage of a professional template and adapted it to make it more useful for my purposes. My ePortfolio serves three goals: it is an advertisement of myself, an advertisement for my business, and a recruitment tool for potential supervised visitation monitors to join my team. I organized it to cover all three needs, and it just needs some fine tuning to meet the final ePortfolio requirements.

Ultimately, I gained knowledge and — more specifically — digital technology skills I never expected to develop. I never would have thought to create and cultivate a LinkedIn profile, build a network, look up alumni from Orange Coast College, or maintain contacts from Abilene Christian University. Now I am developing new skills through the creation and design of my ePortfolio, which only strengthens my digital technology skillset.

As I adapt and realize what my most realistic and fulfilling career path looks like — business owner and professional supervised visitation monitor — this ePortfolio works for me. It provides a good income, allows me to support other monitors, and helps parents and children in the community. It fulfills many of my professional and personal goals.