The summer of 2017 I began my second co-op semester at The Shepherd Color Company.  As it was my second semester there, I felt so much more confident in the workplace and learned a so much more than my first co-op. 

     In the fall, I took my fourth semester of classes and they continue to increase in difficulty and complexity.  The classes were interesting and I successfully made it all the way through to the halfway point in my schooling.  It seems like the years have flown by but I still have a long way to go.

     I decided to switch companies for my third co-op rotation in the spring and found myself at Valco Melton in the Electronics department.  Being a mechanical engineer, I was a little intimidating going into such an electronic-heavy co-op, but I liked the idea of a challenge and learning skills not every mechanical engineer possesses.  I loved my time there.  My co-workers were super friendly and helpful and taught me a lot about different techniques and practices. 

    This past year I did something I never thought I would be able to do.  While I was on co-op I also trained for the 20th running of the Flying Pig Marathon.  I ended up finishing in a blazing time of 3:46:52!  I have always been an active person but during college I slacked in my fitness schedule.  In December, I decided to challenge myself to run the 20th Anniversary of the Flying Pig Marathon in May. I got two other friends to sign up, and starting January 1st, real training began.  Throughout my co-op I found myself going to the gym twice a day, and hobbling around the office.  I sacrificed many late Friday nights for Saturday morning long runs and went through more bags of ice than I am willing to count. 

    Halfway through training we ran the Mini Heart Half Marathon, which was the first time ever racing that far of a distance.  After that race, it was nerve-wracking to think that was only half of the distance we would be covering for the marathon, but I dug in my heels and continued training harder than ever.  We got to a point in training when 14 miles felt short.  I would count down in my head the miles to go in increments of 3 miles because while training, 3 miles seemed like nothing.

    Race day was a blast.  We woke up at 4:30, started running at 6:30 and was done before 10:30.  The race was surprisingly not as painful as expected. I found a pace and I stuck with it until the end.  Then ate way too much food afterwards because I felt like I was starving from the insane amount of calories I had just burned.

   I never thought I would consider myself a true running and actually enjoy the thought of a nice long run.  But after the marathon, I keep looking up new races to run and can't wait to get out and hit the pavement.  For my personal trajectory, putting the time and dedication into the training for this race and surpassing my goals for finishing show me that I truly can do anything I set my mind to.  Many times in the past I have given up on certain goals before I even tried them simply because at the time they seemed unattainable.  This experience has showed me that all it takes is a will to do something, and the time and effort put into it will show.  As a professional, I think this experience will lead me into stepping more outside my comfort zone and taking on more risks or opportunities that seem impossible at first. 

In the coming year, I hope to continue to challenge myself and try new things, both personally and professionally.  I also hope to set more long term goals in the hopes of keeping myself committed to bettering myself over an extensive period of time for a long-lasting impact on myself.