UCSB
Film and Media Study 54
Dear Ellen and Janis,
Thank you very much for coming to UCSB and being our valuable speakers tonight. It was my
first time taking this course. I was not sure if I was going to take this course or not when I first
walked into the lecture hall, however, as the conversation went on, it was so clear to me that
there is no reason for me to not take it. The stories you shared were so powerful and inspiring. I
am so glad that I have chance to take this course and to learn from so wonderful and successful
people like you before I graduate from UCSB. I cannot agree more on what you said “create you
own stuff without being hired and get youself on the way and ready for the opportunity.” Your
stories make me further believe that opportunities are always for people who are prepared. This
reminds me that in September 2015 when I just transferred to UCSB from a community college
in Los Angeles, as a junior Econ & Accounting major student, it was very crucial for me to land
an internship from a public accounting firm as I was planning to start my career as a CPA after
graduation. Like most of my fellows, I attended job fairs and Meet the Firms, socalized with
people from accounting firms. However, things did not turn out as I expected even I had good
GPA and some working experience. I was upset and lost myself for a short period of time. I then
realized that I must do something to change my current situation and to improve myself. The
very first thing I did was resigned from the job that I worked for almost three years as an
appraiser assistant and found a part -time job in a non-profit organization as a business
accountant which is more related to my major. And I started involving myself in school
activities, volunteering and being an officer of a non-profit student orgnization. Even though I
did not know how these were going to influence me, I felt fulfiled. In October 2016, I attended
the annual job fair as a senior looking for a full-time position, I was so surprised that I became
much more confident while I was talking with people. And soon, I got an offer from one of the