My Experience as an Officer

by Diana Gil Barona

Being an officer has been a life changing experience. Even though it is not easy to manage time among school, work, PTK and family, I have learned through this experience that every effort put into those activities is worth it. In other words, managing my time is a big part of getting things done and on time within all the categories in which my life is divided right now. Also learning how to work in group is a great advantage when you have to divide your time among many obligations. Being an officer has also shown me that there is always something new to learn out of every experience. This means that planning is an important role; however, things do not always go as plan. Therefore, being able to improvise will play a bigger role, and for future reference, you would know how to plan accordingly.

In addition, PTK has given me the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned in class into a real  world experience. In other words, most of the concepts learned in my accounting I and II classes have become useful when preparing the paperwork needed for purchases or reimbursements. Also, from my marketing class, I have used some of the concept when helping to define the topics for the general meetings and when targeting the audience. This experience as a treasurer has given me the opportunity to practice all of those concepts and more, but also has taught me some concepts which I would have never learned in a classroom. An example of that could be when we were planning for Induction Ceremony and wanted to have a new vendor providing food to us. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, because there are certain policies and procedures that we have to follow accordingly to the school before having someone delivering food or any other service to us. These are regulations that all businesses share; however, these things were never discussed in my previous classes.

Furthermore, I will always be thankful with this opportunity because it has helped me grow. I used to be the quiet, shy girl sitting in the front row but always trying to avoid speaking in public because I have always been concern about my accent. However, thanks to the leadership training, the public speaking workshop and the workshop about how to facilitate a meeting now I feel more confident about presenting in front of people. In addition, I have been able to put into practice all of those workshops and trainings when speaking in meetings such as New Member Orientation and Induction Ceremony, and also present in front of a bigger audience, such as the ASAP general meeting. All of this has helped me realize what are my strengths and weaknesses and work on them; so my performance could improve as well.  

And last but not least, this experience has given me friends. It has never been easy for me to make a new friend or work in group; however, I was fortunate enough to find people that are always willing to help and support each other when needed. Therefore, I am glad and happy to be part of this journey with these 8 incredible people that I know I can count on through the hard times but also through the good times.