Published: Monday, November 7, 2011
Like many recent college graduates, Chip Hiden and Alexis Irvin had little direction or prospects, so they packed cameras and hit the road on a trip across America.
What emerged was the Dream Share Project, a documentary film and interactive workshop that hopes to provide help and clarity to graduates.
"It's going to be exploring yourself and who are you and what you get enjoyment out of in life," said Point Park University Counselor Mark Platts.
On Nov. 15, The Dream Share Project will visit Point Park for a viewing of the documentary and a workshop to address uncertainty students may be having and the importance of chasing one's dreams.
The visit to this campus was the brainchild of Hiden, who reached out to Platts at Point Park with the offer to visit the campus, and he graciously accepted.
"I thought, ‘What is a more perfect presentation if we were going to bring anyone in for people who are undecided in their major?'" Platts said.
Platts believes the event will be beneficial to a variety of students, including undecided majors, unsure graduating seniors, and freshmen who may not be set in their chosen majors.
The Career Development Center and Sophomore Experience have agreed to co-sponsor the event. Katie Munsch, community director in the office of Campus Life, coordinates the Sophomore Experience program and joined up on the event. She felt The Dream Share Project could offer advice and clarity to not only freshmen, but other students as well.
"Even sophomores and upperclassmen as they go through college begin to question majors and what they decided to pursue for careers and it just sounded like a really cool event to help students kind of clarify what their passions and dreams are and think about how they can align career choices with things that they're passionate about," Munsch said.
Munsch encourages all students to attend the entire event, as the workshop portion of the program will be very beneficial to attendees. She foresees the interactive portion to cause students to question their own passions and dreams in order to work these aspects into a career choice.
Heidi Schlegel, junior cinema and digital arts major, is a member of Campus Life and a Community Mentor that works with sophomore students. Schlegel helped with the planning and marketing of The Dream Share Project and felt it was important to be involved with such an event.
"The reason I wanted to get involved with it was because I know a lot of people struggle choosing one career for the rest of your life," Schlegel said. "You think, ‘Is this what I really want to do?' and you kind of second guess yourself so I thought this whole project would be a great opportunity for students to reflect on what they want to do with their lives."
Schlegel has worked to spread the word about the event, encouraging other community mentors as well as community facilitators to get their residents involved in the on-campus activity. The event is free and open to all Point Park students who wish to attend. Schlegel hopes these attendants will realize the importance of analyzing career choices and passions.
The Dream Share Project aims to help students, and that is what Schlegel, Munsch and Platts, as well as others, hope Point Park students will take from the event and realize that there is always time to make a positive alteration in one's future.
"If you're not happy in what you do academically, then there is a chance to change and hopefully they change into something that they're passionate about, not something they think will make them the most money or sounds appealing because a family member is in that profession," Platts said.
The Dream Share Project event will take place on Nov. 15 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. in the John V. Hopkins auditorium in Thayer Hall. Students are encouraged to preregister on OrgSync, but it is not required. Food will be available following the documentary screening and a workshop will be offered afterward.
Registration for the event can be found at: https://orgsync.com/22788/forms/show/37935
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