Research Assignment: Informational Interview Adam Kohlmeier

It’s time to get rid of the idea of the “American Dream” we once cherished. The "American Dream" has strayed so far from the true, original meaning and has instead become a convoluted, argumentative point for politicians to use in their speeches. No one can openly oppose it because it captures our faith in advancement as a nation. Opposing it would be unpatriotic no matter how unrealistic it truly is. That is the exact reason this phrase has survived all odds, it provides hope for those without. It is what drives us all, whether we know it or not, even though its nothing but an unreachable dream.

If I presented myself in the most professional and knowledgeable manner, it may be beneficial to obtaining a placement with this agency if I decided to pursue it. With these tips from Sarah, my nerves had relaxed a little and a couple more questions came to my mind. I knew I would be ready for the interview.

For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.

The American Dream can be lived by anyone who tries to make due with what they can afford at the time they are in and the situation that’s upon them.

The American Dream is so many different things to so many different people. While other countries around the World would like to argue that Americans’ only aspiration is to become infinitely wealthy, Dinesh D’Souza claims that it is not wealth that Americans want. He believes that it is simply a better life. Michael Moore too acknowledges Americans’ ambition, especially his own, to create a better life for themselves. These two views of the American Dream come from very opposite Americans, but it is their differences that make their ideals so beautifully unique.

Financial advising is one of the many occupations one can purse with a business finance degree. Even though financial advisors are not well-known, they do multiple things to help the global economy. A financial advisors job tends to focus on helping individuals with 401k’s, retirement plans, and other saving plans that require budgeting. Even though this job is limited to helping with these few plans, this job is very difficult and requires tedious amounts of work. The level of difficulty is the reasoning behind many not consider a job in this field. In the article, Financial Advisors, Financial Ecologies and The Variegated Financialization of Everyday Investors, it talks about how financial advisors are people oriented. This is a positive thing, because it shows the individuals who are being advised are cared for. The employment rate for this job was at a standstill for a short amount of time due to the type of work financial advisors are required to do. However, in recent years, more and more individuals are

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

Throughout this semester this class has allowed me the privilege to get to know people who I would have never talked to on a personal level while also having the chance to advance my interviewing skills while getting to know them. Not only did these interviews and experiences display my strengths such as being able to adapt to certain situations but even more importantly it helped show me my weaknesses. After one interview and the next, I had to learn what role I had to play as within each interview I had to adapt to find my specific role as it varied from one to the next. Having the opportunity to interview a handful of people from the beginning of this semester to now has also taught me that the person you are interviewing can have a tremendous effect on if the interview goes successfully or not for reasons that I will elaborate on further in my paper. Lastly, one of the greatest lessons I learned about while interviewing people would be how to properly prepare to make sure the interview itself go as smoothly as possible. All of these factors have helped me grow in becoming a better interviewer and have helped me grow as a person.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the American Dream is “a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S., especially by working hard and becoming successful.” This is to say that only the smartest, most accomplished people-- the best-of-the-best-- can attain true happiness in America. Challenging this statement, author William Zinsser writes “we need mavericks and dissenters and dreamers far more than we need junior class presidents.”

The individual I chose to interview for my oral history project was actually the Vice Principal of my school and his name was Mr. Clair. During our interview, he relayed to me the experiences he went during the Civil Rights Movement. What I was told during this interview was surprisingly different from what I was expecting, I was expecting to hear stories about how my interviewee witnessed many people of color being abused and segregated to the extremes. However, what I heard was a bit calmer than that and surprisingly, did not involve much violence at all. Mr. Clair told me about how he was only a young boy, around ten years old when the civil rights movement began to take off and in his school the main reaction he had was utter dismay. It was shocking and

As an Accounting major, I am very interested and have become fond of learning about the varying business aspects within the sports industry. As a result, I decided to conduct my interview with a professional that is associated with the business operations of athletics. The person that I interviewed was Dawn Reynolds, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Business and Finance here at the University of Miami. After initially getting in contact with Ms. Reynolds a few weeks ago, I was finally able to meet with her briefly and conduct my interview on November 30, 2010, in room 261 in the Hecht Athletics Center. Just to give a bit of background information about Ms. Reynolds, she is from Elmira, New York and now

My other strengths in the interview were recognizing timeliness of the questions and transitioning to different topics when it was needed. I was also able to ask questions that unfolded wide rage of experiences Mr. Shawn faces as an Executive Director. For example, in a “professional world”, people, especially investors expect their clients/partners to dress up in a suit and tie and have short hair that fits the “professional look”. However, Mr. Shawn prefers dressing little differently, and his choice of hairstyle is not something a typical professional would wear. He explained, because of his spiky hair and a t-shirt with jean clothing, sometime people expects him to act “dumber” and “uneducated”, he added, once a investor asked him if he was a pirate. It shows that even when people do not know others, they tend to have perceived ideas just by looking at them. While Mr. Shawn did not say anything, his choice of clothing and a hairstyle gave certain ideas to people around him.

I structured this paper by giving you the insight about all the question I asked and the responses I received, ending it off with the list of facts I learned and knowledge I gained throughout the interview.

Interviewee: Am an accountant in the Barclays bank. Am ready for your interviewee and just feel free with me

The first person I decided to interview is my long life friend who I’ve known since kindergarten. His name is Brandon Drucker and we attended the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and are both currently enrolled at Baruch College. After much thought of whom to choose from all people, I came to the conclusion that Brandon would be the best person to give me honest and accurate insight. He has no problem providing straightforward comments or remarks since he understands his attitudes about my life will be helpful for my career planning. This is what makes Brandon such a considerable friend. He always wants the best for me.