Personality vs. Professionalism

Today I have a story to share in addition to a memory from years ago. This Saturday I worked in my office. I work at the Office for Multicultural Student Access and Retention, which by the way, is incredibly hard to say when answering the phone. Earlier in the week I tried to say it when I answered it. I was so relieved to find out that the person on the other end had hung up. Anyway, this Saturday I worked the interviews for the Templeton Scholarship. My job was to organize the meetings by taking each prospect to their interviewing room, making families comfortable, and answering any questions.

While I was trying to remember everyone's name and which rooms were which, I completely messed up someone's interview. I was so nervous when I realized what I had done. Now what I did next may have been unprofessional but I was scared. I was afraid to tell my boss so I told another person that worked in the office. However, it was handled very well after that. She fixed it without causing any attention to the issue. I immediately thought of my blog and the questions I had asked in the previous post. It brings me to one more question. Is fear acceptable on a job? I honestly do not think so.

When I was a senior in high school my advisor called me into her office to tell me that I was eligible for a full-ride scholarship to OU. I was overjoyed to hear that I had a chance at a college career. However, I am from the poorest county in Ohio and learning how to be professional and present oneself well are not easy traits to learn in a place like Athens. When I was working this Saturday, it brought me back to the day I had to do my interview. I remember being so afraid before I left the house. No one was around to be there to soothe me and the wait was agonizing.

That was the day that I learned that interviews simply mean that you seem to have what it takes to obtain something and people interview in order to get to know you. It was a series of three interviews and in the end it paid off to be personable and not overly professional. While professionalism is important, I learned that having a personality always works in one's favor. I know this because today I am an Appalachian Scholar.