Ghent Metropolitan Area
I am ready for a mutually beneficial situation in a company that rewards hard work and can offer opportunities to ambitious young professionals. I am interested specifically in functions involving leadership, training, writing, public policy, international relations, EU affairs, cooperative problem solving, or process improvement. I am eager to apply the skills I acquired throughout my education and early job experiences. At Virginia Military Institute I developed the ability to perform tasks effectively under intense pressure. At Virginia Commonwealth University I honed my writing and research talents. Working as a political field coordinator and a public educator gave me confidence speaking, training, problem-solving, and leading sizeable groups of people.
I took the first available job when I came to Belgium. This put me in the warehouse of Wever and Ducre. Management quickly recognized my over-qualification by giving me special assignments. I worked to formulate key performance indicators and create training manuals for the warehouse, and thereby gained experience with: -data collection -data analysis -technical writing I was also given the chance to train new employees using the "see one, do one, teach one" method taught by the United States Army. Throughout my time at Wever and Ducre, I constantly strove to improve my workplace by offering new strategies and ideas. Several of my suggestions were implemented or considered. Reference: Ewoud Callewier, Warehouse Manager (+32 498 25 20 74)
Pamplin Park provided useful and diverse job experience. I volunteered at Pamplin off-and-on for years before I accepted a position (also off-and-on in nature due to my university schedule). My job officially included educating visitors and providing historical interpretation, but thanks to the breadth of opportunities offered to employees at the Park, my experiences encompass a much wider range of tasks. During the spring and fall, my responsibilities expanded to include the supervision and guidance of large school groups. This role as teacher presented challenges, but an excellent staff training program gave me the skills I needed to lead dozens of kids safely and smoothly through their day of visitation. The most difficult aspect of the job was learning to manage schedule demands, teaching points, safety concerns, and discipline issues while simultaneously maintaining a charismatic presence at the head of the group. This became easier with practice, especially after I returned from Virginia Military Institute armed with knowledge gained from hard training. In addition to teaching school groups, I conducted demonstrations for the general public on subjects related to the American Civil War. I also trained guests at our overnight "Adventure Camps," served their needs, and contributed to all aspects of their positive experience at the Park. I even gained a little acting experience at Pamplin. Our special events often included skits, and I regularly took part in these. Pamplin Park prompted me to develop my customer relations abilities, conflict resolution skills, and teaching talents. I also improved my leadership, speaking skills, teamwork capacity, professionalism, and willingness to handle pressure. I look back at my tenure at Pamplin with a mixture of warm gratitude and appreciation for the personal development engendered there. Reference: Tim Talbott ([email protected]) Gary Helm ([email protected] or +1 804-861-2408)
In my capacity as a field coordinator I was responsible for recruiting volunteer support and raising funds for political causes. Additionally, I coordinated the work of our volunteers as they went into the field for campaign purposes. Reference: Ben Knotts, Field Director (1-804-221-5879)