The career planning talk with house fellow, Chris Barrett, was very unexpected. Having expected a conversation focused on career planning, I encountered a very different talk over dinner. Although he did talk about his own path career-wise, it did not take the forefront of the conversation. He spoke about how he changed careers depending on what he wanted at the time, and what was necessary for him to do. During this conversation, he emphasized the effect that his family had on him choosing a career. He chose the trajectory of his career based on what was necessary for him to provide a stable and good life for his family, while also following his interests.

I found this perspective very interesting, since many approaches to career planning involve following your own interests and that in doing what you like to do, you can succeed. Growing up in a family-centric environment, I found Chris Barrett’s approach interesting because it is similar to the views that I have towards my future. While I will follow my passions, I would like to work that around my family (sometime in the future).

A few weeks ago, I attended the table talk with Professor Chris Barrett and his wife.  It was a small group of Rose Scholars so it was a much more interactive talk.  Professor Barrett told us about his path to where he is, including the many career plan changes and pivots.  Many people so easily get sucked into one idea of what they want to do career-wise (myself included!), but there’s so much more out there that we should be more open to trying.  Don’t knock it ’till you try it!  A lot of what Professor Barrett has done is not stuff he would have thought about doing in college, but he was able to gain a lot of unique experience by being willing to try new avenues.  His wife talked about the importance of relationships and the three pillars that constitute a relationship: love, trust, and communication.  We may not realize it, but often a relationship fails because one of those three things is no longer present.  Professor Barrett and his wife shared a lot of interesting life experiences they’ve had, and I left the talk with a greater appreciation for trying new experiences.