Hemali Patel
After graduating early, Hemali spent six months living what she believed was her last summer vacation. She then worked full-time for seven months in sales and decided to leave to pursue her passion in tax accounting. A few months later, she started an accounting certificate at University of California, San Diego. In April, she finished her last course for the certificate and applied to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination (CPA Exam).
How has your professional writing minor benefited you?
The minor helped me feel confident enough to enter the professional world. I graduated early and started working at the age of 21, which while normal, can sometimes lead to being undermined in the work field. The minor strengthened my resume, cover letter, interview presentations, and work-related tasks for my sales team. The minor also boosted my confidence and polished my writing skills in the certificate program courses. With all courses being online, I ended up putting my minor to good use, especially when proving that I don't need to be a CPA already to get far in the class.
Why were you interested in pursuing the professional writing minor?
I've always struggled with reading and writing comprehension throughout my life, and I began to notice it more in college. I actually stumbled upon the minor while researching for law school. Even though I decided to not follow that route, I continued to fulfill the requirements after weighing the pros and cons. One of the major reasons behind not pursuing business law was due to my lack of confidence in writing and myself.
What advice do you have for current UC Davis students considering or currently completing the minor?
Honestly, it doesn't matter what field you're in right now and how many times it needs to change before you're where you need to be in life. Everyone has their own reasons for taking on a minor, but just know that no reason is big or small. I can probably list a few reasons why I decided to stick with the minor, but the major reason was confidence. As a borderline millennial/Generation Z, everyone in the work field looks "down" on you until you can prove your worth. It's frustrating and it hurts to be overlooked because of your age. Having skills that you can learn from this minor (increased reading/writing comprehension, grant & proposal writing skills, resume building skills, improved grammar, etc.) is a great tool to prove that age is just a number and you're capable of much more. In simple words, it helped me gain the confidence that my work could stand for itself and prove that I can actually have a future. And trust me, that’s just the kind of confidence you need to come to terms with being unemployed in 2020.