At Simpson College, we have what's called "May Term," which is a month-long term dedicated to taking one class of your choice. This year, I was advised to do the class Coop 119. The class's objective was to find out what career path might best fit your interests by job shadowing.

As I thought about where I wanted to job shadow, the first thing I hoped for was an opportunity at Meredith Corporations, which is one of the country's biggest media and marketing companies involved in magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, and brand licensing. I knew this would be a hard place to land a job shadowing position, but through networking and LinkedIn connections, I landed one day at Meredith.

Most of my job shadowing hours were spent at the Des Moines Register; however, I also spent one day at the Blank Park Zoo. After job shadowing, I could see myself really working at any of those locations. I fell in love with at least one job at every location.

I loved watching the web editors, photo journalists, and even the court journalist working on whatever needed to be done. I absolutely loved the fast paced work of a food editor for Meredith. I have always dreamed about working for a magazine, and this seemed like the perfect fit for me. Lastly, after shadowing the zoo's seal trainer, I could totally see myself entering a marine biology field. It rekindled my love for sea animals.

Through my days of job shadowing, I learned valuable experiences that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my professional career. I learned I'm on the right path by seeking a career in multimedia journalism because I like being creative and working at a fast pace level. I also learned networking is key and is easier than you think. It can be scary reaching out to people you don't know, but it's a must in order to land the job of your dreams.

Just being engaged and excited about job shadowing got the others around me excited, and at the end of the day, they said that if I'd ever want to return they would be able to get me an internship with them.

I also learned to always try new things. I only thought to job shadow at the zoo because another plan fell through. But I am so glad it did because I probably would have never rekindled my love and passion for sea animals again. Just reaching out and trying something different can be fun and eye-opening. It may also open doors and answers unanswered questions about yourself and the career you are thinking about.

These job shadowing experiences really opened my eyes on what I want to do ... for now. It changes month to month for me. As of now, I want to continue studying multimedia journalism and minor in theatre. I'm thinking about maybe going back to school once I've graduated at Simpson College, potentially at ISU, to get another degree or masters in Zoology to be able to work with dolphins. I would also love to work on a cruise ship as a PR/Communications Specialist and/or performer while working with the dolphins that swim up to the ship.

Here's a little video I made for my final project in my class. I also included the video the Des Moines Register Published on their website. Check it out!

With all that being said, I encourage all the students out there reading this article to look into job shadowing. It doesn't have to be for a class; it can just be for you. Treating yourself to these experiences will really help you nail down what you do and what you don't want to do. I recommend doing this especially if you're struggling with what you want to do or major in.

Even if you think you know exactly what you want to do, I would still recommend job shadowing in your field. This can be eye-opening, and some people come out of it thinking they want to do this and figure out they would absolutely hate doing that for a career.

So get out in the work place and job shadow. It really is an enjoyable eye-opening experience!