José Medina
Indiana Commission for Higher Education
Indianapolis, IN USA
"It takes a village to make a difference in everyone’s lives."
Career Roadmap
José's work combines: Education, Government, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Follow your gut and don't be afraid to explore. If something looks really interesting to you, take the initiative to learn more about it. Bring a friend if you need more support! If you want to go into a similar field as mine, there are multiple paths you can take. I would say a liberal arts degree—which is what I have—is great since it is so versatile and teaches you to critically think and analyze.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Political Science
Arizona State University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I initially wanted to be a weatherman, so I started college as a climatology and meteorology major.
2.
I eventually decided the major involved too much math for me, so I switched to political science.
3.
After college, I did one year of service for Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program, where I worked at a food bank—I realized that getting paid to give back to the community really resonated with me.
4.
I transferred to another nonprofit that did student mentoring and discovered that I especially liked focusing on education within the public service field.
5.
That education interest led to me taking the opportunity to join the Indiana Commission for Higher Education as an outreach coordinator.
6.
I spent a few years as an outreach coordinator, then moved up to community outreach manager, and now I’m working as the director of business and community engagement.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I can't ask for help. I need to figure this out on my own.
How I responded:
If I could go back and give my eighth-grade self a piece of advice, I'd say to not be afraid to ask for help. I think a lot of us have a mental block that keeps us from asking for help because we're afraid or we think we might be bothering people. But that's not true. You don't have to figure out your path on your own. There are people who will be happy to help young people figure out what they're meant to be doing. You just have to ask!