Month: May 2026

I took both the Type A Personality Survey and the Stress Management Skills Test. My Type A score was 55/100, which told me that I have a mix of Type A and Type B personality traits. I was not surprised by this result because I am a very driven, competitive, and goal-oriented person. Especially with school, running, work, and other personal goals. At the same time, I also try to stay relaxed and flexible when things do not go exactly as planned. My stress score was 19/100, which placed me in the “not stressed” category. The results said I generally stay calm and centered and handle stress well overall.

Even though my score was low, I have still experienced stress recently. Most of that stress came from my girlfriend and I breaking up. While it has definitely been difficult emotionally, I think I have been handling it healthily. I started going to therapy and I am Staying active, spending time with friends, focusing on school, and continuing my running and fitness routines have helped me manage my emotions and avoid becoming overwhelmed. The experience also reminded me how important it is to have healthy coping strategies during stressful times.

As I move into my professional career, especially in the construction industry, where deadlines and pressure are common, I think maintaining healthy habits will be extremely important. Research shows that chronic stress can lead to burnout, anxiety, depression, and physical health problems. Many organizations are now trying to support employees through mental health programs, flexible schedules, counseling services, and wellness initiatives. I think companies that prioritize employees wellness and work-life balance will create healthier employees and stronger workplaces overall.

Last summer, I accepted an internship with MWH Constructors on the Bull Run Conveyance Project, which is a massive $2.5 billion water pipeline project. Compensation definitely influenced my decision to take the internship, but it was more than just the paycheck. The opportunity to gain real industry experience on a project that large motivated me even more. When I first started, learning all the information honestly felt like trying to drink water from a firehose because there were thousands of construction files, drawings, specifications, and documents to learn from all at once. At times it was overwhelming, but it pushed me to learn quickly and improve my skills every day.

During the internship, I expanded my knowledge of Excel and Bluebeam at a much higher level than before, and I gained a much better understanding of the construction industry overall. I also became licensed as a sediment control inspector. I would do bi-weekly sediment control inspections on numerous job sites there was about 20 different sites and I would be in charge of about 4-5 of them. This gave me more responsibility and made me feel like the company trusted me to contribute in a meaningful way. Knowing that I was being paid while also gaining valuable experience motivated me to work hard and take advantage of every learning opportunity.

At the same time, the experience showed me that compensation is not the only thing that affects motivation. My boss was difficult to work with and created a stressful environment at times, which made some days frustrating, even though the work itself was exciting. That experience taught me that while good compensation and opportunities can motivate employees, leadership and workplace culture also play a huge role in employee satisfaction and performance.

One of the most beneficial trainings I’ve taken was a trauma response training, where I learned how to apply a tourniquet and respond to severe bleeding. What made it stand out was how hands-on it was. I had a partner where I practiced applying a tourniquet and walked through realistic emergency scenarios. You might have heard this before but having a tourniquet on you hurts a lot. From people in trauma situations they have said the most painful part was having a tourniquet put on them and I get it I had it on me for like 3 minutes and it sucked. Based on what we learned this week, effective training should be engaging, relevant, and interactive. This training checked all those boxes. It also included immediate feedback from instructors, which helped me correct mistakes right away and improve.

On the other hand, a class I did not find very helpful was macroeconomics. The scope of the class was so broad that it felt disconnected from my interests and future career. A lot of concepts were theoretical and hard to relate to real-life situations I could see myself in. Because of that, it was difficult to stay engaged or feel motivated to learn the material. From this week’s perspective, the class lacked relevance and didn’t connect well to practical application, which made it less effective for me. I also felt like most of the learning was passive lectures and notes without much interaction or hands-on work. It didn’t help that I took the class online.

Overall, the difference comes down to engagement and relevance. The trauma training worked because it was interactive and clearly useful in real-world situations. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, felt too broad and disconnected to really stick with me.