Every day, visions and goals are determined and implemented by individuals who see a need for improvement in a particular area in his or her life. Moreover, some simply develop goals and visions so that he or she can be successful in their academic or personal life. According to Medina (2019), “By setting goals, we can prepare and succeed to our fullest” (p. 6). For this reason, I have written visions and developed short-term and long-term goals that will help me be a successful graduate student.
To begin, I focused on the first step in my graduate studies, my first course, Introduction to Graduate Education. My goals for the course begin with gaining new, useful knowledge that will help me on my journey as I embark on a new career path. Because I am a former elementary educator, I desire information that will help me redirect my leadership skills. Although a teacher is a leader of her students, it will take a different type of leader to spearhead sports. Next, I would like to successfully complete this course with an A. In every level of education that I matriculated through, I was highly successful in my studies. I would like to begin my graduate education with being highly successful in this course. Additionally, I want to develop better time management skills through this online course. This is has become a harder skill for me to achieve as I age and acquire more responsibilities. With these goals in mind, I envision that this course will make me a disciplined and better-developed graduate student.
Moreover, I have created long-term goals to ensure a successful future. My long-term goals include completing the Master of Sports Administration program in two years with honors. Also, I want to become an effective and thorough leader. My vision is to graduate from the Master of Sports Administration program, ready to conquer an administrative role in sports. Although I have set long-term goals that I would love to succeed in, I understand that setting long-term goals require having a longview perspective. According to Parrot (2009), “God designed the longview as the best path to genuine success and meaningful transformation” (p. 13). Seeking short-term gains lead to minuscule success.
While completing my first course as a graduate student, I will execute a lot of things to achieve my vision. First, I will start managing my time better. In conjunction, I will develop a weekly schedule of when I will set aside time to complete the unit assignments. Next, I will communicate with the professor or my cohorts if I need extended help. Moreover, I will be focused while completing my assignments. I will find a quiet area to work in and avoid distractions. Additionally, I will take notes from the required readings because that will assist with the weekly assignments. Also, I will self-motivate myself and hold myself accountable to complete all assignments. Last and foremost, I will continue to pray and seek guidance as I complete the graduate program for “the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 English Standard Version).
In conclusion, my short-term and long-term goals can be achieved through my willingness to grow. My visions will become my future through perseverance, discipline, and determination. Consequently, I will develop into a successful graduate student.
