Matthew Mulloy

General Education Reflection

As I near the end of my undergraduate career in academics, I begin the
process of my reflection.

It was required that I expand my knowledge to include

several general electives. I look back so that I may understand how I got to where I
am. I also look back that I may understand my future clearly, that I may better
formulate my goals, and that I may better plan my career.
I have several goals in both the near and long term future. For my near
future goals, I am attempting to earn gainful employment in the power industry. To
accomplish this, I will need to attain my E. I. T. (Engineer in Training) certification by
taking the F. E. (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam. I will also need to get a new
place to live, a car, a new computer (ordered as I write this) and acquaint myself
with a new area.
My long term goals are much more difficult to complete. Firstly, I promised
my children that I would pay for their college. For two students, I can expect to pay
$100,000 for each. I currently have $71,500 saved. This means that I will need to
save a total of $128,500 in the next ten years if I extend the process to include
when they are attending college. At the same time, I will also be attempting to
clear my student debt. This will take somewhat longer considering the above.
As for my long term career goals, I would like to earn my P. E. (Professional
Engineer) certification within five years. I would also like to enter the management
track of the power industry. This will probably require a Masters degree within ten
years. If my career takes me on this path, I will need to reinvest myself into
academia.
My general education electives explored the economic, design, and history
fields. In the power systems field, economics have a key import on engineering
decisions. Utilities are first and foremost a business. And this business requires
significant improvements, investments, and maintenance. It also uses the
microeconomics field to organize the cost of energy, delivery of energy, and
production of energy in a way that is fair, environmentally friendly, and cost
effective.
All construction and communication require well thought out design to be
effective and efficient. So my design and technical communications classes have

prepared me for this. Everything form the correct font on a billboard to the
appropriate integration of early nineteenth century style brickwork surrounding a
secure substation matter. The exploration of the aesthetics of different periods of
history, cultures, and environments will assist me in better merging the realities of a
utility system with the populace that interacts with it every day.
It is also important to consider the ramifications of my education in a broader
sense. My history curriculum has given me an insight as to where The United States
as a people have come from. This history guides us in our collective decisions. It
shapes how we treat foreign conflicts, local emergencies, and worldwide disasters.
It points us in the directions we will take when confronted with the divisiveness of
environmental change, energy use, and religion. Knowing how we came to be is as
important as deciding what we will do next.
We do not learn simply to get a job. We learn that we may be better people.
We take tests to prove that we have learned the lessons taught. We do this so that
we may be better members of our civilization. I was told once that part of being in
a society was that I took on the responsibility to learn as much as I can, help as
much as I can, and contribute as much as I can. Every day is a test as to whether or
not I am a good, well rounded, meaningful person; and that everything, everything
is on the exam. I aim to pass.