1. Five valuable lessons from College
By: Christopher J Keefer
Albert Einstein once said “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in
school.” For me, this quote resonates. Because after four years of classwork, I may not remember most
of my assignment objectives, lectures, or notes taken. However, there are some truths which I learned
while attending Central Penn College which will always be with me. Now in anticipation of graduating in
the spring of 2016, I wanted to provide some insights as to what have I learned.
Value of beginnings
“You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you
choose”- Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! I started my journey to complete college in the spring of
2012 with the expectation to better myself, expand my knowledge, and ultimately obtain the needed
skills to further my career. I had previously attended Harrisburg Area Community College however never
completed any degree. Most of my previous college coursework transferred into Central Penn, so I
decided to ‘dive’ into this endeavor and complete something that I started several years ago. I had
always had an interest in computers and I currently work as a help desk technician; so I decided that if I
wanted to further my career in Information Technology, I needed to increase my education and existing
knowledge. It was half way through my college journey at Central Penn that I discovered my passion for
programming after taking a required object-oriented class. It was during this class that my professor
suggested that I could be a ‘good’ programmer and programming was something that I displayed a
‘knack’ for. I was routinely called on in class to provide answers and was readily willing to help others
with assignments. Originally I had not considered this my career path. However, through this
encouragement and the joy I experienced solving programming problems, I decided to concentrate in
application development. So during my 4th
term in the spring 2014, I switched majors from network
security to application development and been enthusiastically pursing this career path ever since.
My journey to finish my bachelor’s degree and accomplish something I started several years ago at first
seemed unattainable or insurmountable. My journey to finish this started with a small step, only taking
one class each term at the beginning. Then as I grew confident, I started taken two classes. In my third
year, I found that I was able to take on three classes. And in my fourth and final year, I am at ease with
taking on two or three classes. Now that I am in my final term at Central Penn and as I reflect back it
was that single class—that first step— when I realized that I can do this which gave me the desired to

2. complete my journey. This leads me to my next point. In my view, anybody can accomplish any task if
they desire to do so.
Value of perseverance
Perseverance, determination, stubbornness, or doggedness are all similar words used to describe one
thing; that is never giving up. When first staring something new a person is excited and usually gives
this new endeavor their all. In other words, this person dedicates their time and energy to this new task;
usually forsaking older tasks and some other responsibility. A fact of life is that you can’t prepare or
plan for every situation and eventually a person will face problems on their way to achieve their goals.
These problems present themselves in various forms and patterns. In my view, a person can react in two
ways when facing adversity. (1) A person can push and push at something, eventually burning out. And
after this burn out, they give up and move onto another goal/task. Now in my view, there is nothing
inherently wrong with giving up. I think in some situations this is preferable. If a person continues on
doing something that they never really liked or wanted to do can make a person stressed. And we can
agree that stress is not a good state to be in. (2). When faced with difficulty a person can ‘pick
themselves up’ and persist to the ‘finish’ line undeterred by their results. In my opinion, one should
always try to do their best. It is something I try to demonstrate and teach my children. However, equally
important is not to be bogged down with perfectionism. In other words, you should strive for your best,
finish your task in a timely matter, and be willing to change along the way. After all the only constant is
change, right? How can one preserve? In my view, patience is an important virtue to have in order to
endure. If a person doesn’t possess patience, they may have the tendency to hurry towards the end in
anticipation of finishing their task/ goal. This can result in making mistakes. So yes, when the going gets
tough, the tough does get going. However, there is wisdom in applying patience with preservice to
ensure a job well done is achieved.
Value of positive leadership
What makes a great leader? However, someone answers this question can profoundly influence their
decisions and outcomes of their decisions. I have taken a project management and leadership class in
the course of my studies at Central Penn. I have studied different leadership styles and how effective
leaders affect their teams. Leaders can either be assigned or emerge. And not one person exhibits all
leadership qualities or characteristics. But rather a leader, either assigned or emerged, who has qualities
such as offers encouragement, listen and communicates effectively, is passionate about their job, and
serves as a positive role model can transform people and inspire their followers to achieve goals in spite
of obstacles. The value of leadership lies in how someone inspires, motivates, and transforms their

3. followers to want to be better not dependent on a ‘successful’ outcome. Even in failure a person can
exhibit great leadership. And sometimes it is in those failures that someone demonstrates the qualities
and characteristics of great leadership. In life as in school, a person can be a leader or a follower. Not
every person can be an effective leader or follower. Leadership and followers have a symbiotic
relationship. Both are depending on each other for the successful completion of goals. In school, I
learned what it means to be an effective leader and more importantly how be an effective follower.
Value of team work
I learned how to successfully work as a member of a team whose goal was to complete assignments and
projects on-time with an above average grades. The majority of my required classes included a group
project or a group term paper. Sometimes we were able to pick our groups and other times we were
randomly assigned to a group. Each person brought different skills, knowledge, willingness, and
expertise to the group. The successful groups that I have been a part of selected a team lead,
collaborated regularly, and routinely offered to help others. And working with a team that exhibited
these characteristics resulted in receiving above average grades. I was also part of a group who, despite
my efforts, worked independently, didn’t select a team lead, and offered little to no assistance to
others. This dynamic often resulted in one or two people responsible for completing the entire project.
Through these experiences, I learned to value teamwork and how to successfully work as part of a team.
In my opinion, successful teams include members who offer assistance, collaborate, respect each other,
exhibits a willingness to compromise when needed, are dependable, and have a willingness to accept
responsibility. These qualities are one element of my education that I will value and use throughout my
career.
Value of correcting errors
There is a difference between intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom. However, all three are obtained
through education from reading books, emulating leaders, or through instruction via a knowledgeable
professor. When learning something new, we often fail and sometimes fail epically. For instance, as
toddlers when learning to walk, we fall. When learning to ride a bike we fall and scrap our knees or
elbows—I have the scars to prove this point. It isn’t any different in adult hood—that is when learning a
new skill or trying something different we often fail. It is how we react to this failure which makes the
difference. When we were toddlers, mom or dad picked us up. When we were children we learned to
pick ourselves up and seek comfort in the arms of our parents. As adults we still pick ourselves up and
may still find comfort in others, but we should also be comforted by our willingness to go on. In college I
did not get 100% on all my assignments. There have been some assignments that I didn’t do great on. I

4. received 90% or 85% on some assignments. I admit, that to me this is a failure. And in my job, I
sometimes fail at what I am doing. However, I strive to learn from my mistakes whether committed at
home, work or school. One of my technology/programming class professors allowed me (and other
students too) to redo our assignments for better grades. In other words, learn from our mistakes and
correct them. I found this to be helpful in learning how to properly design algorithms and write the
appropriate coding. Yes, people make mistakes and yet, it is through the willingness and responsibility
of leaders, parents, and educators to help followers / students learn from their mistakes, correct their
mistakes, and grow from their learning experiences.
So in essence, although I have completed my college coursework and will obtain my Bachelor’s degree,
it is these five lessons which I will carry with me throughout my career and will demonstrate in my new
career as an application programmer.