Hi, I’m Raigan Novotny. I am 20 years old and a sophomore at Grand Valley State University. I am studying Advertising and Public Relations with a concentration on Public Relations! I enjoy walking my dogs, listening to music, watching sunsets, and hanging out with my friends and family.
If I were to describe myself in 5 words, I’d say that I’m friendly, understanding, compassionate, goofy, and positive. I believe that these words represent me well, as I am someone who enjoys making people happy and spreading my positivity around as much as possible. I express these characteristics in many different ways. For example, I show my friendliness when I am meeting new people. When doing so, I always try to make everyone feel included in the conversation or comfortable. This can also go along with my ability to be understanding. I feel that I am someone that people can feel comfortable being around because I am very judgement-free. I try to help this through my goofiness, where I try to make people laugh in order to feel more comfortable around me. This could be something as simple as telling a joke so that someone will smile or it could be something bigger that makes someone feel better during a difficult day. Lastly, I am compassionate and positive in situations that I feel need it most. If someone needs compassion, I listen. After that I try to lift them up in any way possible.
Those 5 traits are a big contributor to how I interact with others. When communicating with people, I tend to see myself as a very approachable person. I am able to do so by using my goofiness to make people feel more comfortable when talking to me (as mentioned above). I can make stressful and uncomfortable situations easier by adding in some humor when needed. This works well for situations like talking about difficult subjects and breaking the ice. Another thing that makes me approachable is my positive attitude. I believe that there is always something to be smiling about, even something as small as how the clouds look in the sky. I always try to express my positive energy to others, whether that means smiling at them in the halls or asking them how their day has been going. No matter what, I believe that people find it easier to talk to you when you give off this energy. So, I think that my friendly and positive energy also adds to how approachable I come off to people! Another way that I am communicate with others is through my ability to listen. I find that listening is an important trait to have. It’s one thing to hear someone, but another to actually understand what they’re saying. This is super important because listening is a tool that is used in your everyday life. It goes a long way both personally and professionally when you are able to utilize your listening skills!
The biggest factor that shaped me to be who I am today was being on sports teams growing up. I played soccer, volleyball, and basketball throughout my entire life. Doing this has taught me skills that can be applied in both my personal and professional life. One of my biggest takeaways from playing sports is my ability to work well with others. I have had to deal with many different types of people and how to approach them when being on a sports team. I understand the idea of teamwork and have seen firsthand where it leads you. I know that teamwork is an important part of any team, even if you feel like you’d do better on your own. I also learned that positivity is a huge part of being on a team. The goal is to lift each other up so that you can all succeed, not tear people down so that you can succeed. This is very important in my professional life because I am able to work well with coworkers, which allows for me to be more efficient.
When it comes to my goals, I can confidently say that I don’t know exactly where I’d like to be in the future. Currently, I am a busy college student who’s balancing work, school, and a sorority. I am constantly wondering if what I am doing is the right move and wondering where I will end up. In the future, I am hoping that this will change. I want to become a person who is doing something that she is 100% sure of. I want to grow up to love my job, where I live, and everything in between. So, in short, I am hoping that in the future I will be confident in whatever I decide to do!
With all of this being said, my personal mission is to make the world a better place. I know that that’s a very broad mission, but I think that’s what I like about it. It’s very open to interpretation! In my case, I think that something that will always help to make the world a better place is the spread of kindness and positivity. Many people around the world are going through something that is hard and one small act of kindness can be the thing to change how they feel! I’ve always tried to be someone who brightens people’s day in some way and that’s why I’d like to continue to do so. In my eyes, there is no way to hurt someone when doing something out of the kindness of your heart. As I continue to impact people, I hope that my efforts are able to rub off on at least a few people on the way, so that I can make the world a happier place!
Raigan Novotny 