Caleb's CAS Blog!

In my first four hours at the Pennebaker marketing firm, I already feel as if I've been welcomed. When I went in on Monday April 10th, they set me up with a desk and an account to their Google. Immediately I felt as if I was part of the team. Around half an hour later I sat in on a meeting between the head of the company, two of the people in their creative division, and the head of a company in Florida that deals in kidnapping insurance. The next time I went (Wednesday April 12) they had me getting down to more work. I helped to enter locations and offices into a website that Pennebaker is building for one of their clients. At first glance, Pennebaker is already interesting. Their offices are bright and the layout of the office is easy to maneuver. There are personal touches from employees wherever you look and even the slightest contact with one of said employees elicits a smile. Everyone is willing to help you and talk to you. If I didn't know I was in high school I would...

It’s been interesting closing out my time with PYCC as a junior. Our largest conference, Conclaves, where we lead worship for up to 200 youth for two weekends in January, wrapped up and I feel like I was changed the most this time. I worked very well with my teammates in the small group of youth that we led. We were able to communicate effectively and we played off of each others’ strengths in large ways. For example, I was able to talk a lot in our sessions as our other two members weren’t as good with public speaking. I was also able to take a backseat to the games and physical activities as one of our other group leaders was best with those kinds of activities. I cried a lot about leaving home for college and wondering about whether I was a good older brother and role model to my younger brothers. However, through deep introspection I was able to calm myself down and reassure myself that my family would be fine without me. Throughout my life I’ve been very protective of my family an...

Coming to the end of my time in Footloose as well as the end of my time with the largest role I’d ever had (at that time) I knew I was going to miss it. The connections I’d made, the new songs and dances I’d learned that I wouldn’t be able to perform again. I was gonna miss everything but I was also excited to take the new skills I’d learned both in theater and for life in general forward with me. I was also leaving a character that I didn’t particularly like (as a person; I loved the act of playing him) behind. Throughout the show I was able to show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. The whole process really wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were a lot of rehearsals I didn’t particularly want to go to and I was not always 100% invested in the musical. But I stuck with it. I pushed through the bad patches because if you don’t have bad patches you’re really not human. I pushed through the bad things into one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was also...