Your Professional Portfolio ~ Learning As A Lifestyle

It’s back to school time, and I have begun to wonder if I need to take a class in something. The easiest way for me to check is to look at my portfolio to see what I have already done.

Teachers ask students to keep a portfolio of their work in school. For the most part, students keep those things until the end of the school year and throw them away. But a professional portfolio is something that you keep on hand for a lifetime.

My portfolio is not just a collection of certificates I have earned. It includes samples of my work. When I write an article for a journal or a newspaper, I include it in my portfolio. When I present on a topic, I keep the advertisement for the talk. When I volunteer for a community project, I keep the thank you note.

Don’t get the idea that I am doing a great job keeping this portfolio. Like most people, I get busy and forget. I have an envelope of scrap papers that need to be added. The point is, if you don’t have a professional portfolio, it may be time you put one together. You never know what opportunities are just around the corner.

Are you looking to update your skills? Thinking about starting your own business? Do you want to change careers? Job security is not what it used to be, and many employees are considering alternatives.

This fall, the Center for Lifelong Learning will be offering several new certificate programs and courses to renew your skills. Most can be finished in less than a year, some in only six months. “Certificate holders earn 20 % more than workers who hold only a high school diploma…..and more than one third of certificate holders also have Associate’s degrees or Bachelor’s degrees.” from Inside Higher Education, June 6.

Whether you are looking for career training, or just want a class for fun, here are just a few CLL classes for October.

October 8, Bank Street Players performing The Perfect 36: How Southern Women Won the Vote, 7:00 to 8:30 pm, $5

October 9, Lunch and Learn: Funeral Leave Attendance Policy: A Case Study, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, $5 discussion only/$10 discussion and lunch

October 9, Beginner Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, 9:30 to 11:30 am, $75

October 9, Bible Studies Series: The Life and Journeys of Paul, 6:30 to 8:00 pm, $10

October 9, Introduction to the iPad, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, $29

October 9, Cake Decorating: Rosebuds and Flowers, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, $39

October 9, ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certificate, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, $175

October 11 & 18, OSHA 10-hour Training, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, $195

October 13, Adoption for Beginners, 10:00 to 11:30 am, free

October 13, Blacksmith Project 2, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, $75

October 18, AHA CPR Anytime, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, $35

October 18, Integrity in the Workplace, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, $29

October 20, Coffee & Canvas Painting with Sanda, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, $45

For more information, visit the CLL website – athens.edu/CLL, or call 256-233-8260
By: Wanda Campbell