1. Give me an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.

 

My first job I worked at Kroger and I started out as a courtesy clerk and the job was really easy for me.  I felt as though I was always getting the tasks I had to do very quickly and was left feeling very bored because I would finish things way before there was something else for me to do.  I would make myself busy by doing extra cleaning and organizing for the store even though that was not a part of the job.  I also took action to talk to my managers to try and move up to a higher position because I was always doing very well with my job and going above and beyond.  Because I was so adamant about wanting more of a challenge and showed through my work thus far that I would be able to keep and and more, it worked out in my favor and my manager felt as though I would do very well in the higher position.  

 

 2. What has been your proudest moment?

 

My proudest moment has been getting accepted to Penn State University.  I have said since I was little that it was a goal of mine to get into that school and it has been my dream school for forever.  This is such a proud moment for me because I really put my mind to this goal and stuck with it until I accomplished it.  I did this by focusing on my studies and extracurricular to the best of my abilities.  Whenever I felt like giving up on my school work I remember this goal and what it was going to take to get there.  I think that this situation really shows my persistence and resilience and how dedicated I am to things when I put my mind to it.  

 

 3. What is one area of your life that you feel needs improvement?

 

One area of my life that I feel as though could use some improvement is my communication skills.  In the past I have sometimes had a hard time communicating my ideas and thoughts effectively due to fear of rejection.  I also think that sometimes I don’t use the right words and phrases to effectively communicate ideas and what I might need out of a situation.  It is something that I have been working on and have made great improvements on and will continue to try and improve.  

 

 

4. Describe the color yellow to somebody who is blind.

 

I would describe the color yellow as the feeling of happiness.  It is delicate and fragile.  The color yellow gives the same energy as the warmth from the sun hitting your skin after a long cold winter, it is like the rainbow after a terrible storm and it is like seeing a beautiful sunset on the beach.  The color yellow encompasses the feeling of happiness and is a bright warm color.  

 

 

5. What is the most important thing you learned in school?

 

The most important thing I learned in school is to not care about what others are going to think of you.  That can be pretty contradicting in an interview setting like this because making a good first impression is important.  This is such a valuable lesson because before I learned how important this concept was I was living my life for others and not myself.  Once I stopped caring so much about what those around me were thinking of me I was able to come to my full self and reach my full potential.  I believe that living a life for others and how others expect and want me to be would leave me with a lot of regrets at the end of my life and I do not want to feel that.  I want to know that everything I do is because I am doing it for me and my happiness.  In doing that I have grown as a person and my confidence has also grown because the more I am myself, the more I am able to realize that I have good things to contribute to situations and that I am a valuable person in all the aspects of my life. 

 

 6. Are you best working in a group or by yourself? Please explain

 

I would say that I am best working in a group.  I think this because I enjoy the process of bouncing ideas off of each other and coming to a consensus on solving the problem and or task at hand.   Working in a group has always allowed me to be more creative and open to different ideas that I might not have thought of in the first place.  For example in school for an exercise we were put into groups and had to find a way to connect raw spaghetti noodles together to build a tall tower.  On my own I think I would have struggled but with my group we were able to throw out all of our ideas and combine them to make the best solution.  When I am working by myself sometimes I tend to stick to one idea when I could’ve come up with a smarter plan if I were to be working with others to all accomplish the same goal.