Fortunately, I live in the great state of Florida where I am able to visit a beach on either coast on just about any day of the year. So it was that I found myself recently walking along one of our east coast beaches when I began to watch the waves leave and return to the shore again and again.

While watching the waves roll over the shoreline, I began to think about life and the work of the waves that roll through on a daily basis.

I am a business professional/academic by training. Beyond the usual general education requirements for my undergraduate degree years ago, I hold no special body of knowledge regarding oceanography. However, I grew up near Rehoboth Beach, Del., a beach town in the northeast.

Throughout my childhood and into my teenage years, I remember that the news would constantly have stories about the condition of our beaches. The stories would focus on erosion, shoreline rebuilding and also the positive effects of the waves and tides on our coastline. As a child, I did not understand the importance of the work of the waves on our beaches.

Now I understand.

While on my recent walk on the beach, I thought about my life these past few years and the waves, big and small, that have washed over me 鈥� much like the ones I stood watching wash over the coastline in front of me. Because of the waves that have rippled through my own life, I have been eroded, replenished and reshaped in so many different ways. However, I cannot say that I did not fight the waves and their work in my life even when the erosion and replenishment was necessary to reshape or refocus me in a positive way.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has conducted a great deal of research on the science of waves and their effects on beach environments. I think when we examine some of their findings, we will find guidance in allowing the waves in our own lives do their work:

1. There are good waves: The waves that you see break on the coastline every day at a beach are wind waves. The wind has blown across the ocean and created ripples that roll onto the shore. These waves are necessary because they move nutrients to and from the shore.聽 They also remove sediments and other natural trash from the coast.

There is a big difference between how the beach and humans react to these wind waves. The beach, on a daily basis, allows the waves to do their work. Humans fight a futile battle against these waves in life.聽 Each day, month and year in our life brings changes positive and negative.

However, I have often found myself standing on the coastline of my life attempting to hold onto dirty sand while the waves are attempting to wash those unneeded parts away from my life. Simultaneously, I am not taking the moment to find and appreciate the beautiful deposits of the waves much like the shells and nutrients gifted to beaches by every wave rolling onto shore.

I challenge each of you to allow the wind waves in your life to do their work. Allow these good waves to take the bad and leave the good.

2. There are bad waves: A tsunami is a wave that is not caused by wind. Instead, tsunamis are waves that are caused by some abrupt disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide or underwater volcano eruption.

When tsunamis arrive on shore, unlike wind waves, they can cause massive destruction and loss of life. The recovery, though possible, can be prolonged and very difficult. But there can indeed be recovery.

In the past few years, I have experienced several tsunamis in my own life. These were massive waves that washed over me, knocked me down and took large pieces of my soul. I have had to rebuild and recover. However, the rebuilding of my life has actually left me with a stronger mind, body and soul than I had before. Because of those tsunamis in my life, my unstable foundation was washed away but I was also forced to conscientiously rebuild a foundation in my life that is the strongest it has ever been.

So, even in the case of such devastation, I had to allow the waves to do their work.

Yes, good and bad waves exist both in the ocean and in our lives. These good and bad waves can and will have positive and negative side effects on the beach as well as in our lives. However, how you react to the waves will determine their true and lasting effects in your life.

Be more like the beach. It allows the regular wind waves to do their daily jobs of replenishment and erosion because both are necessary for the continued stability of the coastline. The beach allows the wind waves to do their work.

The beach also waits in anticipation of those unexpected tsunamis that will surely come.聽 After, the tsunami crashes ashore, the beach slowly but surely recovers and, undoubtedly, returns stronger than before the disaster. The beach allows the tsunamis to do their work.

How about you?聽 Will you allow the waves to do their work in your own life?

Dr. Carolyn A. Massiah is an associate lecturer in the 麻豆原创 College of Business. She can be reached at Carolyn.Massiah@ucf.edu.

We wash our windows. We dust in places guests will never see. We turn mattresses and change out bed sets. If we are truly committed to spring cleaning, we decide to tackle the dreaded closet. Unfortunately, intentions are not always converted to behaviors when it comes to cleaning of the closets in our homes鈥r in our lives.

I have an overwhelmingly large walk-in closet in my master bedroom. It was one of the major selling points of my home when I bought it. I was excited by the possibilities of what I could do with that large closet.

Now, however, I am merely overwhelmed with the amount of clothes, shoes and other various accessories I have managed to pile, shelve and shove into that closet. So, I chose to have the cleaning of the walk-in closet be my one major goal of spring cleaning this year.

Being an academic by trade, I somehow manage to make even the simplest of tasks into a research project of sorts. I want to do the best job possible in cleaning and organizing my closet. However, I want to be the most efficient with my time as well. So, I searched the internet on tips for cleaning closets. Pages and pages of results are produced on the subject.

Coincidentally, some of the advice give on cleaning our closets is readily applicable on cleaning up our lives as well.

On numerous websites, the advice is to not try to pick and choose items to keep or discard while they are still in the closet.聽 Instead, the suggestion is to remove everything from the closet and then examine and/or try on every piece individually before making a decision about keeping, discarding, or donating. When reading that suggestion, I think about our own personal lives. We all have some issues, memories or people stuffed in our closets that we need to truly take out, examine and make an honest decision about.

When we try on clothes from our closet, we should be asking ourselves several questions. Those same questions can be asked about our personal lives:

1. Does this fit: As I began to clean, I realized that I have up to three different sizes of clothing stored in my closet. I have continued to hold onto the various sizes because I am always telling myself that I will fit into that size again.

I think we all have relationships or memories that we hold onto in the same vain. We hold out hope that we are going to fit those people or those times again someday. However, all of the spring-cleaning articles that I have read strongly suggest that we need to acknowledge that we have changed and that we must not hold onto items that no longer fit us merely out of emotional ties.

What people or issues are you holding onto that you have outgrown? It is OK to say they no longer fit you and you no longer fit them. Do not keep them around hoping that one day you will fit them again. Discard and move on.

2. Is this still in style: Beyond the several sizes of clothing I have in my closet, I also discovered that I have items that have long since gone out of style or they just do not match my current style or image. I must admit that when I go into my closet to choose an outfit, I will nostalgically look at those items and remember times gone by. However, I know that I will not choose to wear them. They just do not match the time and person that I am now.

This past year, I accepted that there were several people in my life that were like these clothing items. I kept them around because of the good old memories that we shared but we were not making any new memories together because we were different people with different paths.

Do you have an acquaintance that fits that category? You know that you are no longer friends but guilt and good memories prevent you from moving on. Holding onto those types of relationships will only clutter your mind and your heart much like out of style clothes clutter the closet.

Much like you, those people should probably find a new friend that matches their style. Donate them to that new friend.

3. Will I make the time to repair this: In cleaning out my closet, I discovered several items that were damaged. Perhaps they had stains, zippers were broken, seams were torn, or hems needed repairing. In either case, I had saved each of the items with the intention of repairing them. At least one of those items had been damaged for at least two years. I just kept telling myself that I will make the time and effort to get the items repaired and until that time, I would hold onto the items.

Ironically, I have a couple of people in my life that fit this same category. We have a tear or some other damage in the seams of our relationships and I have just continually kept telling myself that I will make the time and effort to fix that damage.

In January, one of my acquaintances died. I had procrastinated so long that I will never have the opportunity to fix that relationship. Are you right now storing deep in the back of your own closet such a relationship? I urge you to take those damaged relationships out and give them an honest examination.

As harsh and hard as it might be, you may learn that it is not a relationship that you want to or need to repair. That is OK. Do not allow it to clutter your mind and heart any longer. Discard and move on. However, you might decide that the relationship is worth saving and spending the time to repair? If so, do not delay: repair and keep.

As you begin your spring cleaning and you decide to tackle those pesky closets in your home, also take time to deal with your own emotional closets. If you ask and honestly answer those three short questions, I think you will be relieved with the results and you will have room in your closet for the people and memories that belong because they fit who you are now.

Now, go clean your closets!

Dr. Carolyn A. Massiah is an associate lecturer in the 麻豆原创 College of Business. She can be reached at Carolyn.Massiah@ucf.edu.

To the side of my house is a concrete light pole. It doesn鈥檛 have any leaves and branches, obviously, but it is more susceptible to being blown down during a violent storm because it lacks the strong roots that mature trees have to anchor them through a storm.

When I compare and contrast the tree and the pole, I know I would much rather be a tree.

Both trees and light poles stand above the blanket of shrubs and bushes below. However, this is where the similarities end.

Many light poles are inorganic entities of concrete or metal, created through some form of human intervention. The shape and size in which these poles are created will forever be their shape and size as inorganic entities will not change during their existence unless there is additional intervention.

Trees, on the other hand, are organic. They are living organisms that continually change. They will lose and gain leaves and branches but they will also grow and mature throughout their existence. Continual growth and development is what I want for my own life.聽 This is why I would rather be a tree than a light pole.

Unfortunately, positive growth sometimes must come from negative changes. Each year trees weather the change of seasons. With those changes in season, leaves come and they go and sometimes there may be seasons when the trees may not have any leaves at all on their branches.

The same can be said for our own lives. There are people that become attached to you as much as leaves are attached to branches. However, as the seasons change in our lives those people may disappear. Sometimes it seems several disappear at once and you are left bare much like trees in winter. For whatever reasons, those individuals were only meant to be in your life for a season. Yes, it hurts when those who you thought were going to stay forever leave your life before you are ready, but it is the nature of our organic lives.

Unfortunately, you never know how strong any branch will be until it is tested in the most violent of storms. Some branches appear thick and sturdy while they may actually be hollow or rotten to the core. If you step out on the branch for support because of its sturdy appearance, you might be disappointed and shocked when that branch does not support you but breaks and hurts you instead.

The same can be said for our own lives. There are people that we have relied upon and with whom we have built a long-term relationship. We have truly let them into our lives. However, as the weight of whatever burden you need bared by them increases, that friend gives under the load and breaks away from you in a permanent and irrevocable manner. Yes, it hurts but just as leaves come for a reason during a season, branches are there for those life-long lessons that we will take with us long after the branches have broken and been swept away. That is the nature of our organic lives.

So based on this, you might now be wondering why I would choose to be a tree instead of a pole. One word: roots!

Because trees are organic living creatures their roots continue to grow and strengthen as the tree grows and matures. When a storm comes, the roots anchor trees and allow trees to bend but not break in the storm.

Poles do not have that same anchor support. That is why we see more poles than trees down after severe hurricanes.

The same can be said for our own lives. Think about those individuals in your life that have been your anchor and support through the good and the bad. Often, much like a tree鈥檚 roots, those individuals do all of their work out of the view of others with no need of public acknowledgement. They are the blessings that we cannot overlook in our lives.

After comparing and contrasting the two, if I had to choose I would rather be a tree if it means that I will continue to have the blessings of roots just waiting to support me and feed me as I work to develop and mature throughout my existence.

Dr. Carolyn A. Massiah is an associate lecturer in the 麻豆原创 College of Business. She can be reached at Carolyn.Massiah@ucf.edu.

The 23-year-old Miami native, who learned sign language and how to read lips at an early age to overcome a hearing disability, said Saturday鈥檚 milestone will be especially meaningful.

鈥淭here were times when I felt like giving up,鈥� said Chirino, who also is the first in her family to graduate from high school, 鈥渂ut my positive attitude kept me pedaling.鈥�

And by pedaling, she means literally. After becoming financially independent at age 18 and enrolling in Valencia College, she would get up at 5 a.m. to bike 10 miles to campus for class before making the return trek home that night.

鈥淚 had a vision I was looking forward to and I never forgot why I was doing this challenge鈥攖o be the change I wish to see in the world, especially for those with disabilities,鈥� said Chirino, who enrolled at 麻豆原创 from Valencia through the DirectConnect to 麻豆原创 program.

Growing up with two deaf parents who hailed from Cuba, Chirino鈥檚 first language was a mix of Spanish and sign that she learned through a program for the deaf and hearing disabled in elementary school. She learned English and took speech-therapy classes to help her pronounce words correctly. Eventually she learned to read lips. But even as her communication skills improved, she said she often was embarrassed by her hearing aids.

Even when graduating from one of the largest colleges on the campus of one of the nation鈥檚 biggest universities, Chirino鈥檚 perseverance and attitude stand out in the crowd.

鈥淓rika never ceases to amaze and inspire me with the way she pushes through barriers, takes risks and exhibits drive and maturity you would expect in a more experienced individual,鈥� said Lonny Butcher, professor and director of the Office of Professional Development at 麻豆原创 College of Business. 鈥淚 teach over 3,000 students each semester, so it is rare I get to know more than a handful on a personal level. Rarer still is the opportunity to meet a student whose personal drive and ability to overcome the most difficult circumstances actually moves me to a state of admiration. I am fortunate to have played a part in Erika’s college experience, and I cannot wait to bring her back as an alumnae to inspire my next generation of students.鈥�

Chirino credits Butcher, marketing professor Carolyn Massiah, and professional selling program professor Bill Steiger with giving her the opportunity to build a professional network while challenging her to go even further.

With the goal of making the most of her time at 麻豆原创, Chirino became vice president of professional activities for the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, where she coordinated workplace tours and career development workshops for students. She interned for Wyndham Vacation Ownership and served as a member of the marketing team for the 麻豆原创 Student Union.

鈥淚 learned how to accept my disability and show I am brave. I learned how to overcome this hardship by relying on my skills in building relationship and reading lips,鈥� said Chirino, a marketing major who was one of just 35 students in the prestigious professional-selling program.

Juggling multiple responsibilities is nothing new for the energetic Chirino. By age 7, she had taken on many adult duties such as paying bills and booking appointments for her parents, who had lost their own hearing following childhood illnesses and never received a formal education.

Although her father was a skilled mechanic, she said he and her mother often were treated unfairly due to their lack of education. Witnessing her parents鈥� struggles, she said, motivated her to pursue a college degree.

鈥淢y parents are the reason why I am where I am today and why I am a driven, devoted woman ready to take on new challenges,鈥� said Chirino, who plans to start a business after graduation with the goal of buying her father his own boat and business and setting her mother up with her own nail salon. 鈥淚t is always a great feeling knowing I have accomplished something good to help my parents live a better life.鈥�

This one sentence is a valuable piece of advice I wish I had received and fully embraced so much earlier in life. In fact, it is still a notion that I struggle with because it is one that sounds selfish in nature. However, now more than at any other point in my life, I realize that in order to be selfless and to be able to assist others, you must first truly work on thinking of your own self first.

You must save yourself first.

I am a frequent flyer and I am a professor who wants my students to pay attention when I am providing them with what I know will be important information for them to have at some point in the future.

Those two facts combine to result in me being an attentive airline passenger each and every time the safety briefing is provided by flight attendants. I can nearly recite verbatim the script they deliver but the professor in me will still not allow me to ignore these individuals at the front of their own classroom attempting to provide us important information should we need it in the very near future.

What most passengers do not realize though is that the flight attendants are actually providing one very valuable piece of advice that so few are listening to, comprehending, or acting upon.

You must save yourself first.

If you have ever flown, you remember the flight attendant reassuring you that should the cabin lose air pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling above, and even if you do not see the bag inflate there is oxygen flowing through the mask. Then they proceed to tell you that if you are traveling with an infant or someone who is unable to put on their own mask, to please place your mask on first before assisting that individual.

When I flew as a young mother with my two young sons, I would often think that it would be so cruel and selfish to put my own mask on before I try to save them. I am their mother. My sole purpose is to protect them. However, as I thought about it, I realized that if I do not place my mask on first, I will suffocate and I may die trying to save them first. Who will save my children should I become unable to help them myself? The most selfless action I could take would be to save myself first so that I am then able to save them.

Now take a moment and think about your own day-to-day life.

Have you deprived your own self of oxygen in order to attempt to save others first? Perhaps, you are continually rushing about to help others out and only succeeding in exhausting yourself. Perhaps you have over-committed so as not to disappoint anyone, only to find out that you really cannot do it all and you are suffocating. Maybe you have a family member or friend that you just know will ask for some form of help at some point in time and you will step forward and provide that help even when it is not really in you to give.

Allow me to be your flight attendant and tell you to stop now and put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.

I challenge you to do the follow for yourself whenever you find yourself in a dire situation:.

1. Place your own mask on first: Look to your left and to your right at other passengers on this flight called Life. Some are capable of helping themselves and others are not. As life goes by, you will figure out those who will need your help in the event of an emergency. When and if that emergency in life occurs, place your own mask on first. You cannot help others if you are in the same dire straits they are in. Neither of you will survive.
2. Make certain your own oxygen is flowing: If you are gasping for air, for time, for motivation, for finances, you absolutely cannot save anyone else. Please be selfish and take care of yourself first. Take a moment or two for yourself. Your oxygen will not flow if you have not worked out the barriers and challenges in your own life. If you are not working on your own oxygen flow, you cannot work on someone else鈥檚. Neither of you will survive.
3. Leave the baggage behind: The flight attendant will always instruct you to leave behind bags and other personal items in the case of emergency. The same should be said for life. So often we are trying to save others while we are still carrying our own baggage from previous emergencies. Take the time now to deal with those past issues that may prevent you from saving yourself in future emergencies. Also, carrying that baggage will certainly not allow you to assist others in their emergencies. You cannot hold baggage and hands of others at the same time. Neither of you will survive.

Aim to be more selfish in your time and in your actions. The more that you choose to do for yourself, the more capable you are of doing for others. I understand that it may sound counter-intuitive that being selfish will actually improve your ability to be selfless. However, I ask that you take a leap of faith and place your own oxygen mask on first before attempting to assist others with theirs.

Save yourself first!

Dr. Carolyn A. Massiah is an associate lecturer in the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration. She can be reached at Carolyn.Massiah@ucf.edu.

“We are proud of this accomplishment for Dr. Massiah, as it is a testament to her dedication to online teaching,” said Ronald Michaels, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Marketing.