Nicolette Zulli on Creating Contentment in the Workplace

By Christina Cannady

Nico Zulli is a third-year Associate Attorney at Duane Morris LLP. She graduated from Baylor in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism - News-Editorial, with a minor in Film & Digital Media. One of my biggest takeaways from her lecture during our class was that you can still do other things even if your degree didn't specialize in that particular thing. "The culture you choose to create and participate in within the work place will define your contentment" she said.

Oftentimes we find that our dream career perhaps isn't quite as attainable as we thought, or that sometimes plans fall through and we have to adapt or adjust. Zulli points out that by keeping an open mind you might discover opportunities you hadn't previously considered. It is important to have a plan and goals, but also important that those plans are not concrete. You have to be flexible in your endeavors.

I appreciated that Zulli stressed there are certain skills you can always learn on the job. She compared herself as a journalism major to those who go through pre-law programs and explained that her journalism courses allowed her to hone in to her writing skills which gave her an edge at law school. I relate with this in that I am not a sole journalism major and I do not necessarily want to be a professional journalist when I'm out of school.

I added a news-editorial minor specifically to hone in to my writing skills and improve them along with my communication skills. It is an excellent area of study to gain tangible skills. I wanted this to go along with my International Studies major which consists of mostly history, politics or cultural classes. The attention to detail and accuracy that you learn in a journalism program will be relevant in any field.

She also explained how COVID-19 and quarantine has affected her priorities in her work life. She said when she had to start working from home because of the pandemic, she had to reorganize her day to balance work and home life. She explained how important taking breaks or walks became to clear a fog of frustration. Upon returning to the workplace, she continues to take the walks to reenergize and step away from the work buzz for a moment.

This has to do with the importance of self-discovery that she mentioned. In order to have the most contentment in your work life, you have to venture into some self-discovery to learn your priorities, principles or morals within the workplace. You shouldn't have to be two different people at home or work.

Overall she explained that your work life is what you make it out to be. Take useful and interesting classes during college, get to know yourself and have a flexible vision for the future. The culture you create with yourself and your peers dictate your contentment and happiness in work and life.