2:30 a.m.
Today is another one of those days where I don’t remember to do my weekly check in until 2:30 a.m. Why does this always happen?!
I can’t believe it but my last day is this Tuesday. I’ll be presenting to everyone at the office about my trip to Guatemala and having some breakfast, as well as getting lunch with my supervisor. I really cannot believe that it’s my last day already!
Before I’m done though, I am doing a blog about the 10 year partnership. I’m working on collecting some quotes now, which I’m unsure whether I’ll actually have enough by Tuesday so if not, it will be finished by the end of the week. Friday was originally my last day anyway but I’m lobbying.
I did, however, finish my Rice Bowl blog, which turned out well! Check it out here.
My internship evaluation was completed last week as well, and so was the evaluation from my supervisor. Now all that’s left (besides that one blog) is my final paper. I’m not as sure what to discuss in this paper as I was in my last one but I’ll figure something out!
Another blog finished!
I finally finished my blog about the immigration simulations at three universities on the East Coast! It was definitely a bit challenging, especially since I didn’t really know the people I was getting quotes from, but it was a good experience. It ended up being longer than I thought it would be but I think, overall, I got some good content and was able to communicate the general theme.
Take a look here!
Soon, my Rice Bowl Storify will be finished as well. I have a handful of edits to make and then it will be posted on the University site as well. I’ll also be working on the 10th anniversary blog with my last few days of the internship.
I’ll still be speaking about my experience in Guatemala to everyone in the office at some point, as well as a lunch before the internship is over. Only three more days–that’s so crazy!
I’ll have more to post with my update next week. 🙂
Checklist
The semester is really winding down. Tuesday I finally got the chance to begin putting together the immigration simulation blog. I am also finishing up my Rice Bowl blog.
The other day, I also had the opportunity to work with two other students to record a representative speaking about his work. It was a great opportunity and we’ll have the rest of the semester to edit it and put it together. I’m really excited about it! It was great hearing him talk about his work.
Tuesday is also the 10th anniversary, which I’ll write a blog about, incorporating information and quotes from the representative as well. I’m keeping a checklist for myself as the semester comes to an end!
To obtain credits, the projects I still have to work on before the semester ends are the internship evaluation and final paper. I’m still trying to figure out what angle I want to take with my paper but it will probably be something relating to non-governmental organizations or humanitarian work.
Now that Lent is over…
Now that Lent is over, the internship will be coming to an end shortly, which is unreal! I don’t have much to update on given that I was off for Good Friday but I do know what I will probably be focusing on for the last few weeks.
I sent a reminder to the people I had originally emailed for the blog and three people responded back so at least now I can start on that blog! I will also be working on another Storify about Lent and Rice Bowl, which I’ve already begun.
I’m not so sure I will be continuing my Guatemala blog that I was originally working on. I think, at this point, that there are more important things to be focusing on since my trip was now a month ago.
One of my final blogs will probably be about the 10-year anniversary celebration. I would like to put that into a Storify post so I’m hoping there will be enough media to embed.
I’ll be having a meeting with the Career Center hopefully at some point this week to go over my learning objectives and talk about the internship as well.
What’s happening
No one was in the office on Friday so I worked from home again. I’m continuing on with my Guatemala blog, trying to make all the necessary changes while trying to keep my voice. I also need to send a reminder to other people who I sent questions to in regards to another blog I am in the process of working on. Lent will also be over at the end of this week so I’m excited to put together another Storify. They’re so fun to do!
I’ll need to put together some tweets tomorrow because this weekend was crazy busy. Other than that, not much is going on. I’m sure I’ll have much more of an update next week!
I also realized why my phone wasn’t sending me my weekly reminder for this blog…and it’s because I never set it up to remind me every week. So there’s that. But it’s fixed so hopefully these blogs won’t continue being written at 2:30 a.m.
Blogs, blogs and more blogs
I wasn’t feeling very well on Friday so I stayed home but I’m still getting work done! Plus it’s the first day I’ve missed that wasn’t because of snow the entire semester so that’s good. (It was actually snowing on Friday…coincidence?) 🙂
I am still attempting to work on my Guatemala blog, which will hopefully be all updated by the end of the week. I’m working to make better connections to the mission of the organization, which is something that I had been struggling with as I mentioned last week. I spoke to my supervisor on Tuesday though and she gave me some tips on what to include!
I am also continuing to work on tweets for their Twitter. It’s fun seeing what I’ve curated tweeted out and it’s been a focus of mine for the past month.
The questions for the other blog were finally finished as well and I have emailed everyone. Once I hear back, that blog will be worked on as well.
Lent is almost over too, meaning that another Storify will be coming!
Storify for the win this semester.
Catch up
Tonight is another one of those nights where I don’t remember to do my weekly check in until 1 a.m. It’s okay though for this night owl. First things first, this internship is more than halfway done. How does that even happen?! The semester always goes way too quickly.
It’s been two weeks since my last check in and that’s because this time last week, I was catching up on sleep after having been in Guatemala the entire week! What an amazing experience it was–the people, the community, the culture. I wish I could go back. It’s been very hard for me to articulate through words (at least, spoken word) just how much of an impact this trip has had on me. So I did a reflection piece. I did one for Loquitur as well as used my Loquitur story in another Storify post. Storify is super fun to use and I’m so glad this internship has given me the opportunity to learn how to use it!
Take a look at my latest @Storify about my trip to #Guatemala –> http://t.co/s6ZMpVMh1P
— Erica Abbott (@erica_abbott) March 13, 2015
The trip gave me the opportunity to put into action what I have been learning about in my ECG classes for the past two years. But I suppose that’s enough about Guatemala because, to be honest, it wasn’t a trip that I did because of my internship so I guess now really isn’t the time to mention it. 🙂
I will, however, be working on a couple of blog posts about it for my internship. I need to figure out how to make a better connection to the internship though and that’s a problem I’ve been having in this internship is connecting what I have to say to the mission of the company and what they do. It’s been a struggle but that’s why it’s important to continue working on it–so I can better my social justice writing in a way that makes an impact.
I’m also simultaneously attempting to work on two other blogs and getting in contact with sources through email. The blogs are about two school’s immigration simulations that they did last semester. I have also been curating tweets, which is fun because there’s just so much that can be tweeted about! I created multiple tweets over the past two weeks about World Water Day, drawing on articles, infographics, quizzes, and more to illustrate the importance of water. I mean, of course, water is important. Let’s not waste it! That might be a fun blog to work on as well…
Lent will also be coming to an end shortly, which means another blog will be coming! And of course, I will be using Storify to show what multiple schools were doing to celebrate and educate. It’s my new go-to storytelling tool.
Learning new things
Things are going well and I’m getting lots done.
I created a Storify at work on Friday! It’s the first time I ever used Storify and it was great because people were saying I did well on it, so that’s a good sign!
Take a look:
Hi everyone! I’m excited to share my first Storify! Check it out! http://t.co/yiVf37lk7K @CRSUniversity @CRSAmbassadors1 @jerryzurek #CRS
— Erica Abbott (@erica_abbott) February 20, 2015
It was pretty simple to pick up; the hardest part is just finding things to include in the story. But that’s like anything you do. When I write my blogs, I have to pick out tweets, gifs, etc. to add in so it’s really not that different.
I’m glad I was also able to use and learn about a new way to create the story. Normally, I just embed information into WordPress or save a file and place it but Storify works in a bit of a different way and the results are great. It’s a good tool for storytelling.
I’ll be going to work tomorrow instead of Tuesday and then I head in Friday, which is also the day before I’m leaving for Guatemala! So I probably won’t be writing another blog until two Sundays from now, although I won’t have much to write about, being that I won’t be working for a week.
I need to write reminders for everything
I set reminders for myself to write a blog every week about my internship and I still end up remembering at 2 a.m. Monday morning. Clearly, things are very busy.
Something exciting though: I finished my first blog! It hasn’t been published yet but I wrote about Refugees Seeking Safety. It ended up being over 900 words so I’m excited to get feedback about it. I think it actually turned out pretty well, so we’ll see!
I also officially finished up the database. I just had a handful of addresses to add so it’s great that it’s completed and information will be getting sent out.
I’m also going to be working on curating some tweets so I can’t wait to see how that goes. I’ll also be working on creating another blog post, probably sometime soon!
Let’s hope for some nice weather Tuesday (even though it probably won’t be based on what they’re calling for) because it would be nice to get to work without any problems.
We shall see.
Hopefully the next time I write, I will have a link for the blog I wrote. Hopefully I also remember to write something before it’s 2 a.m. on a Monday.
Time for some sleep.
Let’s get to work…or continue working
Wow, this Thursday will be one month since I was offered the internship! Crazy how quickly time passes (something I stated many, many times in my last internship). Though I was officially offered the position then, I didn’t start going into the office until over a week later so these blogs are really only getting started.
I like what I’m working on so far. I’ve pretty much finished working on the database I mentioned in my first blog and ended up with over 200 entries. This past week was also the first time I went in on a Tuesday morning and it worked well leaving from my internship and then heading right to my class.
I’ve now moved onto working on a briefing for a college, which I have also already finished. My big project right now is working on a blog about an event that happened at Cabrini last week. I’ve written about 400 words so far and still need to add in quotes from people and the importance of the event.
It’s nice being able to work on this blog because I’m usually working on newswriting for Loquitur and really only get to work on opinion or first-person pieces when I write a review or perspective. But this time, the blog really focuses on what I thought of the event and making it really personal. I’m excited to post it when it’s all finished, which will hopefully be before I leave Tuesday afternoon.
I have also completed my learning objectives. Speaking of learning objectives, I’ve already completed one of them because of the database I was working on—and it’s actually kind of crazy that I got over 200 schools entered into it.
Other projects I’ll really be focusing on is writing about social justice topics in a personal way, doing some work their Twitter account, and checking in on what college ambassador groups are doing around the region.
I have a feeling it’s going to be a good semester 🙂
Until next time!
Another internship…wait, what?
Hi all!
This semester I am doing another internship, which I’m absolutely so excited about doing! Although the internship was very unexpected (I was originally going to take the semester off from doing an internship), it’s a great opportunity. It is something that is extremely different than anything I have ever done before but it is also a chance to elaborate on topics I have learned in class.
It is also the first internship where I actually have set hours of going into the office but, thankfully, the office isn’t too far away from Cabrini. I’m working on Tuesday (yes, the same day as layout for the newspaper) and Fridays. I think that is another great part of the internship–being able to get a feel for an office environment and work on projects that I never thought I would.
My ECG class last semester really gave me different perspectives on issues and I’m hoping this internship really elaborates on specific problems.
Because of Snowmageddon, or lack thereof, I did not go into the office on Tuesday. I’ve been to the office once so far but definitely was already working on a lot the first day! I worked on putting folder materials together for a meeting, sat in on calls, worked on researching for a database and also just really getting used to the new building!
So it’s going to be a great semester and I’ll be back to blogging weekly about what I’m doing and what I’m learning. Now to get back to work…
Erica Abbott 