INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
Check out my senior internship blog! It's full of daily blogs I updated throughout my experience
Bernadette Alverio
Bernadette is the owner of The Movement Lab in Santa Rosa California. As a dance performer and dance teacher, Ms. Alverio is a well respected person. Her skills stem from years of experience, she incorperates different styles of dancing in her choreography such as hip hop and contemporary . I completed my senior internship by volunteering to help put together her company's performance, Dancing Through Time.
Bernadette is the owner of The Movement Lab in Santa Rosa California. As a dance performer and dance teacher, Ms. Alverio is a well respected person. Her skills stem from years of experience, she incorperates different styles of dancing in her choreography such as hip hop and contemporary . I completed my senior internship by volunteering to help put together her company's performance, Dancing Through Time.
Senior Internship Reflection
I chose to volunteer for the Movement Lab’s performance , “Dancing Through Time”, because the position seemed to suit me and it was an irresistible opportunity. My responsibility as a volunteer was to come up with a design for a mural to promote the dance performance and do multiple tasks to help the process go smoothly. The first few days I helped with getting things done like folding programs, brainstorming for the mural design that was approved by Bernadette, completing the mural, and making sure the lobby looked presentable. The days of the actual performance I did many small tasks such as helping out with setting up the concessions stand, running through dance rehearsals with the performing groups, monitoring performers including taking them on bathroom runs, made sure the pick up area after the show was orginized and safe, and I also helped clean and pack up after the last show. I assumed this position suited me because the skills that were required included skills I was interested in improving, like painting, working and communicating with kids and much more transferable skills. I also chose the position because it was close to my house making it a convenient and smart move considering my previous junior internship was further and difficult to get to.
Although Bernadette did not have painting expertise to give me and my team, she was still able to lead us in the direction she wanted and provide a few things for the mural if we needed them. Luckily we had Mrs.Frenzel, who is an experienced painter, as a source to go to when we had questions during the painting process. Bernadette was kind enough to give us plenty of independence and her trust with the mural. The independence gave us a chance to explore our creativity and give us responsibility. The freedom also gave us a chance to prove ourselves and show her that we can be trusted when given a chance and task.
There were no major challenges but a few bumps in the road did occur. A challenge that came up was the walk home, we usually called it a day around eight or nine at night so I would have to walk the longer way home because it was much safer than the short cut. Despite the fact that the walks were frightening I still made it home safe and sound in one piece. Another challenge that was nerve racking was the pressure of painting a good mural because I am not as experienced with paint as I want to be, but it worked out in the end because many people complimented it and most importantly our mentor liked it. The reason I found this internship so enjoyable was because things did not go south, they ran smoothly for the most part and made it much easier for me.
I have observed that my personal growth improved along the way. Not only did this teach me responsibility, it also gave me growth in my painting techniques. I grew as a team member, mostly because when working in a group, specifically my group that painted the mural, each one of us had to put in the quality effort in order to finish on time with a satisfying result. My role not only required painting, it also included assisting wherever I was needed, this grew my experience with working quickly or under pressure. My confidence has also progressed because with each experience similar to this one, I have noticed that I am more comfortable performing tedious jobs.
Opportunities like internships are going to improve your skills especially transferable skills, my internship experience resulted with me gaining many of them. I came into the process hoping to gain any skill or improvements in my skills, but I mainly wanted to focus on my painting skills or even improving my communication with kids, I walked out of the process with these skills and more. Something I have improved is my painting abilities, mostly because we were given room to explore as well as learn. Transferable skills like communication, listening, determination, time management and creativity were all beneficial and improved, because for most of the time, I was working with a group of people.
My overall internship gave me the skills, experience, and confidence I may need for a future job. I anticipated going into the internship with tons of room for learning and leaving with a growth and maturity. I can honestly say without a doubt that I have gained a considerable amount of knowledge and experience that are definitely beneficial. I feel as though my chances of receiving and keeping a job position has expanded much more.
I chose to volunteer for the Movement Lab’s performance , “Dancing Through Time”, because the position seemed to suit me and it was an irresistible opportunity. My responsibility as a volunteer was to come up with a design for a mural to promote the dance performance and do multiple tasks to help the process go smoothly. The first few days I helped with getting things done like folding programs, brainstorming for the mural design that was approved by Bernadette, completing the mural, and making sure the lobby looked presentable. The days of the actual performance I did many small tasks such as helping out with setting up the concessions stand, running through dance rehearsals with the performing groups, monitoring performers including taking them on bathroom runs, made sure the pick up area after the show was orginized and safe, and I also helped clean and pack up after the last show. I assumed this position suited me because the skills that were required included skills I was interested in improving, like painting, working and communicating with kids and much more transferable skills. I also chose the position because it was close to my house making it a convenient and smart move considering my previous junior internship was further and difficult to get to.
Although Bernadette did not have painting expertise to give me and my team, she was still able to lead us in the direction she wanted and provide a few things for the mural if we needed them. Luckily we had Mrs.Frenzel, who is an experienced painter, as a source to go to when we had questions during the painting process. Bernadette was kind enough to give us plenty of independence and her trust with the mural. The independence gave us a chance to explore our creativity and give us responsibility. The freedom also gave us a chance to prove ourselves and show her that we can be trusted when given a chance and task.
There were no major challenges but a few bumps in the road did occur. A challenge that came up was the walk home, we usually called it a day around eight or nine at night so I would have to walk the longer way home because it was much safer than the short cut. Despite the fact that the walks were frightening I still made it home safe and sound in one piece. Another challenge that was nerve racking was the pressure of painting a good mural because I am not as experienced with paint as I want to be, but it worked out in the end because many people complimented it and most importantly our mentor liked it. The reason I found this internship so enjoyable was because things did not go south, they ran smoothly for the most part and made it much easier for me.
I have observed that my personal growth improved along the way. Not only did this teach me responsibility, it also gave me growth in my painting techniques. I grew as a team member, mostly because when working in a group, specifically my group that painted the mural, each one of us had to put in the quality effort in order to finish on time with a satisfying result. My role not only required painting, it also included assisting wherever I was needed, this grew my experience with working quickly or under pressure. My confidence has also progressed because with each experience similar to this one, I have noticed that I am more comfortable performing tedious jobs.
Opportunities like internships are going to improve your skills especially transferable skills, my internship experience resulted with me gaining many of them. I came into the process hoping to gain any skill or improvements in my skills, but I mainly wanted to focus on my painting skills or even improving my communication with kids, I walked out of the process with these skills and more. Something I have improved is my painting abilities, mostly because we were given room to explore as well as learn. Transferable skills like communication, listening, determination, time management and creativity were all beneficial and improved, because for most of the time, I was working with a group of people.
My overall internship gave me the skills, experience, and confidence I may need for a future job. I anticipated going into the internship with tons of room for learning and leaving with a growth and maturity. I can honestly say without a doubt that I have gained a considerable amount of knowledge and experience that are definitely beneficial. I feel as though my chances of receiving and keeping a job position has expanded much more.
Heather Cullen
Heather Cullen has been an active member of the community. Mrs. Cullen works in the performing arts field. Her days consists of teaching at the Windsor Performing Arts Academy and teaching at other schools. She is a dedicated and trusted member in the Windsor community. I completed my junior internship volunteering for Mrs. Cullen by painting a backdrop for her play and working the ticket booth for a fundraiser talent show.
Heather Cullen has been an active member of the community. Mrs. Cullen works in the performing arts field. Her days consists of teaching at the Windsor Performing Arts Academy and teaching at other schools. She is a dedicated and trusted member in the Windsor community. I completed my junior internship volunteering for Mrs. Cullen by painting a backdrop for her play and working the ticket booth for a fundraiser talent show.
This is a backdrop of the burger palace I worked on for a school play "Grease".
My Junior Project Reflection
For my Junior Project I volunteered for more than twelve hours for Heather Cullin. I helped with two events Mrs.Cullin was creating. I have learned more than I expected and the experience helped me advance my professional and social skills. I looked at this opportunity as a real life job and realized how similar it is to a job. I have grown from and love volunteering for the two events. The reason why I chose this job was because it was close to my house and a teacher had recommended it to me.
The first task I was assigned was to complete a backdrop made out of cardboard and construction paper for a play her students were performing called "Grease". My second task was to promote The Windsor Talent Show Fundraiser by going to many local businesses to get sponsors and hand out flyers. Since socializing with strangers has always been a problem for me I was terrible at first but after going to many businesses I became way better at it and finally got a sponsor. Another task I helped with was painting another backdrop for "Grease" and attended a meeting with Mrs.Cullin and a few of her friends for the talent show. The last task I was given was to take over the ticket booth position at the The Windsor Talent Show Fundraiser.
I was really nervous going into my first day but Mrs.Cullin had a welcoming and hospitable personality that made me more comfortable. Throughout the process she gave me constructive criticism and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. She assigned me tasks and gave me an idea to work with. She was very busy but still gave me the information and equipment i needed to make sure i completed a task. One of the things she offered was a little transportation which she did not have to do but was kind enough to do so.
Throughout the process I have faced multiple challenges, but by facing them it allowed me to strengthen my weaknesses. One of the challenges I had was my lack of transportation, when you have a job you have to do you can't expect to keep it if you have a bad attendance, so I did whatever I possibly could to make sure I was there on time. Another challenge I have always struggled with is speaking to professional or older people. Talking to older and professional people is hard for me because I'm shy around unfamiliar faces and it's hard for me to maintain a professional conversation and use a strict vocabulary. After speaking to numerous businesses I became more comfortable and way better with my social skills, those skills can really be used for future careers especially when speaking to bosses and others. If I could go back and redo something I would definitely take a lot more pictures of my progress.
Although not completely where I want to be with my skills I'm still proud of the progress I made. The job was close to what I expected which is a good thing. Im satisfied with what I have achieved and with where I have volunteered. I would consider working with kids in the future like my mentor.