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Internship: Berkeley City College
What did I do?
I interned in the business department at Berkeley City College, over last summer. I worked from July to August usually going in once or twice a week. I worked mostly in the copy center, but I often worked in other parts of the building. I did a lot of odd jobs, such as fixing copiers, delivering mail, filing, running the copy center. It was a lot different from the kind of work I usually do at my job, but it was fun to learn something new.
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Journal Entries
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1) (3.5 hours) Dear Journal,
Today was my first day interning at BCC. I met my two supervisors, Ms. Slaughter and Ms. Shields, they put me straight to work. I mostly worked with Ms. Shields today, in a big office that has a door with a keypad. I need to make sure I remember the code because she said there might be days when she has to leave for a bit. I learned where all of the copiers are in the building. It's my job to make sure they stay filled with paper and are in working condition. It wasn't too bad for my first day.
-Selah
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2) (6 hours) Dear Journal,
I had to go in twice this week, on Tuesday and today. Things got more . . . exciting. Tuesday, I did copier duties and Ms. Shields had to leave for a meeting for an hour, so I had to watch her desk. There were so many phone calls! I kept having to take messages, but I also had to sort through mail (her office is right next to the mail room). It got kind of awkward because this lady came in asking me about a bunch of things, but I didn't know what she was talking about and when I said that Ms. Shields would be back later, she kind of looked angry and left. Today, I was going on my rounds to check the copy machines and in one of the offices on the 5th floor there was a guy who sat and watched me check the machines, but he didn't say anything. Then when I was done, he said "You the new intern?" and I said "Yea." Then he told me good luck and walked away. I kind of started to second guess myself and the stuff I was working on, but Ms. Shields said I was doing fine.
-Selah
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3) (3 hours) Dear Journal.
Today was the first day I had ever used a typewriter. I was making labels for files and cover pages for these packet things. The label maker broke so they had me work on a typewriter. It was pretty cool. I had never used one before, I knew what they were but I didn't know how it worked. I guess I can say I acquired a new skill. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with everything and I have been trying to make things more efficient, so I have time to learn new things, like how to use a typewriter. There is only so much I can do in 3 hours! Something I learned about the office is that the closest bathroom is really far away. I have to walk to the other side of the floor and up two flights of stairs to get to the bathroom. I feel bad that Ms. Shields has to deal with that. In the future, I will make sure not to drink too much water before I start working.
-Selah
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4) (4 hours) Dear Journal,
Even though I don't really like office work. I am enjoying interning here. I did regular things today. Ms. Shields had to be in a meeting for the last two hours so I had to lock up her office and close out things.. I did get to travel around the building a bit I had to deliver some important mail and pick up things to send out. It was a pretty chill day. I didn't have much to do while Ms. Shields was in her meeting. I mostly filed things and cleaned up her office.
-Selah
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5) (6 hours) Dear Journal,
Today was my last, and longest, day. I was going to come in twice this week but there was no one to supervise me on Tuesday. Usually, I would work for 3-4 hours straight, but today I came earlier and because I worked longer I got a lunch break. It felt like there were so many things to do in the morning. I worked until 1:30 and then got a break util 2:15. It was nice t get some fresh air and walk around Berkeley for a bit. When I got back, I just had regular runs to do. I did help put together directories because the new semester is starting soon. Afterwards, Ms. Shields had to leave to go to the district office so I closed up by myself. It was a nice day to end out my internship.
-Selah
Closing Report
Interning at Berkeley City College was a very new and informative experience for me. I did do two other shorter internships-- one at a pediatrician's office and one at a summer camp-- , but I think at this one I learned a lot more about an office dynamic than the other two. I am a teacher’s assistant in dance classes and so the summer camp work was very similar to what I do when I help teachers in dance classes. It was leading classes or activities and I have had a lot of experience with that so I did not learn many new skills. At the pediatrician’s office, I did not do a full twenty hours so I feel like I was not there long enough to be immersed into the work. I was stoked about being able to shadow a doctor and experience what goes into being a pediatrician, but I do wish I could have stayed there longer. I also met a lot of different kinds of patients that required different prescriptions so I learned what kinds of medicines will treat what ailments. That experience was something that was more along the lines of what I want to do in the future, so it was a great way for me to dip my feet into the medical field. However, working at BCC was an experience that helped me gain perspective in a career field that I did not know much about.
To be honest, I had never really done any kind of office work before ever. It was big learning experience and I feel that I learned the most at BCC compared to my other two experiences. At first, I made a lot of mistakes because I simply lacked the knowledge of how the office life worked and I struggled to get work done. It contrasted sharply with my usual role of leading a class to being on "the bottom of the food-chain". However, after meeting all kinds of people, I learned that when working with so many different people in such an isolated space, there needs to be a lot of compromises to make things work, like only delivering mail to the fourth floor after 2:00. I learned how to work with copy machines and that places of education use a whole lot of paper. Carrying big boxes of paper up stairs and across hallways taught me the real weight paper has in our daily life. Even though I don't plan on working at a college or in a business office, this was a good experience for me to see how people work. I feel that the social skills that I gained will help me in the future. I often looked after the office by myself and had to help all kinds of different people that came in while my supervisor was gone. Through that I gained some independence and it made me step up to the plate to make sure I could handle a whole office by myself. The work could be a little stressful sometimes, especially when I did not know how to help someone, but the overall experience taught me a lot.
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