Week of July 29

How would I describe this internship to an adult relative (e.g. aunt or uncle) using only three sentences? 

• My internship basically deals with me getting assigned work from my coworkers at GRL, usually they are from my supervisor but sometimes they can be from other people as well. What I do is I set up web pages for authors who have sent material in to us. I make sure to read every material carefully and make sure the web pages are completed the way the author wants them to be; I do this by using a either Webcom 2, which is our main server, or Raptivity, which is an eLearning tool.

If I were describing it at an interview, what would I tell them? 

•  My internship deals with me organizing, planning and carrying the task to provide the authors that work with us with quality work as well as make sure they get what they want. I am responsible for managing videos that authors send to us and make sure that they are in the proper movie player as well as size. Another key thing I do at my internship is work together with the other interns as well as other coworkers in order to make sure the authors get a great experience while working together with us here at GRL.

What are the differences between those descriptions?

• I would have to say that the difference between these two descriptions is that the one of me describing it at an interview is more formal and details what I do at my internship. Were as my description to my adult relative is more about me telling them what I do in a broad sense and it is not that much detailed as the one I would use at an interview.  

 Special Event


I would have to say that with this week being my last week at GRL, I am truly blessed to have received an opportunity like this one in were I was able to expand my knowledge as well as I was able to expand my networking while working here. I have learned a lot thus far and I would not mind seeing myself at a place like this in the future. The people are great, the work environment is great,and even the food is great! I will definitely be talking about this experience for a very long time and I am excited to see how I can attach what I have learned here to school as well as in my everyday life. I am thankful for the opportunity I received and look forward to keeping in touch with the a few of the people that work here at GRL.

Week of July 22

What gaps do I recognize in my knowledge and/or skills related to this experience?

• I have noticed that although I have been at GRL (GRT) for almost 3 months I do not know much about the publication industry. I have learned that it is very hectic when school comes around and students as well as professors can get on your nerves. Making sure the professors/authors approve the web pages you make for them can be very stressful as well. Sometimes they make a big deal out of something real small like font style or font size or they sometimes make a big deal out of the video player that we chose for their videos. I have also noticed that I do indeed have the skills necessary to work in the publishing industry. I am patient, determined and I catch on real quick to tasks. I have learned that although the publishing company is definitely something that I had no idea about, I now know that I indeed have a future at a publishing company. My supervisor has even started giving me my own projects as well as ordering the technician to put some new software on my computer, Raptivity and Math Type. She has also told everyone at GRL if they have any projects dealing with videos or if they have videos that need to be converted into a particular format that they can assign it to me. 

What is a challenge you have been presented with?  How did you handle it?  What, if anything, would you do differently if presented with the challenge again?

• A challenge I was presented with was getting assigned two long projects. One of the projects was for an Italian author at Santa Rosa Junior College by the name of Frongia and the other project is for a professor at Prince George's Community College by the name of Elaine Kass. I just actually finished doing over 100 mini eLearning content projects for Frongia using a program called Raptivity. It's pretty easy stuff once you get used to it but it will definitely keep you busy. My goal for this specific project was to make sure I did quality work and took my time making sure I spelled every word correctly since it was all in Italian. The other project I had involved me doing 2 web pages, one for her U.S.A Spoken English class and the other for her Speaking American English class. For this project, I started from scratch and created both web pages. I had to also crop audio from the CD that she provided us. I had to make sure I placed them in the right spot and I also had to make sure I added the videos to the web pages. It actually turned out great and I made the most of the material that was given to me. I believe that the only thing I would do differently is ask the author for better material as the PDF files that were given to me were not that great and it was kind of hard to make out the words and images. I also would have probably maybe taken a little longer creating the web pages but I think I did a great job with them. You can be the judge of them as well but just and FYI this is not the complete version as the author needs to approve the web pages. 
• Here are the links - http://pgcc.grtep.com/index.cfm/speakingamericanenglish/page/home - http://pgcc.grtep.com/index.cfm/usaspokenenglish/page/kasshome

(If they ask you for username and password, feel free to ask me for it)

Special Event/Situation #1

• This past week I just found out that my supervisor has asked the technician to add Math Type to my computer as well as one of the other interns. Math Type is a software application created by Design Science that allows the creation of mathematical notation for inclusion in desktop and web applications. This will make it easier for us when we are assigned projects that deal with Mathematical equations or other types of equations. I am very excited to have this installed on my computer because this will make my job a lot easier as well as it will allow me to finish projects a little faster. 

Week of July 15

• This internship has been a phenomenal experience
• Networking has been incredible
• It's giving me a good idea about what the corporate business is like

Special Situation #1

• I got the chance to meet the CEO of the company and it was a great experience. Although the meeting was only 10 minutes long I enjoyed meeting the CEO and exchanging thoughts with him. He was actually laid back and was a great guy. He gave me a quick biography on himself then he asked me why did I choose Loras as well as how I liked working at GRL. It was a great experience that definitely made my week. I did not know that CEO's were that interested in their employees and paid attention to all of them. It is definitely something I took note of. 

Special Situation #2

• As I handed my midterm evaluation to my supervisor, she took the time to ask us about what Michael and I thought about GRL, how we liked it and also made an indirect connection in were I understood it as if we would like to continue working there after college. As she was reading each question in the midterm evaluation she read each one and thought about it and answered it. She also found a spelling mistake on the evaluation and she wanted you to know that she found it and then she proceeded to laugh. I would really have to say that I have never worked at a place quite like GRL and I would not mind working there after college. 

Week of July 1

What did I learn about myself?  

• I learned that I can put my mind to whatever I want. I also learned that I am very good at following instructions and getting tasks completed. I also learned that I am a very good co-worker as well as a team leader. People love working with me because I do not "play" around, I get the job done and I get it done the right way. 

About others? 

• I have learned that not that many people are like me. A lot of people like to take things easy and take their sweet time doing a project. By that, I mean that they will take a project that should only take 30 minutes and they will stretch it out to make it a 5 hour project. But then you have the people that like working and like doing the job when it is needed. Those are the type of people that I like working with.

About the world around me?

• I have noticed that not everything will go my way so I have to make an adjustment and make sure I am ready for whatever is thrown my way. I have also learned that a lot of people like to slack off during work, and I understand that you can't work all 8 hours in a publishing company but certain people gossip non stop about nonsense and it is really annoying when it is going on right in front of your cubicle. Some people need to learn that there are certain times and places for gossip and every work hour is definitely not it. 

Special Event/ Situation #1

Nothing special went on this week. It was a short week since we had July 4th off. Just worked on the same projects I was working on last week as well I am attempting to finish up my big project for a Spanish class in Prince George's Community College

Week of June 24

How does this experience contradict or challenge my academic knowledge?

• Some might think that this experience contradicts my academic knowledge because I am a Business Management Major with a Minor in Mathematics dealing with technology. But the way I see it is that I am helping myself for the future. I am learning about different aspects of a business and I am gaining first-hand experience on situations that occur in a business that I would not be able to learn in the classroom. In my opinion it is always good to have first-hand experience in a situation because it gives you a different perspective rather than talking about it in class. I am one of those people that has to see things in order to understand them and that's something I fell GRT is great at doing. They make sure they teach you something if you don't know how to do it and they take you step by step as well as make themselves available for questions if you have any. 
• I will say this though, I have said it before and I'll say again, I am a little disappointed int he fact that I did not continue to pursue a Minor in C.I.T because I really do enjoy working with all that stuff. I have used tricks at GRT that I learned in my only C.I.T class at Loras and I was a little shocked that I remembered them to be honest. Having said that, this experience has shown me how managers deal with employees on the daily basis, the many processes of training and recruiting as well as making your work environment a positive one. Those are basically things a read about and was taught by Professor Ron Collins but I'd much rather see them in person to see how they play out in real life. I am excited to see what else this internship is going to teach me and what else I will be able to relate to material I learned/ have learned at Loras. 

What, if anything, do I feel uncomfortable about in this situation?

• To be honest, I do not feel uncomfortable about anything at the moment. I actually feel very comfortable and fortunate to be in the situation that I am currently in. 

Special Situation #1

Nothing really happened this week. I was quite busy with two long projects and a bunch of little ones but there is something very interesting that happened. 

Great River Technologies had all its managers, vice president and president meet and discuss the future of GRT and they came up with a great idea. GRT was tired of people asking them what they do with technology, people asking them about what technological services they provide as well as people going into the website and thinking that they are a technology based company. GRT decided to go from Great River Technologies to Great River Learning. They wanted something that would show what services they provide as well as they wanted to keep some of their name because that is how their customers can identify themselves. I thought this was awesome and the fact that they told us about this at our end of the Month conference meeting made it even better. They did  not send out a mass email, they actually set aside some time during the conference meeting to tell us in person; something that I will not forget. I was working for GRT when they changed their name to Great River Learning aka GRL. 

Week of June 17

What emotions and thoughts does this experience trigger in me?

• I would have to say that my experience so far at GRT has been great and it has brought me joy because I feel like I am doing something very helpful to other people. It also brings me happiness because for once everything has great so far and it shows me that my hard work has indeed paid off; this is just the first step of many more I plan to take in my professional career. Another emotion that this experience triggers is amusement, every time I get a project assigned to me I am amused at how much information and work goes into setting up online courses as well as how long it takes. I am proud to be a part of the GRT team, they have accomplished so much with the limited resources they have. 
• The thoughts that come to mind are that maybe I should've continued to pursue a minor in C.I.T. In all reality, I really enjoy working with computers and technology in general. Another thought that comes to mind is that I am very grateful for this experience. Not a lot of people are able to experience an experience quite like mine and I am enjoying every second of it. Also, I sometimes sit at my desk and think about maybe staying in Dubuque after I graduate if GRT offers me a job which I believe is very possible. 

What are you observing about your work environment? If you could, what are two things you would keep and two things you would change?

• I am observing that our work environment is one of the best, if not the best, I've worked at. It is very calm, friendly and very energetic. The people in it are amazing and they just make your day that much better. They talk to you whenever they walk past you, they smile at you, ask you how your day is going as well as tell you that if you need anything you can always ask them. I have also observed that no matter what day it is, everyone is always happy to be at work and if they are not, they do not let it show; everyone is all smiles. 
• Two things I would keep from our current work environment would be the people in it as well as the little food parties we have. The food parties usually occur once or twice a month; they are just a great time, the food is great and it is a great time to interact with your co-workers. 
• Two things I would change would probably have to be to make food day every week of the month because the food is amazing. The other thing would be to maybe rent a bigger office because currently they are in the Kendall Hunt building and GRT only has one corner of the whole building. This would give us independence as well as allow us, the interns/associates, be closer to the GRT group because right now we are in a little area on the Kendall Hunt side of the building. 

Special Situation/ Event #1

This past week was great for me in regards to work, the projects I helped design and the projects I was assigned. I took a big step in my internship when my supervisor assigned me with my own personal project that I had to start from scratch. The project is for a class about learning English and so far it has gone great. I have spent 23 hours working on the project and it is still not done. But the fun wasn't done yet, since my supervisor saw a glimpse of the project I was working on, she liked it so much she gave me another project to do. That project is for a Spanish class which is awesome because Spanish is my first language. I am excited to start that project as well as finish both projects. In my opinion, these projects could be the start of something new. 

Special Situation/ Event #2

I only had one special situation/ event this week. 

Week of June 10

What does this experience point out to me about my own attitudes, biases, or preferences?

• In my opinion, so far in this internship I have seen that I have a winning attitude. What I mean by that is that I will get the job done no matter what. I don't get discouraged when I get big project assigned to me and I also don't lose concentration; if a project or a quick page needs to be done/created ASAP I will make sure it does get done. 
• I feel like I don't have any biases so far. I pretty much like everything I have been assigned to do to this point but then again, that could only be since I have been there 3 weeks. Things could change but I would have to say that at the moment, I do not have any biases. 
• Having said that, I do have a preference and that is that I like working on webpages a lot so whenever there is a project that involves making webpages, I make sure I jump right on it. I have also learned how to do a new project using a program called Raptivity. Raptivity is an eLearning interactivity building tool with a set of pre-built interaction models. Raptivity is used to create interactions which can be added to eLearning content, enabling interactive learning. I have really grown to liking these types of projects as it only took me less than one day to learn how to use Raptivity. Another preference that I have is that if I get assigned a big project, I will take on it by myself and with no ones help. I don't know why but that's just the way I like it. The way I see it, you are only going to get better at something if you keep doing it. 

What am I learning about myself through this internship?

• I am learning that I am pretty good at working with technology and that I can learn things pretty fast. I also noticed that maybe I should have done a double minor, mixing in Mathematics with CIT because I really get the hang of this and CIT is very interesting in my opinion. The things you can do nowadays with technology is mind blowing. Also, I have noticed that once you are around a group of people for a while you kind of start hanging out or talking to them in random places at work and also, I noticed that once I am comfortable with the people around me, I break out and I am myself around them. Usually, that is a fun, entertaining me that everyone loves. I have also learned that I should never really doubt myself and also if I have a question I should just go ahead and ask it instead of keeping it inside. 

Special Event/Situation #1

• There was a situation in which a was assigned a project in were I had to create a chapter for a webpage and the chapter had sub-links as well as baby-links. It was a big project but I was ready to take on it. Well to get to the point, the text the author wanted me to put on the webpage for the chapter included pictures and the way they were set up on the word document is that the words were on the left and pictures were on the right. Well I tried doing that but every time I did, the picture will be messed up and it would be on the opposite side so I went to one of the interns that have been there for 3 years to ask them for help. He didn't know much about my situation but he was very helpful and I kind of got it but the way it looked on  our server, it did not look like that on the webpage. The text was everywhere and that pictures where everywhere. So, what I did was I made a table with 1 column and 1 row and I placed the text on one box and the picture on the other. I showed the intern that tried to help me and he was impressed with the work I did. I finished the project and sent it in to the person that assigned it to me and she was impressed at how fast I got it done as well as how nice it looked. She actually sent me an email showing her appreciation for the job I had done. 

Special Event/Situation #2

• There was another situation in were my supervisor sent out a project and I was the first one to notice it so I picked it up. She said it was urgent so I assumed that it was a very important project. The project was basically to set up the grade book for two summer courses that someone had forgot to do. The professor was angry with GRT so my supervisor tried to get it done as soon as possible. I did not know what I was doing so I asked the same intern that helped me last time where the project was and when he showed me it clicked to me and I suddenly knew what to do because I remembered doing a similar thing earlier in the week. I got the grade books done in 19 minutes each so a total of 38 minutes. My supervisor saw that they were done and what proceeded next made me feel good about myself and the job I had done. I'll let you take a look at it and see what she said.