So the capstone work is over. The poster presentation is over, and I'm just about ready to turn in my web portfolio. I thought now would be the best time to reflect back on the overall capstone.
I'm really glad I could "double-dip" the way I did. If I couldn't work through my current boss, I would have had to quit and possibly do an internship that wasn't unique like the Lewis Group. I was fortunate enough to use my design and creative skills a lot more with this internship than working at one of the other internships where the focus is writing.
I love staring a computer with Publisher or Quark. There's something about colors, shapes, creative phrases, and images that I just can't get enough of it. I think that's why I really enjoyed some of the assignments in Dr. Wible's other class. There's more to English than just the words on paper.
As for the poster and Q&A, I felt so relaxed. It's so easy to present something that I knew better than the back of my hand. I could tell the judges enjoyed learning about my internship and some of my former professors were excited to see what I took from their classes to help with the internship.
I'm worried for my replacement. As Emily said in a comment to an earlier post, she has some big shoes to fill. I can't even begin to count the hours I spent working on this project. I was pretty much "on-call" 24-hours a day. I worked between classes, projects, and even living. If I reflect on this, I would change how I handled the difference between work, school, and social play. Most "assistants" work 9 to 5 days and have the weekends to relax. My personality doesn't really allow that as much, and I feel if I have an e-mail with a task sitting in my inbox, I have to get it done then. I have been trying to leave my work at the office and not bring it home with me. If that is one piece of advice I can give to anyone, take time to live outside of work. Don't make your work your life.
I've worked on how to handle different personalities. I managed to keep my cool in the most heated situations and leave my frustration at home in a beaten-up pillow. This capstone has not only helped me display what I got out of college in the past four years, but is has also helped me better myself as a person in the professional world. Even though I'm continuing onto graduate school, I feel I could be ready for the real world now, if that was my next stage in life. Before my senior year, I did wonder what it is like to be a professional in any field after only knowing school for 21 years or so. Now I can see how people rapidly adjust to the real world after graduation. I'm just glad I have a little more time to prepare with two more years of school.
I want to end this by saying everyone did a fantastic job from what I read on the blogs and what I saw at the poster exhibit. Go forth and continue to do great things. Be proud of yourself and everything you do.
Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Taking Stock 10
I agree with my expectations of the capstone. It has been a lot of work but a lot of very good experience, too. My capstone internship has been very different from my classmates' internships, and I feel it will bring some diversity to the group.
There were times where I did not think I would have anything worth showing at the end of the semester because a lot of my work was “behind-the-scenes” worksheets and e-mails. But in the end, the event was the majority of the work with little documents here and there that show my design abilities as well as organizational skills. That’s important for anyone to have.
I was so worried about what to say to the international collaborators in e-mails, that it took me 30 minutes to write an e-mail that could have been done in five. But I learned how to approach topics with these collaborators. My word choice is easy to follow for non-native English speakers.
For my portfolio, I think I will try to display the ability to communicate in e-mails with people I have never met before. Show that building a friendly relationship over the Internet helps people feel at ease when they finally do meet you in person.
For my poster, I’m trying for some kind of international theme. I'll include mostly my design abilitities and how I made everything seem to go together (the booklet, program, nametags, etc.) with a color scheme or icon. I'm going to try to incorporate the different countires I worked with. Hopefully, I will have a few layouts of what I could do with this theme for Thursday’s meeting, and I would like to incorporate this theme into my web portfolio. I think it makes mine unique and intriguing.
As the Dust Settles
So my symposium was last weekend. YAY! It's finally over! It went well. I couldn't skip class to be there Friday and I promised to be present at Relay for Life this year so I couldn't even make it down Friday night for the student poster presentation. I made the drive early Saturday morning (yeah, I'm that committed... or insane) to see how things were going. When I got to Stonewall, I talked to one of the Lewis Group team members, and he said that everything was fine. He said I did a really great job and we just talked about all the details and any minor mishaps that occurred.
When it was time for the lunch break for the day, I got to meet some of the collaborators. Gilberto and Luisa were impressed with my ability to plan this and take classes at the same time. These two were unlike the rest of the collaborators through e-mail. They were very polite and considerate of me and my work load and at times asked me if what they wanted was asking too much of me. They were adorable. I can proudly say I made WVU English look fantastic that day.
But no day would be complete without a major meltdown to cool. Before I left I had to arrange a shuttle for two people who had four suitcases and two carry-ons with them. They were very appreciative of my actions and determination to get them to their flights the next morning. A lot of the students came up to me as well and said they really liked what I did and one of them even said, "I'm glad someone like you was in charge of this." That made me feel really good about myself.
I'm trying to organize a survey to get some feedback for the next girl who takes my job. I'll ask questions about the location, the food choice, the organization of the speakers, the student presentation, and other areas to comment on.
~~~~
As for other work, I have some content to add to the website. My job ad is in the DA now. And I'm plotting out what I want my poster to look like. It will be... interesting and eye catching to say the least. :)
When it was time for the lunch break for the day, I got to meet some of the collaborators. Gilberto and Luisa were impressed with my ability to plan this and take classes at the same time. These two were unlike the rest of the collaborators through e-mail. They were very polite and considerate of me and my work load and at times asked me if what they wanted was asking too much of me. They were adorable. I can proudly say I made WVU English look fantastic that day.
But no day would be complete without a major meltdown to cool. Before I left I had to arrange a shuttle for two people who had four suitcases and two carry-ons with them. They were very appreciative of my actions and determination to get them to their flights the next morning. A lot of the students came up to me as well and said they really liked what I did and one of them even said, "I'm glad someone like you was in charge of this." That made me feel really good about myself.
I'm trying to organize a survey to get some feedback for the next girl who takes my job. I'll ask questions about the location, the food choice, the organization of the speakers, the student presentation, and other areas to comment on.
~~~~
As for other work, I have some content to add to the website. My job ad is in the DA now. And I'm plotting out what I want my poster to look like. It will be... interesting and eye catching to say the least. :)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
"Chomp Chomp" - Crunch Time
Yeah, I've never had so many phone calls in one day. There are two things I want to quickly touch upon before I get back to work.
1. The booklets - After I filed a complaint with Kevin Hart, he saw the problem was not my fault and decided to reprint the covers for me. YAY! So now I can be proud of my work again. He said he would have them done by tomorrow. *Cross your fingers*
2. Communication - There's no other way to stress how important it is to keep a frequent update with every participant in this event. However, sometimes people throw you a curve ball. I have had five people in the last three days need room adjustments or reservations made. I've had to quickly set up rental cars and drivers for the week. And I've had to work out how things will go when I'm not readily available to fix it. So I only suggest to everyone else, keep the communication lines open. And bare with people when they make your job harder.
Like my dad says, "Procrastination/Lack of planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on my part." Expect that to happen.
I wish some of these people understood that I'm a full time student and telling me three days before the event that they need a room is just ridiculous, but I have to find a way to make it happen. Even if I have to beg and give away my first born, OK so it hasn't been that extreme, but you get the picture. No amount of organization and planning can prepare anyone for other people's personalities that they feel the world will move for them. This might be me just ranting, but it's rather frustrating to spend the whole semester working on this, and have people change everything the week of the event. At some point, I have to say, "No I'm sorry. You missed the deadline." It's easier said than done with a boss that thinks the same way as the collaborators and students participating.
Communication and consideration for others. Probably the two most important C-words in language... minus Cookie. Cookie Monster had something going there.
(I'm sorry if I'm supposed to be professional in these entries, but I feel it's OK to veer off that when dealing with these situations. I handle situations with humor. If I laugh, it doesn't bother me.)
1. The booklets - After I filed a complaint with Kevin Hart, he saw the problem was not my fault and decided to reprint the covers for me. YAY! So now I can be proud of my work again. He said he would have them done by tomorrow. *Cross your fingers*
2. Communication - There's no other way to stress how important it is to keep a frequent update with every participant in this event. However, sometimes people throw you a curve ball. I have had five people in the last three days need room adjustments or reservations made. I've had to quickly set up rental cars and drivers for the week. And I've had to work out how things will go when I'm not readily available to fix it. So I only suggest to everyone else, keep the communication lines open. And bare with people when they make your job harder.
Like my dad says, "Procrastination/Lack of planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on my part." Expect that to happen.
I wish some of these people understood that I'm a full time student and telling me three days before the event that they need a room is just ridiculous, but I have to find a way to make it happen. Even if I have to beg and give away my first born, OK so it hasn't been that extreme, but you get the picture. No amount of organization and planning can prepare anyone for other people's personalities that they feel the world will move for them. This might be me just ranting, but it's rather frustrating to spend the whole semester working on this, and have people change everything the week of the event. At some point, I have to say, "No I'm sorry. You missed the deadline." It's easier said than done with a boss that thinks the same way as the collaborators and students participating.
Communication and consideration for others. Probably the two most important C-words in language... minus Cookie. Cookie Monster had something going there.
(I'm sorry if I'm supposed to be professional in these entries, but I feel it's OK to veer off that when dealing with these situations. I handle situations with humor. If I laugh, it doesn't bother me.)
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Final Week of Labor
So this week what I have left isn't much of anything... keep your fingers crossed.
I have printed out and assembled the name tags with a few blank extras for some unforseen event. I have called to set up an interview for Dr. Lewis for press coverage. I've arranged hotel rooms for after the symposium for a handful of guests. I've put in my replacement job ad.
I'm working on the mini tour outline now. Basically what I'm doing for that, or at least my thought process for this, is to give some hard numbers on the buildings they will be touring. It's really important that any kind of technology advancements are mentioned, too. People from seven or so different countries will be seeing what WVU is like, so I need to put us in our "Sunday Best" for the tour.
In other fantastic news... Dr. Lewis has informed his group of researchers that we need to revamp the website (again). My initial thoughts were of suicide after it took me so long to get the website where it is now. Then he explained it's not the layout or design that needs changed (woot woot me) but the content needs updated. Dr. Lewis said I did an excellent job with the web site for not knowing a lick of physics! This is something I can't do alone, so I'm waiting for people to send me new material to place on the website. Also, I'm in the middle of the visit from NSF webpage. I have pictures and an article to read to put some text on the page. That should be up, if not this week, by next week for sure. If you're taking a look at the web site, remember it needs updated especially on the MNIS page since the numbers have jumped since the last update.
As for the booklet... I did get them back. Yay! However, there were many differences from what I handed them and what they produced. I'm really disappointed because I really worked hard on that. I took into consideration everything from the color scheme to readable font, and it looks like a 5th grader did it. I know if I had had more time with everyone's CVs and abstracts I could have formated ALL of them to look the same, but that was a task that was just too big for the little time I had. So I understand that being the way it is, but some of the pictures turned out way too dark that you can't read them, the colors are off, the alignment of everything is off. Yeah, I'm not the happiest camper about that. I've decided that at the poster display, I'll have my original copy and the finished product next to it. It's not a reflection on my part, and I've accepted that. So I'm preparing to file a complaint about it as well. That... can wait if need be only because I have one week until the event and nothing can be done to fix the mistakes here.
It's a lesson learned.
I have printed out and assembled the name tags with a few blank extras for some unforseen event. I have called to set up an interview for Dr. Lewis for press coverage. I've arranged hotel rooms for after the symposium for a handful of guests. I've put in my replacement job ad.
I'm working on the mini tour outline now. Basically what I'm doing for that, or at least my thought process for this, is to give some hard numbers on the buildings they will be touring. It's really important that any kind of technology advancements are mentioned, too. People from seven or so different countries will be seeing what WVU is like, so I need to put us in our "Sunday Best" for the tour.
In other fantastic news... Dr. Lewis has informed his group of researchers that we need to revamp the website (again). My initial thoughts were of suicide after it took me so long to get the website where it is now. Then he explained it's not the layout or design that needs changed (woot woot me) but the content needs updated. Dr. Lewis said I did an excellent job with the web site for not knowing a lick of physics! This is something I can't do alone, so I'm waiting for people to send me new material to place on the website. Also, I'm in the middle of the visit from NSF webpage. I have pictures and an article to read to put some text on the page. That should be up, if not this week, by next week for sure. If you're taking a look at the web site, remember it needs updated especially on the MNIS page since the numbers have jumped since the last update.
As for the booklet... I did get them back. Yay! However, there were many differences from what I handed them and what they produced. I'm really disappointed because I really worked hard on that. I took into consideration everything from the color scheme to readable font, and it looks like a 5th grader did it. I know if I had had more time with everyone's CVs and abstracts I could have formated ALL of them to look the same, but that was a task that was just too big for the little time I had. So I understand that being the way it is, but some of the pictures turned out way too dark that you can't read them, the colors are off, the alignment of everything is off. Yeah, I'm not the happiest camper about that. I've decided that at the poster display, I'll have my original copy and the finished product next to it. It's not a reflection on my part, and I've accepted that. So I'm preparing to file a complaint about it as well. That... can wait if need be only because I have one week until the event and nothing can be done to fix the mistakes here.
It's a lesson learned.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
After Break - Back to Business
So just want to say I had an amazing time in Italy and got away from work long enough to miss it. Weird. I know.
Anyway this is what I'm working on. It's crunch time for my event. The booklets are printing as we speak. The last minute accommodations are being made. I have to organize the speaker order as well as make sure that the buffet/poster dinner is set. I have more name tags to print out and make. I have a program of events to make. I have to write up a mini tour of WVU.
Plus I have to write up my replacement ad and have that in the paper soon. We're looking to hire for someone in May, but August is cool too. If we don't find someone for May, I'm going to be working for Dr. Lewis for the summer, then I will train my replacement in August.
I've got a lot going on at once. I've noticed that English majors (or other English-based majors, like journalism) are required to multi-task. It's a wonderful ability to have and perfect, but sometimes it just seems like "How on Earth will I get all this done in time?" I will say, I love it when I do accomplish everything and get to relax from the work.
That's what's going on this week. Next week, RESULTS! The event is next Friday through Sunday (April 11-13). After that, it's just cleaning up and tying up loose ends for my capstone poster. The end is so close!
Anyway this is what I'm working on. It's crunch time for my event. The booklets are printing as we speak. The last minute accommodations are being made. I have to organize the speaker order as well as make sure that the buffet/poster dinner is set. I have more name tags to print out and make. I have a program of events to make. I have to write up a mini tour of WVU.
Plus I have to write up my replacement ad and have that in the paper soon. We're looking to hire for someone in May, but August is cool too. If we don't find someone for May, I'm going to be working for Dr. Lewis for the summer, then I will train my replacement in August.
I've got a lot going on at once. I've noticed that English majors (or other English-based majors, like journalism) are required to multi-task. It's a wonderful ability to have and perfect, but sometimes it just seems like "How on Earth will I get all this done in time?" I will say, I love it when I do accomplish everything and get to relax from the work.
That's what's going on this week. Next week, RESULTS! The event is next Friday through Sunday (April 11-13). After that, it's just cleaning up and tying up loose ends for my capstone poster. The end is so close!
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