Week 5 Blog

This summer was very different from my past summers.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to explore a career that I'm interested in.

Being in the internship class this summer gave me some valuable insight into the professional world.  I was able to explore my personality and strengths, which will help me a lot later in life when I'm looking for a job that suits me.  In addition, I learned how to look into the future and calculate expenses, then look into careers that would support this type of lifestyle.  I didn't previously know how much valuable information could be found online in order to help you plan for the future.  I found it mind boggling how different some careers can be, and the level of preparation needed to go into them.  Lastly, I think that creating a LinkedIn profile was a good idea, as it is a valuable tool to help us future professionals find opportunities for work.

At my internship, I think the most valuable thing I got was the experience of working in a real office environment as a contributing team member.  Before this internship, I had never worked, and had no idea what to expect.  Now, I feel like work is less of an unknown, and I am less intimidated by the prospect of working.  I really enjoyed being productive and getting to know all of my coworkers.  Additionally, one Career Readiness Skill that I lacked coming into the internship was good communication skills.  Throughout the internship, I continually found myself having to communicate in order to get things done.  This forced me to quickly develop valuable communication skills that I will most definitely use later in life.

Over the past five weeks, I went from no knowledge of the working world, to having some knowledge and a positive experience working with others.  I feel very lucky for being able to attend this program through Marin County, and my high school.  I can only imagine the difficulty of coordinating it all, and feel fortunate that I live in an area that takes such interest in the future of its youth.  I am also very grateful for the opportunity to have worked in a caring local business.  For myself, I have taken small steps on the way to my future career.  Also, this class and the internship kept me busy, making me feel like this was a summer well spent.

I have really appreciated this opportunity.  Thank you very much.