Dates: 7/22/19 -- 7/25/19
Activities: Organizing and creating kits, Website Re-Design, Delivery, Errands
Technical Information: Lulu.com, WordPress, Divi Builder, Google Sheets
Reflection: This experience as an intern at the church has definitely changed my views on my career path. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I've had my heart set on having my own Kindergarten class. But this internship has opened my eyes to a more business mindset. I realized I really like working in an office-setting, and the atmosphere here is one that I can definitely see myself working in. Also, I have been able to use my skills and knowledge that AOIT has taught me in action at my internship. This includes my soft skills like professional interaction and some technical information like creating a weebly. I have definitely broadened my horizons by doing this internship and I really appreciate that the church has given me this. Because now I know that being a teacher, although I still want to do that, it isn't the only interest or only path that can be right for me. I am very thankful for this experience for exposing me to different work environments that I wouldn't have known otherwise.
Day-By-Day:
On July 22nd, my supervisor texted me and told me to take the day off, as he was still recovering from the mission trip the past week, and his coworker who I also work closely with was going to be in late.
On July 23rd, I used the website Lulu to design boxes to send out to our rising 6th grade youth sort of like welcome kits. The website was really easy to use, and we were able to upload some of our photos to appear on the sides and top of the inside of the box. Then we had to organize what goes in the boxes and look at the T-shirt sizes on a Google Sheet. After lunch we worked on making posts for all the groups in Involve, and linking them to the Involve Page. It's been a while since I've used WordPress and I had some difficulties at first, but they were easy to figure out.
On the 24th, I spent the morning and lunch hour delivering the kits we made for the rising sixth graders. I also ran an additional errand for a coworker. It was very fun and it was nice to leave the office for a while and I felt very responsible, and happy they put their trust in me to do their errands. When I got back to the office I continued working on website stuff and navigating the permalinks to the correct blog.
On the 25th, we talked about how my last day will be next Monday. Because of this, we are doing last minute touches to the website and making sure the formatting for every post is the same. We did any finishing touches on the database such as finalizing the groups with pictures and their tags.
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Entry #6
Dates: 7/15/19 -- 7/18/19
Activities: Apex Outreach Service Project (AOSP)
Technical Information: None
Reflection: I was on a mission trip with the church this week, called AOSP. We are put in teams of about 12 people, all high schoolers and we go to a site and do repairs on peoples homes to make them safer, warmer, and drier. It is such a rewarding experience. For this reason I was not in the office this week. My duties have changed since I've first started this internship, because it went from having two big projects that I'm working on, being the database cleanup and website re-design, to more tasks that are needed at the moment by people in the office. Although those are still my two main projects that I do most of my work on, sometimes there are "odd jobs" and errands to be ran. Sometimes, there are also things coming up and are unfinished that we can finish and take the weight off these workers shoulders. For example, we are sending out welcome kits to the rising sixth graders who are going to be joining youth. I had the responsibility of making those and putting them together, with their correct T-shirt size, and focus on other details. So, yes I have been given more responsibility, as I also helped prepare big things for AOSP, that all the youth would be using It feels good to have more responsibility as this internship continues, and I love all the work I'm doing, and value it very much!
Activities: Apex Outreach Service Project (AOSP)
Technical Information: None
Reflection: I was on a mission trip with the church this week, called AOSP. We are put in teams of about 12 people, all high schoolers and we go to a site and do repairs on peoples homes to make them safer, warmer, and drier. It is such a rewarding experience. For this reason I was not in the office this week. My duties have changed since I've first started this internship, because it went from having two big projects that I'm working on, being the database cleanup and website re-design, to more tasks that are needed at the moment by people in the office. Although those are still my two main projects that I do most of my work on, sometimes there are "odd jobs" and errands to be ran. Sometimes, there are also things coming up and are unfinished that we can finish and take the weight off these workers shoulders. For example, we are sending out welcome kits to the rising sixth graders who are going to be joining youth. I had the responsibility of making those and putting them together, with their correct T-shirt size, and focus on other details. So, yes I have been given more responsibility, as I also helped prepare big things for AOSP, that all the youth would be using It feels good to have more responsibility as this internship continues, and I love all the work I'm doing, and value it very much!
Monday, July 8, 2019
Entry #5
Dates: 7/8/19 -- 7/11/19
Activities: Running Errands, Re-Organizing, Filming, Converting Spreadsheets, Making Spreadsheets, Displaying Output
Technical Information: Crowd Control, GoPro, Blink Cameras, Google Sheets, Google Maps, Spotify, Stage Display
Reflection: I feel that the main contribution I have made to my internship is cleaning up the church's database. There are over 14,000 records on ACS (the software they use), and most are outdated, incorrect, or useless. There are lots of fields of information for people we have been missing, and narrowing the list of those people down is so rewarding. Every time a staff member hears that I am working in ACS, they are relived because it's something that needed to be done so badly. It makes me really proud to know that I am doing something for this organization (which is also my church) to help them so greatly. Also, just doing the tasks that need to be on most employees' sidebars. It feels really rewarding when you can take the weight off someone's shoulders, and learn some super valuable skills while doing it.
Day-By-Day:
On July 8th, we had to go reset the gym, where contemporary worship takes place, back to its usual setup because the floors were just redone. I also had to go run a few errands at Home Depot and Lowe's to get some wood and spray paint for an upcoming service project, which we are making crosses for. After lunch I had to write down all the teams and the members of each team for this service project on a big board in the office. It was very funny because people were shocked at how many names there were every time they walked by, and I felt very proud.
On July 9th, I had to help the other student leaders for our upcoming mission trip build crosses, which involved cutting wood and sanding it down, using liquid nails to attach and screw, then spray-painted them. In the afternoon, I worked on the concept of live-streaming GoPro footage onto our projector.
On July 10th, we worked on setting up and installing Blink security cameras in our hallways, that detect motion. We had to sync them through the app and connect them to the hub. We ended up having to order a second hub so we can reach more area. Then we made a to-do list and tackled the next task which was using Google Maps and Google Sheets to put a bunch of locations in a visual site map. I had to merge sheets from previous years into one master sheet, convert it to a csv file, and make a layer for each column to show up on a Google Map. It was my first time doing something like this, but I enjoyed it!
On July 11th, we worked on using a system on a TV to show for people on a stage. We worked with the Stage Display application on our computer and iPad and ran HDMI cables to show that on the TV. Then we installed more cameras using the Blink app. I also worked at the front desks answering calls and taking messages while our receptionist was out to lunch, and made some Spotify playlists for the mission trip.
Activities: Running Errands, Re-Organizing, Filming, Converting Spreadsheets, Making Spreadsheets, Displaying Output
Technical Information: Crowd Control, GoPro, Blink Cameras, Google Sheets, Google Maps, Spotify, Stage Display
Reflection: I feel that the main contribution I have made to my internship is cleaning up the church's database. There are over 14,000 records on ACS (the software they use), and most are outdated, incorrect, or useless. There are lots of fields of information for people we have been missing, and narrowing the list of those people down is so rewarding. Every time a staff member hears that I am working in ACS, they are relived because it's something that needed to be done so badly. It makes me really proud to know that I am doing something for this organization (which is also my church) to help them so greatly. Also, just doing the tasks that need to be on most employees' sidebars. It feels really rewarding when you can take the weight off someone's shoulders, and learn some super valuable skills while doing it.
Day-By-Day:
On July 8th, we had to go reset the gym, where contemporary worship takes place, back to its usual setup because the floors were just redone. I also had to go run a few errands at Home Depot and Lowe's to get some wood and spray paint for an upcoming service project, which we are making crosses for. After lunch I had to write down all the teams and the members of each team for this service project on a big board in the office. It was very funny because people were shocked at how many names there were every time they walked by, and I felt very proud.
On July 9th, I had to help the other student leaders for our upcoming mission trip build crosses, which involved cutting wood and sanding it down, using liquid nails to attach and screw, then spray-painted them. In the afternoon, I worked on the concept of live-streaming GoPro footage onto our projector.
On July 10th, we worked on setting up and installing Blink security cameras in our hallways, that detect motion. We had to sync them through the app and connect them to the hub. We ended up having to order a second hub so we can reach more area. Then we made a to-do list and tackled the next task which was using Google Maps and Google Sheets to put a bunch of locations in a visual site map. I had to merge sheets from previous years into one master sheet, convert it to a csv file, and make a layer for each column to show up on a Google Map. It was my first time doing something like this, but I enjoyed it!
On July 11th, we worked on using a system on a TV to show for people on a stage. We worked with the Stage Display application on our computer and iPad and ran HDMI cables to show that on the TV. Then we installed more cameras using the Blink app. I also worked at the front desks answering calls and taking messages while our receptionist was out to lunch, and made some Spotify playlists for the mission trip.
Entry #4
Dates: 7/1/19 -- 7/4/19
Activities: Family Vacation
Technical Information: None
Reflection: This internship has met my expectations in numerous ways. I have gained so much office and real workplace experience, in a company that has so many functions. It has been really interesting also because I've been doing polar opposite things, in that one day I'm transferring information onto our hard-copy permanent records, and the next-day I'm using an online application to change the church website. I am also getting to sit-in on staff meetings, and communicate with most of the workers in the whole office. I have also learned some web designing techniques and concepts, which I wouldn't have learned without being given this opportunity. Overall, this experience has met my expectations, and I take these skills I have learned as very valuable ones, which will be used in any workplace I may end up. I can somewhat control if my internship is meeting my expectations, because there are so many functions at the church that I could take on different projects or help in different areas to get a different experience. I think this is such a great exploratory experience for me, and to dip my feet into the real workplace.
Activities: Family Vacation
Technical Information: None
Reflection: This internship has met my expectations in numerous ways. I have gained so much office and real workplace experience, in a company that has so many functions. It has been really interesting also because I've been doing polar opposite things, in that one day I'm transferring information onto our hard-copy permanent records, and the next-day I'm using an online application to change the church website. I am also getting to sit-in on staff meetings, and communicate with most of the workers in the whole office. I have also learned some web designing techniques and concepts, which I wouldn't have learned without being given this opportunity. Overall, this experience has met my expectations, and I take these skills I have learned as very valuable ones, which will be used in any workplace I may end up. I can somewhat control if my internship is meeting my expectations, because there are so many functions at the church that I could take on different projects or help in different areas to get a different experience. I think this is such a great exploratory experience for me, and to dip my feet into the real workplace.
Entry #3
Dates: 6/24/2019 -- 6/27/2019
Activities: Database Cleanup, Record Changing, Inventory, Record Updating
Technical Information: ACS, Permanent Records, Google Docs
Reflection: My classroom experiences have not really prepared me for the internship thus far. That is because we simply don't do the things that businesses do in the classroom setting. For example, I've never worked on a database in the classroom like I'm doing at my internship. There are things like soft skills that I learn in the classroom and that AOIT has brought me, such as teamwork, professional speaking, and organizational skills. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunities from AOIT to learn and grow in these areas before many high schoolers even think about it. These soft skills have been used in staff meetings, presentations, and social media posts for my internship. I wish that I had learned more about web development in my classes. I am however on the programming track, and my knowledge of programming did not help me with the tasks I've done. I wish I could've gotten more experience working on web development, because that is one of the big tasks I'm doing in this internship. But, I feel like if this internship didn't expose me to the web development side of IT, I wouldn't have been able to learn about it and become an independent worker on it. So to sum it up, I was prepared for the soft skills of this internship, but I had to learn and adapt to some web development software and ideas that were completely new to me.
Day-By-Day:
June 24th was a big database cleanup day. There were almost 600 records (people) who did not have a primary campus, and we had to look through the change log and other information to classify their primary campus. We couldn't determine the primary campus of everyone however, and compiled an email with names to send out to the rest of the church family. In the morning, Ms. Robinson also came for a site visit.
On June 25th, I sat in on a staff meeting that lasted about 2 hours. It was very interesting to compare it to the last meeting I went to, since the new executive director lead his first meeting. We also had to update some address changes that were given to me from the congregational care director. We also had a switch from one database to another a few months ago, and had to make everyone who was missing a birth year, born in 1960. So in the new database, we changed everyone back to just not having a birth year.
On June 26th, we went through the recent confirmands and updated their membership status and confirmation date, just updating records for them. Tomorrow, we are going to put these in the permanent church record book. We also ran some searches on people who were missing contact information like phone numbers or email addresses, and are going to make those into spreadsheets and organize them.
On June 27th, we went through an old computer closet and identified and did inventory on what we have. It took quite a bit of time, as we also took pictures of everything so the people using the inventory list could relate a name to a picture. Then in the afternoon, we worked with permanent church records, and this was different because it was actually hard-copy information, compared to the electronic entry I've been doing thus far. We organized all the information in a Google Doc.
Activities: Database Cleanup, Record Changing, Inventory, Record Updating
Technical Information: ACS, Permanent Records, Google Docs
Reflection: My classroom experiences have not really prepared me for the internship thus far. That is because we simply don't do the things that businesses do in the classroom setting. For example, I've never worked on a database in the classroom like I'm doing at my internship. There are things like soft skills that I learn in the classroom and that AOIT has brought me, such as teamwork, professional speaking, and organizational skills. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunities from AOIT to learn and grow in these areas before many high schoolers even think about it. These soft skills have been used in staff meetings, presentations, and social media posts for my internship. I wish that I had learned more about web development in my classes. I am however on the programming track, and my knowledge of programming did not help me with the tasks I've done. I wish I could've gotten more experience working on web development, because that is one of the big tasks I'm doing in this internship. But, I feel like if this internship didn't expose me to the web development side of IT, I wouldn't have been able to learn about it and become an independent worker on it. So to sum it up, I was prepared for the soft skills of this internship, but I had to learn and adapt to some web development software and ideas that were completely new to me.
Day-By-Day:
June 24th was a big database cleanup day. There were almost 600 records (people) who did not have a primary campus, and we had to look through the change log and other information to classify their primary campus. We couldn't determine the primary campus of everyone however, and compiled an email with names to send out to the rest of the church family. In the morning, Ms. Robinson also came for a site visit.
On June 25th, I sat in on a staff meeting that lasted about 2 hours. It was very interesting to compare it to the last meeting I went to, since the new executive director lead his first meeting. We also had to update some address changes that were given to me from the congregational care director. We also had a switch from one database to another a few months ago, and had to make everyone who was missing a birth year, born in 1960. So in the new database, we changed everyone back to just not having a birth year.
On June 26th, we went through the recent confirmands and updated their membership status and confirmation date, just updating records for them. Tomorrow, we are going to put these in the permanent church record book. We also ran some searches on people who were missing contact information like phone numbers or email addresses, and are going to make those into spreadsheets and organize them.
On June 27th, we went through an old computer closet and identified and did inventory on what we have. It took quite a bit of time, as we also took pictures of everything so the people using the inventory list could relate a name to a picture. Then in the afternoon, we worked with permanent church records, and this was different because it was actually hard-copy information, compared to the electronic entry I've been doing thus far. We organized all the information in a Google Doc.
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