Entry #10 (Final Reflection)

Final Reflection: This internship experience is one that I am so thankful for. I learned soft skills and hard skills. Some soft skills it taught me was time management with my projects and how to work on those at an efficient pace to get things done on time, while still being my best work. I also learned how to lead and participate in meetings, as we had them once a week formally, and everyday informally. I took notes, contributed ideas, and communicated progress to important people and coworkers to share my input on issues or show my projects. I also learned how to answer the phone of a company effectively and deal with walk-in guests as I worked the front desk a few times. In these situations I had to fulfill requests on the spot, and guide these guests in the places they need to go. I was also the first face people saw when they walked into the church office, so it was important to be pleasant and respectful to keep the company's good image. I also learned how to work in a collaborative work space, in an office where the doors were always open. This meant it was super easy to ask my supervisors for help or just a quick question, and I really valued this during my internship. I also did some real world stuff that I didn't realize companies faced. I had to organize and cleanup the church's database system that had over 14,000 records. It was a tough task to handle but they needed someone to do it, so I taught myself quickly to fulfill the company's needs. It really helped them make things run smoother and faster and I'm so glad I could do that for them. The system their database was on was called ACS and it was pretty old, so I could get the functions down easily. I also used WordPress to do website redesigning, and I didn't realize that a large number of companies actually use WordPress for their websites, so I think learning how to use it was beneficial. It was easy to navigate, and was generally drag and drop features that we could add our own information to. I also helped out around the office doing all kinds of tasks such as ordering things they needed, delivering middle school kits to students' houses, and running errands to get supplies. I think this was such great work experience that I have learned numerous lessons from. I think I also grew as a person and my work habits are so much better. I definitely am grateful that AOIT gave me this opportunity, and I want to do this again in the future.