For this project I had three goals in mind. For my communication goal I wanted to feel more comfortable asking questions and finding information that will allow me to succeed in my college experience, future employment opportunities, and my life in general. Part of this internship required for me to contact people directly via telephone, email, and text messages where I was the one asking questions and scheduling appointments to meet with people to work on technology. I also had to communicate with over thirty employees from the office of K-State Research and Extension where I was based on a daily basis asking questions as simple as how to find materials or to schedule appointments to work alongside with them. It was a great experience and I feel more confident asking questions and talking to new people who I get to meet everyday. For my professional networking goal I was able to interact with people from different organizations in the community such as LiveWell Finney Count, Garfield Elementary School, Catholic Charities, Golden Plains Credit Union, and other businesses in the community where we advertised the service I was providing to the community. I learned that it takes some courage to introduce yourself to new people and it is important to find out what those organizations do to assist clients. Overall, I learned what services we have available in the community and was able to build some relationships. My leadership goal was to be able to help people from the community gain technology skills. These are some of the information I gained in this area; I learned that there is more than a communication gap between generations when it comes to the use of technology, adults with low skills in technology also tend to have low self-esteem and feel isolated, and because of that they also miss many opportunities and spend more money while paying bills, setting appointments, and monitoring their credit, just to name some of the limitations I observed during this internship. Some of the challenges that I faced were; participants availability, lack of transportation, and the variety of topics in which they wanted to learn and how to adapt to the needs of each participant and the way to address those needs according to their generation and the way they learn.
Overall, I feel that I accomplished my goals for this internship and I feel that participants gained much needed skills that will help them be more successful from now on. I was pleased to see their self esteem rise and they are more confident now when it comes to using technology. They expressed their gratitude for receiving this instruction and mentioned they will be more productive thanks to the knowledge they acquired. I want to express my gratitude to Ogallala Commons for giving me this opportunity. The knowledge I gained through this internship will help me value people for what they bring and their willingness to learn. I think together we accomplished many goals. I know because of them I value more what I know and what I can give to help make a difference in the lives of people from this community.
