By: Lincoln Honaker
Hello, my name is Lincoln Honaker and over the past few months, I have been working for Ogallala Commons and the City of Borger. This is the first real job I have ever worked and it has been extremely enjoyable. I normally worked seven-hour days Monday through Friday and opened and closed events on the weekends. This schedule has worked extremely well with me going out of town and sports I am a part of. This job has taught me the expectations there are in a workspace such as how I dress, the language I should use, how to introduce myself, how to work efficiently, how to show up on time, and how to communicate with my boss. I believe that these lessons will help me in my everyday life in Highschool and in my future job. The main highlight of my internship was being able to interact with and meet many new people in my community and being able to learn new things about how a local community operates. There are so many things that go into making a city run and work properly that I never realize. For example, I did not realize how important the IT and maintenance department is. We frequently had problems at the dome and they would always come to help us with whatever we needed.
During my time up at the Dome I also took on a few projects, the main one being unpacking our catering kitchen. Since the dome had just finished being built many things had not been unpacked or set up. So I was tasked with unboxing hundreds of plates, cups, bowls, and utensils. I finished most of the work but I had to leave for vacation towards the end of the project so my Boss finished. I also was the person that set up for all the events that happened at the dome such as quince, birthday parties, cornhole tournaments, and much more.
When I attended the orientation retreat I had set three goals that I hoped to accomplish by the end of my internship. The first goal was to get better at talking to people. I believe I have achieved this because I have talked to many different people at the dome and interact with people daily. My second goal was to form relationships with new people at city hall and show that I can be a leader and I believe I have done this by showing I always work hard. Finally, my last goal was to meet local business owners in Borger and create ties within the community. I have accomplished this by accompanying Nicole to business meetings and meeting many new people.
