I started my internship at Swisher Electric and was excited since I knew some of the men who work there, plus I know they have engineers who work for them and that is a big interest of mine. During that week, I learned how to check electric meters and even got to remove and put a new one in with Mike Martin. I changed jobs the next day and learned about replacing poles. The crew let me disassemble the braces on the old poles and even run the impact tampering when putting in the new pole. The most important thing I learned is just how expansive and complex their entire system is. The next week I worked at LTS Ventures. This company repairs and sells belted trailers. Shawn Whitely showed me the ropes and helped me when I needed it. I installed tarps, cleaned out trailers and got them ready for the next customer. It was hard work, but the day went fast because we were always busy. My third week took me to Flatland Grain. I was lucky because harvest was almost over and things were slowing down. I shoveled grain in the boot pit and dumped trailers that had come in with grain. It was a very dirty and dusty job. This week, I did not have to get dirty. I worked with Tyson Willis, who is the Chamber of Commerce manager here in Tulia. I discovered that he is a central location for businesses to go to for help or promotion. I was surprised to learn how many of our local businesses are members of the Chamber. The Chamber is hosting a golf tournament this 4th of July weekend, so he had me get the “Goody Bags” for the golfers that would be entering the tournament. He has a very important and busy job.
My goal in communication is to always be able to explain whatever endeavor I am working on. I learned at Swisher Electric that these men have to communicate what they are doing, or someone could get hurt. My goal in leadership, I feel, is to complete a task when given to you. At LTS Ventures, Shawn Whitely explained what our job was and after a couple of days, I took on the task without being told. He and I still worked together daily, but I completed tasks without his help. My last goal is to expand my professional network by becoming familiar and on a first name basis with people I have met during this internship. I know that their knowledge could help me in the right direction for my future career.
