Whenever I’m asked by friends and family what I’ve done during my as an OC intern, I often find it difficult to explain. While most internships for recent college grads, like myself, usually involves a job that specializes in a single industry, while I have been exposed to many different industries during my time as an intern. It is because the internship provided by OC is an uncommon one, and that I think is necessary in today’s world.
The majority of my work was done remotely, from a laptop, and I was afraid that when setting my goals in the first blog post, that I wouldn’t be exposed to enough for those goals to be met. I thankfully, ended up being wrong, as I have had many great experiences that have pushed me out of my comfort zone that have aided me in achieving my goals. My first goal, was to get better at speaking on the phone. During the first few days of my internship, I learned that communication on phones is all too frequent with remote work, and I quickly achieved my goal of gaining experience of speaking on the phone. I spoke with my supervisor, John, at least once a week, and many radio stations to air ads for the amendment 73 campaign.
The next goal that I had for my internship highlights the need to be flexible on the job. I aimed to meet leaders of the special interest groups that sponsored amendment 73, and although I didn’t achieve that, I still interacted with some great leaders around the State. One way I accomplished this was by aiding in the marketing for Summit Outdoor Solutions, a landscaping company based out of Fort Collins. I spoke at length with the leader, Matt, about the message he wished to craft for his business. During this time, I learned many things about his business, and it was great getting to a know a local business leader from Colorado.
My final goal, I made a little vague, mainly because I was not sure what to expect when working from home. My goal was to step into leadership position when given the chance, and this is something I accomplished even working from home. The main reason I say I stepped up in leadership, is that you must take control of your time when working from home. While I still had deadlines to meet and supervisor to check in with, I had to be disciplined in order to accomplish my work. Overall, I did step up in a leadership, and it was guiding myself through the tasks of my day to day life as a remote worker.
Overall, I enjoyed my time as an OC intern, and am grateful for everyone’s support!
