#sycep2014

[sycep-jp]

Week 3

My results for the StrengthsQuest test were discipline, relator, analytical, achiever, and focus. 

"Your world needs discipline, it needs to be ordered and planned." This theme applies to my workplace. My world needs routines. Everything I do needs to be known ahead of time and set in stone. Every day I wake up at 7:00 am and I get ready to catch the bus at 8:03 am. I catch the same MFL train at 8:28 am and I get to work at approximately 8:45 am. When I actually get to my work site, things are always unpredictable which is not what I like. As I said earlier, I like to know exactly what I'm doing, where, when, how, etc. Preston and I would come in to the office not knowing whether we would be getting papers to scan, if we were going to be organizing supply closets, or if we would have to make a run to HUP to deliver a broken pager. But as time progresses, things are starting to become a routine here. We come in, swipe our cards and we greet Marlo, Darcy and Giang. Then we run upstairs to greet Tia and we split up as one of us does the refill prescriptions and the other does referrals. At 1:00 pm we take our lunch breaks and we would eat our lunches inside the break room. Then Darcy or Giang would give us some tasks and the day comes to an end at 5:00pm. This all has become the routine. Soon we are going to be doing care gaps so that would probably be what we would do in place of the tasks given to us by Darcy and Giang. From what used to be expected days full of different tasks has now become smooth, disciplined days. Now I don't find the day boring and I actually look forward to coming to work because I have it all figured out and I'm not just sitting around frustrated because I can't find anything to do.

"Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive.It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges." This goes back to the start of the program. For the first week and a half, I started each day without knowing what the tasks were for the day. Although I despise not knowing exactly what I'm doing, my desire to make something of the day has gotten me through the week. I accept each new task thrown our way, (and there were many of them) and I completed them to the fullest extent possible. And as StrengthsQuest said, it was what got me through the long hours. From waking up at 7:00 am and getting home at 6:00 pm, the determination to finish those randoms tasks was the only way I could push through the day. I surely thought that I would end up doing countless random tasks all summer long but it turns out I'm not going to be doing that and so this drive is helping me to get the best experience of this internship.

"Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships.You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people—in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends—but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends." At Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, there are tons of faculty. I work on the 6th and 7th floors of the Andrew Mutch Building and so the numbers are narrowed down but there is still a large amount of staff that work here. I've gotten to know Darcy, Marlo, and Dr. Giang quite well and we are all pretty friendly with each other. As the weeks go on, I am meeting more of the staff and getting to know them all. We all greet each other with big waves and smiles. I'm not sure if it's because I'm an intern and I'm much younger then they all are, they have no problem welcoming new people although everyone here seems to be close knit. All the front desk ladies on the 7th floor already know my name and we all talk and joke around. Dr. Giang is also helping Preston and I network! He set up a meeting/get-together with a few Penn students, one undergraduate, one medical student, and others working with UPenn. We all talked, asked questions and gave each other some tips and advice! We all shared our emails and our numbers so that we can continue to keep in contact. These relationships are building quickly and that's what I'm all about! I don't want this to be just a "summer thing" where I only say hi once to the faculty here and then shy off every other time I see them. I'm working on building the relationships in the office so that they last once I come back to UPenn as an undergraduate, a medical student, and a resident! (xD)

"You need a clear destination and your focus serves as my compass to plan everything else in your life." I plan things that will bring me to that destination. My destination in life, career wise, is to be a pediatrician or something type of career in the medical field.That's why I chose Penn Presbyterian Medical Center as my work site. This experience is only going to benefit me in the future. And as for the last theme, "Your Analytical theme challenges other people: 'Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true.'" This theme applies to the order I need. I need to be certain of things. I like to know why something is the way it is or why one does something the way one does. This work site helps me with that because I'm learning more about the reasons/backgrounds to a lot of things, especially medical related things (duh cause I'm at a medical center); such as why one should have their Urine Microalbumin test done (because it's important since it looks for tiny proteins that might show up if there is early damage to the kidneys from diseases like diabetes). I find my StrengthsQuest themes to be very true and interning at my work site is helping my develop those strengths!

Everyone (minus Dr. Giang) from the Asian Health conference/get-together!

[sycep-jh]

Talk about how you keep yourself accountable especially when you are continuing to adapt to your work site.

Week #2

Recently my supervisor made an account for me on their electronic database of patients which means that I am able to see a patient’s demographics and whatever is accessible under their name. That also includes managing appointments and calling patients. The system is designed so that everyone in the office knows who is accountable for what… aka if I screw up, everyone will know pretty quickly. 

At first it was scary mainly because of the fact that if I screw up, then it’s all on me (aigoooo >.<). The system is how I hold myself accountable for the tasks at work since that is specifically what I am suppose to be doing. The main tip that my supervisor gave me was to write down everything that I did; it would range from whether I left a message, called a patient, or noting that a certain number is out of service. I did most of my noting on paper then would transfer my notes into the computer. 

In addition to that, accountability does not always have to relate to the work that needs to be done. There was this one day I was working and I had a series of constant cramps and stomach-aches. Even with the consistent and perseverance to just wanting to get the materials finished, I knew that I would not be able to continue without doing a sloppy job… which would lead to my fear of messing up on the job. Eventually I had to stop and start taking care of myself before the pain got any worse. The point I’m trying to make is that you also need to be accountable of yourself in terms of your own personal needs- whether it’s needing to take a break or taking care of your health.

Overall, the second week evidently gave more opportunities for me to expand my know and develop more practical skills that can be very beneficial and useful in the future. Although it’s only the second week, I still have that feeling of intimidation sometimes when I see the amount of phone calls I have to make to patients. I never was really comfortable with talking to strangers on the phone, but it is slowly something that I am getting use to since after all… I am responsible for doing so. I hope my pronunciation skills improve as well; I feel so embarrassed when I accidentally say a name wrong.

[sycep-tm]

Week 1

“Describe the challenges, obstacles, and rewards of beginning work as a new employee of your work-site. How important is adaptability in transitioning into your work-site? Your response should be at least 4 paragraphs in length.”

I started work at Temple's College of Engineering in the Bioengineering Department with Jimmy and Brandon under the care of Megan Tabler our mentor, who is under the care of Dr. Omar Fisher. To be honest I came into this job knowing little about Biology or Chemistry or researching in those fields. I took Chemistry in 10th grade and Biology in 9th and I just finished 11th grade, so some of the terms the (scientists/doctors?) mentioned were terms I kinda recognized but could not remember their meanings or significances. 

That was one major challenge when starting the job. I thought I would be given a list of things to do (which, I learned in lab terms, is called "Protocol"), but it is much more than that. With every (scientist/doctor?) I met, he/she explained to us in detail what project he/she was working on while using many of the terms I was not familiar with. Although the basic concepts were very interesting, the details and terms and specific concepts confused me. Hydrogels? DEAEM? PEG? I probably misspelled that second term there. It was not bad and I was not bored. It was just so much information to take in at once. Brandon, one of the ones working with me shown in the picture, told me during lunch break that he took AP Bio, and I was able to tell. He conversed with the (scientists/doctors?) in almost everything they talked about. Good thing he was there because my head was still spinning. Oh and about the (scientist/doctor?) thing I keep bringing up: Megan and her coworkers work in the Bioengineering Department. I feel like that sounds like they would be scientists. But the projects they work on and their stylish lab coats seem like they are doctors to me (and many of them will be, since many of them are aiming for their Ph.D.). 

As for adaptability, adapting goes a long way in transitioning. Since I am going from a non-medical person to working in a lab environment with bioengineering jargons and whatnot, I have to learn to speak like them (or at least, know what they are talking about), and follow protocol and lab procedures. The life of a scientist in the Bioengineering Department is a whole new world, a world I am not familiar with. Adapting is very important, since the research requires knowledge and understanding. I hope I can learn to fit in and take in all the information. 

All challenges aside, I really enjoyed my first day. Yes, these obstacles I just listed make it seem like I would hate it, but really I do not. What is rewarding is the fact that I have the chance to enhance my knowledge on a field I know nothing about. For a long time my future major was Engineering Undecided (until recently when it changed to Computer Science), so that just means I like anything and everything that has to do with engineering. Honestly, medical related engineering was towards the bottom of that list. The field is beautiful and everything, but I feel like I am more of a robotics type of person, or like a Software Engineer. But who knows? I might go back into Engineering Undecided. But anyway, back to what I was saying, I liked how I saw that taking Bio in 9th and Chem in 10th really paid off (and paying attention in that class would have paid off more) because at least I recognized the terms they mentioned. I know I will learn what everything means soon enough, which is why I am really excited for this job. 

Left to right

Jimmy, Thatyana (me), and Brandon in our stylish lab coats!

[sycep-kl]

Prompt 4: Dream Job

Before the mock-tail event today, I was somewhat lost in terms of knowing a specific career I want to pursue. I always knew that I want to indulge in a pool of creativity and be a part of the corporate world, but there are so many options and paths that make it so easy to deviate from one direction to another. The presentation was didactic; however, talking to Mr. Horatiu Gratian Stefan was even more of an insightful experience. Hearing about his successes, opportunities, and tips about the business world facilitated my options. When people ask me, "what do you want to be", I usually just respond with, "ya know, something in the business fields, preferably marketing". Now I can confidently say that I want to work for a big company (he worked at Samsung and Ebay, which inspired me), such as Topman, Urban Outfitters, Zara, or any fashion company. 

Why just fashion companies? I've listed my main interests so far and it includes: instrumental music, human rights work (Asian American and LGBT issues), and shopping. Out of the three, I chose shopping as my biggest time spender because it is quite a hobby of mine. I believe in the fashion world, eclectic surprises and eccentric styles will just blow my mind everyday. There is always something new, something special, something creative that appears. With two passions, fashion and business, I can truly focus on my job while enjoying the luxuries it could provide. Yes, marketing could be extremely vigorous, but I believe it will be worth it at the end.

Horatiu briefed me about different fields of business; some of them terrified me, such as bank investments. 14-16 hours a day, with limited time to survive. I decided that bank investments was not the job for me. There are two types of people: one in which he would value success and career over time and personal life, and another who would value success, but also value personal luxuries. I guess I am the second one, but I haven't mustered up a concrete solution, but as I keep discovering myself, I will soon understand. Horatiu also told me about the involvement of statistics in every field. I already had a taste of that in Ten Thousand Villages. Numbers and data are vital to analyze, interpret, and change the course of the business. I'm taking AP Statistics coming this year, so it would be a good preparation. 

But behind the marketing world and corporate evils, what I would love to do after all of that is to have my own cafe. I forgot to mention that visiting cafes is literally my favorite thing. I even made a bucket list with my best friend to try at least 15 different well-known coffee shops in Philadelphia this summer. But anyways, having a homey, warm, and creative cafe is what I want to have after years of hard work. It could be a place I would just sit down and reflect or just have a friend over to chat up. I even thought of a name-- Piazzol, which is after my favorite musician, Astor Piazzolla. He is my all time favorite instrumentalist and musician. His songs have a Spanish and tango theme, which I am enamored with. They act as my shower songs, "on-my-way-to-school" songs, or pooping songs; they are always playing in the background. These dream jobs are just what I would envision my life to be if all goes right. 

But I'm just another teenager whose goals and ambitions change with the seasons, so who knows what will happen? 

[sycep-cm]

Week Four: July 21st - 25th

If I had it my way, my dream job would be to travel the world; to become an adventurer and be immersed in the culture of the country I’m in. Sadly, I don’t have the money to do that. Obviously and realistically, if I want to do any traveling I have to have a job to make some money. Although I’m not sure exactly what my dream job is, I already know what I don’t want; I don’t want to be tied down to a desk and work in an office from 9 to 5; I don’t want to do work that is so overshadowed by the boss I don’t receive any recognition; I don’t want to wake up everyday and loathe what I’ll be doing for the next couple of hours of my life... for a week… all year. 

So, the first paragraph was written on Thursday and it is now Friday, after the professional development session. I always look forward to Fridays. Despite what is planned, I always find them interesting and a fun way to spend Friday mornings. Today I was inspired by the speaker. One of the first things he told us is that (I'm not sure if I'm exactly right but something along these lines) he works for himself, while wanting to work with other people. That alone sums up what I wish to do in my future. I don't want to be treated as a worker, I want to be treated as a colleague, a partner, someone appreciated and needed.

I was that person who found "college questionable". I thought it was a scam because of the price we have to pay to receive an education. But after some thought and a change in perspective, it's the price we pay to get an education to become successful (obvious... but I guess the last three words of that sentence were hidden by my stubbornness). Even today, speaking with Angela from PYN opened my eyes; just a slice of the conversation. She said she didn't know what she wanted to do after high school. She spent a lot of time working at restaurants but soon decided she should go to college because she didn't want to be waitressing the rest of her life. 

Of course my first job will never be to work for myself, but ultimately that's the goal. Now I see college as the outer core of the Russian Nesting Dolls, and every step I take is a shell closer to what I want. Once again, I'm not sure exactly what my dream job is. Angela suggested volunteering in various programs and organizations can give me experience in many different areas so I will definitely take that into consideration. It'll help me figure out my interests, non-interests, likes, and dislikes. It's funny how a couple hours could change my perspective so quickly. It all depends on who we surround ourselves with; then, inspiration can lead to great things.

[sycep-sn]

Describe your dream job and why

My desire is to become a game developer and get a master degree in computer science. In order to reach my goal, first of all, I need to develop my programming skill and improve my understanding about game industries. I have researched online about different majors and decided to settle with computer science. The reason is because I have a huge interest in creating and playing games, and I believe this major will satisfy my desire. Becoming a talented program developer is my goal.

I have been researching game creation and the game industry in general since I was fifteen. In addition, I have been reading several books relating to game development, such as “How to Create Your Own Game,” in order to gain more knowledge about the field. Through my research, I learned about necessary steps in developing a game. I have tried to create some basic games such as bomber, chess, and space war. In my free time, I also self-teach coding and programing languages. It is difficult to memorize all the codes as it takes me a lot of time to do so, and yet I am still learning about them. As I achieve my goal of becoming a game developer, I want to create games that people enjoy and help them to relax after a long day at work.

However, my current priority before I become a game designer is to complete high school and get into a good college. I spend most of my time finishing school assignments and researching graphic or program design. Even though it is hard sometimes to manage my time effectively, I still keep trying. I plan to get into a technology university after high school and obtain an internship position relevant to my major. After getting a master degree in computer science, I will find a position in a game development company to gain more experiences and skills. I believe I can do it if I try hard enough.

Additionally, if I succeed, I will open my own company. We already know that technology is developing tremendously fast. Besides game design for entertainment, I want to create more educational, interactive, communicative programs like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. I used to love to see how exciting my sister and brother were when they are competing with each other on an educational game named “learning game for kids.” That was the first time I felt interested in game and I dreamed to create many like it. In the near future, I believe my games and programs can support our young generation educationally and enhance the relation between people through social network. Thanks to Skype, Facebook and other social network, I can keep in touch with my old friends and families in my home country Vietnam. Technology has shortened the distance in communication and I appreciate its conveniences to our life.

 There are a lot of obstacles in my education and life, but they will not stop me from achieving my goals and making my dream come true. I will try hard to get my master degree in computer science and become successful. For my successful future, I will not give up on my dream to try makes positive changes in our life.

[sycep-an]

Weekly Prompt Nombre Quatre

My dream job would be not working at all.

Just kidding.

I don’t have the perfect career in mind: a lot of jobs just aren't meant for me and if they are, they are very uninteresting… But let’s go with food critic.

First and foremost, I. Love. Food. Nothing is more perfect than trying new cuisines from different places all over the city, state or even the entire east coast. Sure I’ll gain a little weight, but I think it’s worth it (keeping in mind that I hope the food will be delicious). I won’t have to cook myself breakfast, lunch or dinner, all for free (my company pays me to eat, right?) in various locations. Sadly that won’t be every single day.

Journalism also accompanies the critic’s large appetite and it’s something I would enjoy doing. My grammar and spelling isn't too horrendous, so I would do well in that portion of being a critic. For the most part, I like sharing my thoughts and it would pretty amazing knowing that I have a little fan base that actually bases their romantic reservations on my reviews.

On the other hand, I’m a bit cynical and picky.

I find a hair in my soup? 2/5 stars! Mushrooms on my steak? That’s a 0.

Again, kidding. Except about the mushrooms.

I watch the Food Network (experience!), so I would know presentation, taste, and relevance (like to the restaurant’s theme, for instance) are key. Technical errors (hairs) are also major factors to consider when judging a dish. Of course everyone does not have the same taste buds, but I think it would be pretty obvious is something tastes extremely salty or there’s a lot of inconsistent cooking throughout a piece of meat. Moreover, I have to critic the food services. Was she polite? Did he correctly input my order? Were my drinks delivered in a reasonable amount of time? How clean were my utensils? and so forth. The Food Network, as you might have noticed, has had a major impact on me and my stomach.

It’s also fun to be a food critic; you get that feeling of “Ha! I know something you all don’t.” Secretly judging people and taking note of their actions is partially like spy work (another dream job, I suppose?). Still, people’s reaction to your reviews is the pinnacle of the career. I’m sure you can imagine waitress’ horrified faces at how poorly I rated them. However, this also inspires the restaurant to do better, so it is like community work. Once it has changed whatever necessary, people will be interested in returning to the restaurant and business will boom yet again. An economic upturn.

But alas, if this job was offered to me, I think I'd only be in it for the food.

[sycep-jp]

Week 2

Accountability. As I continue to adapt to my work site I still have to prove to my co-workers that I am accountable. In a medical center accountability is everything. Patients have to trust that their information is confidential with us. The doctors need to know that the interns are going to get every task done efficiently and satisfactorily. I have a great amount of responsibility working as an intern at my worksite. 

At this time all I could do was clerical work and really simple tasks. One of my tasks were to run errands. Preston and I haven't even gotten to know the staff very well yet but Darcy was already sending us with money to run to the post office as well as to HUP (hospital of the university of penn). She trusted us with money (out of her own pocket) on the first day! To me, this meant that she believed that we were responsible and could be held accountable. She didn't know whether or not Preston and I would run away with her money, her mail, her pager and anything else she gave us (which we wouldn't) but she still trusted us. If anything happened to that stuff, she would be held accountable, not Preston and I. Darcy's job and reputation was at stake here if I didn't get the pager to the right person; or if I didn't get the receipt back from the post office with the correct change; or if I mailed the important information to the wrong person. But that made me realized that I'm responsible for a lot more than I think I am and that accountability is more important than I thought. 

The second week of this internship has come to an end and as I said earlier,  I haven't been able to do any work other than clerical work. Why? Well that's because I haven't had my training yet. But I finally got my training done on thursday. The training consisted of 35 minute long interactive videos lecturing me about the proper way to maintain cleanliness in the medical center as well as how to keep the patients information safe. It was all common sense that everyone should know yet I was required to take 3 35-minute trainings before I could do any work related to patient care or patient information. This is all because there is a liability issue. If anything happens to the patient's information then the hospital would be held accountable but it would be my fault. So I needed to take these trainings to make sure that I am aware of the things that I am held accountable for and the outcome that can result from it. 

As I begin my work with patients, I'm going to have to accept the responsibilities that come along with the job. I have to make sure that all of their information remains confidential and secure. I have to make sure that I am following all the rules that I learned in the trainings. I have my presbyterian ID now as well as my HUP ID so I can no longer rely on my supervisor for everything. Now I'm going to be held accountable for anything that I accept the responsibility of. I've never been accountable for someone else's information and I am fully aware of the consequences (which would be about 10,000-15,000 dollars for each patient information  that was shared). But this will help me in the long run as it will ensure that I accept the responsibility of anything I take part in! Now all I can do is make sure I do everything I'm supposed to and don't screw up. :D

finallllyyy!!!!!!! (don't mind my horrible picture)

[sycep-kpn]

Week 4

"Describe your dream job and why. Provide a minimum of four paragraphs in your response."

     For a long time, I struggled with what I career path I wanted to pursue. Coming from an Asian home, stereotypically, I am supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer. I would just nod when my parents said I had to work hard in school so that I become a doctor and make a lot of money. I never really had a say in what I really wanted to become so I never thought about it. When college applications were rolling around and I had to choose a major, I felt completely lost and clueless. All of these factors contributed to my current conflicting college situation and may possibly affect my future. 

     For a while in high school, I settled with the idea of being a nurse. I thought it was not too difficult to achieve and pays well. However, I never looked into that much so I never had a passion for it. One day, the idea hit me that dermatology was something I would be interested in pursuing as a career. I love make up and skincare. I also struggled with problematic skin and I have always felt insecure about my skin. I thought dermatology was a perfect fit for me because I wanted to help others feel comfortable in their own skin. I did a lot of research about how to become a dermatologist and the process scared me away from the idea. It was a very competitive field to get into, the cost of schooling is very expensive, and the number of years to become a dermatologist (12) made me reconsider my dream job. 

     Although it seemed far fetched, I believed that I could become a dermatologist. When I applied for colleges, I selected Biology as my major.  However, as months went by, I began to doubt myself again and to be on the safe side, I wanted to switch back to nursing. This time, I actually looked into it and figured it was a better path for me. I love working with people hands on and taking care of people, which nurses have the honor of doing. I thought about the times I visited the doctors and how the majority of the time, I was in the presence of a nurse and not a doctor. Nursing was also only half the years of schooling compared to being a dermatologist. After comparing the two careers, I decided nursing is the better career path for me. 

     Now that I know I want to be a nurse, complications have risen because I chose Biology as a major instead of nursing and all the good nursing programs were impossible to get into. So now, I need to take an alternative route to my goal of being a nurse but I am determined to do so. A dermatologist is still my dream job, but realistically, I will do better in nursing. After I am well off, I might consider going back to school to become a dermatologist if I still want to, but for now I am content with pursuing nursing. 

[sycep-kl]

Prompt 1: Obstacles, Rewards, and Transitioning

“Describe the challenges, obstacles, and rewards of beginning work as a new employee of your work-site. How important is adaptability in transitioning into your work-site? Your response should be at least 4 paragraphs in length.”

Before I stepped into my work-site, I have already spotted an obstacle.In the vicinity of Ten Thousand Villages, there was a Starbucks, Cosi, Chipotle, and a Subway; they can be called one of my big weaknesses. But in all seriousness, working in Ten Thousand Villages is far more challenging than I had expected. Since the store has a myriad of items in 39 developing countries and over hundreds of artisan groups, it was a mouth-full to remember. The main purposes of the store is to share its mission-- the idea of Fair Trade and how it benefits developing countries and poor artisans-- and also to maintain top-notch customer service. The amount of information seemed a bit overwhelming at first because I had to read the large customer service manual and be able to identify different artisan groups, materials, countries, and sets from simply looking at the items; however, my level interest in these items and stories were able to help me through the process.

Aside from the physical challenges in my work-site, the social challenges were also numerous. Before my first day, I had numerous thoughts and conjectures of the type of co-workers I would be having. But these random guesses vanished when I met them; each one of them are all humanitarians, altruistic towards both developing countries and everyone in general. The first day was especially interesting because i got to witness a more unusual day of the year. It was one of the co-workers, Anne's 10th year working in Ten Thousand Villages. There was food and gifts galore, with wide smiles and lots of clapping. I felt a bit out of place since they were sharing their past faux pas and personal anecdotes while I was clueless, but it was great overall. The main challenge, however, did not lie in communicating with my co-workers, but mostly in the customer service. I shadowed each co-worker, observing the way they greeted and shared the story and purpose of Ten Thousand Villages. I was and still is dubious about my ability to be able to present myself as well as they did. There is a myriad of steps-- steps that were not concrete because each customer is different-- to learn. Though I am nervous about taking the step to greet customers, I am confident that I will take a big step to greet customers soon.

The process of transitioning to the work-site was interesting. In a way, it was like going to school, hanging out with mostly the same people and watching other people come and go. That was the superficial aspect of it. As I worked, I felt like I was slowly slipping into the adult life because my parents told me that now that I was working for these 6 weeks, I would have to pay for everything myself in the time duration. That means I have more responsibilities! Though it ostensibly seems like quite a lot of change, I find it invigorating and progressive. I finally found something to do that will keep me productive in the summer while learning and preparing for the future. The transition was different, but I will get used to it very soon.

Of course there are rewards; it is something that we all love. There is a lovely 20% discount and the items there are exquisite. But aside from the physical rewards, I gained much from only working here for three days. I learned so many things about fair trade, conditions in developing countries, and so many cultures that I cannot wait to share to people. My favorite part of the store is that each item has a story. Its story consists of the artisan's life, materials, its process in making, and the country of origin. In industrial countries like America, many items are created by factory machines and modern technology, which I believe dehumanizes each item. The items in Ten Thousand Villages have character, stories, and uniqueness, and being able to indulge in these influx of stories is a great reward itself. 

[sycep-jh]

Describe your dream job and why.

When I was four, I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. By the time I was ten, I wanted to be a dancer. Thirteen and I persisted on wanting to become an astronaut. Catching on to a pattern here? Although I wanted to pursue so much my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents only saw one type of “dream job” for me: Doctor. Honestly, the idea of being tied down to one specific career for the rest of your life always scared me. What if 20 or 30 years down the line you don’t have the same passionate drive for that career as you use to and well… come bored?

As I thought about writing to an organization for my “dream job” in my cover letter, there was reoccurring thought. “What if that job position was for the Peace Corps or American Corps?”  The pay would be enough, you would get to meet new people constantly, travel to various parts of the world, and also get hands-on learning experiences –hypothetically speaking-. In the end, for my dream job I want it to be a career where I’m constantly learning something while hands-on work where I am working with people who need assistance. Although the pay might be as much as I hope for it to be, I hope that would it be enough to have a stable lifestyle.

By the time I was researching for college, again I was not sure of what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be stuck with a useless degree that won’t get me a job. Then again, I don’t want to be studying something I despise just because it a practical degree that would make me money. So I looked into what I was good at and what I enjoyed doing; that resulted my interest in research. Every lab project that I had in high school was the most fun experience ever (especially because it was a learning experience of its own).

In the end, what I want to say is that I don’t have a solid “dream job” or career destination where I want to head to. As I grow older, there are factors in my life that I would make me think “are you sure you want that as your career?” All I can say currently is that my dream job right now is to do research for a major organization like the American Corps or successful companies like Johnson and Johnson. Who knows where I’m headed?

[sycep-jf]

Describe your dream job and why. Provide a minimum of four paragraphs in your response." My dream job is to be a doctor, mostly a dermatologist. I have many skin problems that I have been dealing with ever since I was little. Sometimes I feel insecure because of my skin problems and the way they made me look. I went to a dermatologist to check out my skin problems and hopefully make them better or go away. My dermatologist helped me and made me feel better about the way I looked. I want to be a dermatologist because I want to help others with insecurities about their own skin. Just like how I got over my insecurities, I want to make others feel confident too. Most importantly, I want to be able to help others cure any diseases and live a healthier life. Besides just being a dermatologist as a dream job, I want to have my own clinic or hospital. I want to be the lead doctor and have others work for me. I want my patients to be happy and feel they got very positive results when they leave. By being the head doctor at my own clinic or hospital, I can control how my patients are being treated. As my dream job, I definitely want to earn a lot of money so I can spend it without having to worry about prices. I want to work in an environment that I can rest when I need to. I can not sit all day or walk around all day. Also, for my dream job I want to love what I am doing. I don't want to dread going to work.

[sycep-ed]

When I think about what I want my dream job to be, I believe that I am pretty sure what I want it to be. I would like my dream job to a broadcaster, on television who reports news. I believe that this is the job for me because I believe that I have the personality needed for this job, and I think I am very good at public speaking, however I plan on perfecting my skills in the future.

More specifically, my dream job would be working with ESPN, and being on a show were I can discuss sports. I enjoy watching sports, and discussing them, so I guess it would be a dream to have a job doing something I enjoy. Working with ESPN and discussing sports on t.v. would be a dream job because I would be good at it, I'm very knowledgeable about sports, so I believe that would be a natural at a job like that. Working with ESPN would be a dream of mine because, not only do I watch ESPN and shows like sports center and ESPN's First Take daily, it is a goal of mine to be on both shows one day, or even hosting them one day.

A dream job for me might, might also be a newscaster on a local news station. Like I said previously, I believe that I posses the skills needed for this particular job. Also, I think this would be something I will enjoying doing everyday. This would be a job were it would no feel like work because I am doing something that I love everyday.

Lastly, a dream job for me would be a job where I am happy. Regardless of what I end up doing in the future as a career, I just want to be happy. A dream job for me would be a job that brings me happiness day in and day out. In conclusion a dream job for me would just be doing something that I am well at and that I enjoy.

[sycep-an]

Weekly Prompt #1

As an employee for BPSOS’s other summer program, Journey Home, I currently do not face too many difficulties, but rather, a handful of benefits. I am actually really glad about my worksite: I was a part of JH last summer, so I know most of the activities and routines the facilitators have arranged. Many of these activities include workshops and discussing in groups. Generally, I keep facilitators on task when it comes to time as well as prepare materials for upcoming tasks. Other times, I assist JH members (Homies for short — shall we?) with their small projects and keep them focused.

One vital aspect every person should have with their workplace is ease of communication. Fortunately, it is a breeze for me to talk to my co-workers about changes, new ideas, peaks, valleys and the like. The week before this, I had a meeting with the facilitators about my role in the program and we discussed my schedule, which was helpful so that we would all know what to expect. Along with debriefings early in the morning, during lunch and at the end of day, I feel comfortable voicing my concerns to my co-workers.

As for the drawbacks, however, an impediment I face daily is a communication barrier between the Homies and me. Like I have encountered last year, I cannot directly speak to those born in Vietnam; my Vietnamese is limited and just awful. Journey Home is meant to be a bilingual program and a large number of the members speak little to no English. Therefore, I always need someone else to translate what I say (though I can understand a majority of conversation, ironically). But a lot of topics include words that are not used in daily conversation, so I am lost amid sentences. Furthermore, more than half of the Homies are males in high school or freshmen in college. As one of the younger facilitators who is female, some times I feel as if I am not taken seriously. For instance, if I ask someone to put their cell phone away, he would do it. Yet as time passes, I would notice that the device is back in his hands. So I would have to tell someone else to tell him. By then, the person listens. … My sternness is something I need to work on, I believe.

Still, I love being a part of JH. It is different now that I am the one working behind the scenes, making this program work. I will be able to see how each person grows throughout the next five weeks and what kind of people they are. Honestly, I do not think of myself as a people person, but it is great to meet people and I know this program will help me communicate better to them, specifically with youth (though they are my age). As for adapting to this change, it is essential that I am flexible and professional. Things move quickly when you are a side facilitator and time tracker, so you must be ready if you need to fill in or make changes to the day’s schedule. Plus, as I mentioned before, I am not the one sitting down to learn; I have to act as a sort of leader for the Homies. But with the help of the people surrounding me, it was not that arduous for me to transition.

[sycep-kpn]

Week 2

Talk about how you keep yourself accountable especially when you are continuing to adapt to your work site. Your response should be at least 4 paragraphs in length.

     With this only being my second week of interning at Motivos, I am starting to be more accountable for the things I do. At the previous places I have worked, such as Journey Home, I was not held accountable for many responsibilities. Therefore, adapting to a more serious work environment with more responsibilities has been a change of pace. Just like any other situation, I am slowly but surely making that adjustment to my new work environment. Now that I am almost done my second week, I am starting to get a feel for what the rest of my time at Motivos will be.

     When someone is accountable for something, they are responsible, or liable, for something. Almost everyone is accountable for something. For example, a student is accountable for doing all of their school work and handing in assignments on time. An inventor is accountable for his idea and product. I have accountabilities as a students, a sister, a daughter, a significant other, and now, an intern. Because I have never been an intern for a bilingual magazine, I have not had to be accountable for things related to this work environment.

     At Motivos, I am just beginning to become accountable for new things. In the first week, I was mainly making phone calls, recruiting English language learning students who were interesting in improving their English. This had nothing to do with the magazine, however, it was still a responsibility to get as many members as possible for the program starting the next week and I had to complete it. Now, I am moving on to different responsibilities for the magazine such as thinking of themes for the next editions, contacting interviewees, and preparing for upcoming events. 

     I expect with the upcoming weeks, I will be accountable for an array of things. I will be expected to conduct interviews, write up stories based on the interviews, do research, attend events, and much more. I will adjust to these responsibilities as they come and try my best to adapt to them by using the skills and strengths I possess. 

[sycep-jf]

"Talk about how you keep yourself accountable especially when you are continuing to adapt to your work site. Your response should be at least 4 paragraphs in length."

  I have worked a total of 3 days by now and I am starting to get the hang of things. It is a lot of work, especially when there are many patients because I have to work non-stop except for a short lunch break. My coworkers also help me when they have time but I make sure not to depend on them too much. They do things I am not allowed to do yet or know how to do. Therefore, the simple but labor-intensive tasks are my responsibility. I take in account of how many things I need to get done and the time I have left so I can pace myself. I try not to leave any work to finish the next day.

There are things I am learning still. I have become more productive as each day goes by because I memorize where things are and how they want things done in their specific order. It is easier as I do it more and it doesn’t feel like as much as I originally thought it was. Also, I have been given new tasks so I have more things to be responsible for now. In addition to getting and bottling the medicine, I can now use the computer and check for each patient’s signature and list of medications. Recently, I have been taught how to file any new medications for patients. This is very important to the pharmacy so I have to double check that I filed each one correctly or the pharmacy might get in trouble, not just me.  

When I am done with my tasks I look around to see if there is anyone I can help so I do not stand there doing nothing. Sometimes, I finish my tasks earlier than I thought I would so I am left with nothing to do. To keep myself from just standing there being bored, I try to see if I can do anything else. My coworkers help me so I should help them too. Pharmacies are always busy but there are some things I’m not allowed to do yet. I try to keep myself busy and working by looking to see if I missed anything.

Since I have only worked a few days, there are things I do not know yet. In order not to make mistakes, I make sure to ask my coworkers or my supervisor. I do not do anything that I am not taught without asking before I proceed with it. Even though I make sure to ask when I don’t know how to do something, I still made a few mistakes. My coworkers and supervisor are nice so they teach me how to fix what I did wrong. This way I will remember it the next time. If I did something wrong I will definitely take responsibility for it and fix it myself so I will not make the same mistake again.