Inaugural Internship Post...

This is my first "journal entry" of the semester, so this week I will give the basics of what I've been up to so far during my internship at DGS.

As you know, I began the internship over Summer '10. Summer was such a learning experience for me; I didn't know ANYTHING about the different undergraduate majors or 1000s of courses, so I spent a few weeks training and shadowing other academic advisors to get a feel for everything. I got the basics down, learned who to turn to with certain questions, and then led my first small group orientation meeting and individual registration appointments. I had to learn a large volume of information FAST, and I was definitely a little nervous during the first week, but I am so glad I had the summer experience before I began the course-credit internship this semester. I already knew everyone in the office, I already had established relationships with my students from the summer, and I went into the semester with a baseline of knowledge about how undergraduate academics work on this campus. The summer experience was essential to my current position.

I work 10 unpaid/course credit hours per week, and 5 additional paid hours outside of the official 589 Internship. My days are structured differently depending on how many students set appointments with me. During times when I don't have appointments, I often spend time asking coworkers questions and talking with them about general items. For example, last week I spent time asking another advisor about how, when, and where to refer students to other services such as counseling or tutoring. I also spend a fair amount of time reviewing students' files and preparing materials when I know I have an appointment lined up - I want to give students the impression that I am thoroughly immersed in their questions/concerns/experiences because that is how my first-year advisor impressed me and led me to consider this career in the first place. I think it's important for students to feel like someone is really dedicated to their progress, especially at an institution this size where it can sometimes be difficult to figure out the appropriate office to turn to.

I also may be helping with DGSociety, which is a student group led by DGS students. I don't have many details on this role at this point, but I will provide an update through another post.

This month, I have also been helping to advertise for the upcoming Majors and Minors Fair by contacting local radio and TV stations. I'll be attending the fair next week to help out.

So that's the basic gist of my role so far in this internship. No two days are exactly alike!