Blog 9: Description of my Workplace
At the YMCA there is about 10 people who work through out the day at the before and after school program . It is a medium sized business considering there are many workers throughout the week. The people at my workplace work with the kids. During the day they watch over the kids, and organize and lead the games. There are some people who work in the offices of the Y as well. My workplace employs various types of people, from older women, to younger college students. They employ people from all different races as well, like Asian, White, African-American, and Latinos. Most of the people there have a four year college degree.
My workplace is located in Albany, for people who don't know where Albany is, it is between Berkeley and El Cerrito. This YMCA is one of the smaller ones, I work in a one story building with two sections. The right section is where the Kinder-gardener's come to before and after school, and the left side is the play area for the 1st through 5th graders. On the Kinder side there is mostly arts and crafts, snack tables, a reading area, and many toys. On the other side there is a big open space for games, and also all the board games and puzzles.
My workplace is located in Albany, for people who don't know where Albany is, it is between Berkeley and El Cerrito. This YMCA is one of the smaller ones, I work in a one story building with two sections. The right section is where the Kinder-gardener's come to before and after school, and the left side is the play area for the 1st through 5th graders. On the Kinder side there is mostly arts and crafts, snack tables, a reading area, and many toys. On the other side there is a big open space for games, and also all the board games and puzzles.
Highlight of my day on Friday!! :)
Enzo Told me a joke!
On Friday I was soooooooo sleepy at my internship!!So I asked Enzo to tell me a joke so I could wake up a little bit. When I first asked him to tell me a joke he said "NO!" Then I asked him again and he said "ok, fine, I'll tell you a joke that I told to one of the other workers. But you have to say something first." Then i said " Ok what do
I have to say?" He said "Say, 'I have no patience' " so I said it, "ok... I have no patience." Then he said, "Well then my mom can stop working and you can work for her!" then I said, "Wait...I don't get it..." He then said " My mom works at a hospital!" ( Get it Ms.Galvan??) After he said that I started cracking up! Then he said " See I made you laugh!!" It was the cutest thing ever!!
-I love Enzo, he's one of my many favorite kids!! He's soooo CUTE! I call him Enzo Benzo!! lol
I have to say?" He said "Say, 'I have no patience' " so I said it, "ok... I have no patience." Then he said, "Well then my mom can stop working and you can work for her!" then I said, "Wait...I don't get it..." He then said " My mom works at a hospital!" ( Get it Ms.Galvan??) After he said that I started cracking up! Then he said " See I made you laugh!!" It was the cutest thing ever!!
-I love Enzo, he's one of my many favorite kids!! He's soooo CUTE! I call him Enzo Benzo!! lol
Blog 8: Looking at other people's blogs!!!!
After reading some of my peers blogs, I learned that some of them are learning a little more than I am. A lot of people are active and doing work at their internship, whereas I have a lot of down time. I would enjoy being busy throughout the whole day so it can be more intersting and the time can go by faster, being that I'm there for a long time. (10am- 5pm) The people's blogs that I read were Jaszi's, George's, Jasmine Hendricks', Julie Grant's, and Tera's. Julie's and Tera's blogs were the best blogs because they were very detailed in what they've been doing. In Tera's I Iearned what an MTR is, and in Julie's I got a better understanding on what exactly photographers do. My blogs are also pretty detailed, so I would say I should work on doing them earlier instead of waiting until the last minute. It seems as though not very many people are blogging, and if they are, they aren't blogging consistently. Since Zsanae and I have the same internship, I will keep encouraging her to do her blog. If she needs help I will help her by giving my ideas.
Throughout my internship I was getting a little bored. I get bored because, like I said before there is a lot of down time. The kids usual activities are drawing, doing puzzles, playing board games, and playing in Sand City, which is a sand box with toys in them that the kids absolutely love. When the kids are doing these activities there isn't very much to do besides look over them and make sure they're not arguing. The last two Friday's were by far the most entertaining. There was a group game with all 66 of the kids, where we were all split into teams, we were given an egg which we had to cover in order for it not to break. We were all given 20 minutes to put any material around the egg, so when it was dropped from the roof of the school the egg would not break. My team won, OF COURSE, because we were the only team whose egg didn't break. This Friday I was busy the whole day, so it wasnt boring. I only have 2 more Friday's so I don't think I'll talk to anybody about making me do more work because I will be doing my project on those days.
Throughout my internship I was getting a little bored. I get bored because, like I said before there is a lot of down time. The kids usual activities are drawing, doing puzzles, playing board games, and playing in Sand City, which is a sand box with toys in them that the kids absolutely love. When the kids are doing these activities there isn't very much to do besides look over them and make sure they're not arguing. The last two Friday's were by far the most entertaining. There was a group game with all 66 of the kids, where we were all split into teams, we were given an egg which we had to cover in order for it not to break. We were all given 20 minutes to put any material around the egg, so when it was dropped from the roof of the school the egg would not break. My team won, OF COURSE, because we were the only team whose egg didn't break. This Friday I was busy the whole day, so it wasnt boring. I only have 2 more Friday's so I don't think I'll talk to anybody about making me do more work because I will be doing my project on those days.
Blog 7: How my WLE project is going!
Deciding on what my project will be has been difficult for me. Since I go into the Y on Friday's the students dont do homework, so the day is a day for games and art. Therefore I can't make a project about education. It is difficult to form a project when the kids do arts and games all day. I thought of the essential question, "How does interaction with other kids , prepare small children for the future?" This is a good essential question, but coming up with a project based on this question, and considering my circumstances with how the day goes, is hard for me. I can't think of a way to answer this question through a project. Even though I'm having trouble with my project, my next step is to ask as many workers for ideas on what I should do.
Blog 6: Mentor Interview
My Mentor wasn't here today, so I interviewed someone else at my workplace. I interviewed Virgtrese McGee, she is a recreation leader at the Albany YMCA. A typlical day for Virgtrese is assisting and supervising children who are 5 to 8 years old in homework and activities.When she was asked about how she became interested in this field, she said, " My first job was a tutor and I became interested in working with the youth. It's a passion I developed, helping the youth in one way of giving back. The kind of skills you need are building communication skills, and studying child development." A piece of advice that Virgtrese gives to someone who is interested in this field is to have patience, passion to work with children, to be nurturing, and to have a fun spirit. Lastly, she was asked does she like her workplace and she resonded with, "Yes I like working with the children but the workplace needs more structure. If we had more organization the workplace would be better.
Post 3: About My WLE
I intern at the Albany YMCA, and it serves many people. First the Y serves kids who are in kindergarden through fifth grade. The Y is somewhat in partnership with a school that is right behind the Y. Kids that attend that school , often go to the Y before and after school. The Y also serves parents, it gives a place for their kids to go to when they start work early in the mornings, and when they get off of work later in the evenings. Not only does the Y provide a place for their children to go, but the Y also teaches kids how to work with others in the correct manner. The kids must be around very different attitudes, races and ages from themselves, which makes them collaborate better with others. The Y also serves the community, the community is probably less likely to have violence or accidents going on because a lot of the communities kids are at the Y. The community is free from common child accidents, such as child kids getting hurt because of them playing outside, or even on a deeper level, child abductions, because the children are safe. Lastly the Y serves teachers, teachers are able to interact with kids while getting paid to do so. It keeps them with an active job. One major strength that the YMCA has is teaching a second language at such a young age. There are many different ethnicities amongst the Y kids, and they are able to learn Spanish. The kids in kinder alreadty know how to properly and respectfully greet people who speak spanish. This will allow the kids to be more social as they get older and also have more opportunities. Something that my workplace could improve on is getting a bigger space when all of the grades come together and play. On Fridays after school, all the children from the different grade levels come into one room and play, and it can sometimes be overwhelming.
Post 2: Aww The Little Cute Kids
Last week at my internship it was my first time working with the kinder students at the YMCA. I was some what in awe at what the kids were doing. There were kids of different races in the class, like Caucasian, African-American, Asian, and Latinos. The race of the teacher who was running the class was Latina. When I first came into the class the teacher, Ana Margarita, introduced me to the whole class, but she spoke in Spanish to all of the students, they then greeted me in Spanish. After I
got introduced to all of the little kids, they moved on to singing songs in Spanish. Ana Margarita also went around the circle asking the kids, "Como estas?" and they would respond with , "buien gracias!" This amazed me because all of the children knew how to speak spanish very well, eventhough they were of different races.
got introduced to all of the little kids, they moved on to singing songs in Spanish. Ana Margarita also went around the circle asking the kids, "Como estas?" and they would respond with , "buien gracias!" This amazed me because all of the children knew how to speak spanish very well, eventhough they were of different races.
Intro Post: How I got my WLE: Oct.26th
I got this internship through my sister Brianna, she is a student, and a RA for the dorms, at Clark Atlanta University.
She was talking to one of the students, and the student was also from the bay area, she told my sister that her aunt was the director of the YMCA . My sister told me about her having a connection with the director, and she gave me her number. Last Wednesday during academic seminar, I called her, she had just stepped out of her office so I had to leave her a message. I got a call back form her around 5PM, she told me that she would love to have me as an intern.
The leadership skill that I used to get this internship was Communicating Effectively because I had to keep calling my sister and asking her for the lady's number because she would forget. My mentor is Alicia Butler, she is the director of the YMCA in Albany, which is about 10 minutes away from my house. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing because I haven't met with her yet. We have a meeting tomorrow, so I'll be finding out then.
She was talking to one of the students, and the student was also from the bay area, she told my sister that her aunt was the director of the YMCA . My sister told me about her having a connection with the director, and she gave me her number. Last Wednesday during academic seminar, I called her, she had just stepped out of her office so I had to leave her a message. I got a call back form her around 5PM, she told me that she would love to have me as an intern.
The leadership skill that I used to get this internship was Communicating Effectively because I had to keep calling my sister and asking her for the lady's number because she would forget. My mentor is Alicia Butler, she is the director of the YMCA in Albany, which is about 10 minutes away from my house. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing because I haven't met with her yet. We have a meeting tomorrow, so I'll be finding out then.
Post 9: Day Dreaming...
Today, I didn't do much at my internship. Unfortunately my mentor was not here today. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to learning something new about hair. When I first got in today, I was able to get my hair done, so that was a plus, especially because it's free! =D After that, I started answering phones, and never stopped. The phone was ringing off the hook all day. I made appointments for stylists, and gave the phone to the stylists that the people were asking for. I also watched people come in and get there hair done. So nothing at all was exciting. Although nothing was exciting I did learn a few things by watching the stylists. I learned the process of cleaning and touching up dreads, so that they'll look freshly done. You first have to shampoo and condition them, and then you get a type of wax or grease, and part the dreads in sections. You go to the top of the dread, comb the new-growth, apply the wax to it, and then twist them. After you do that with each dread, the person sits under the dryer for about 10 to 15 minutes. They come back to the chair, and then they have to get about four big french braids going back. They go back under the dryer for the same amount of time. They then put a du-rag on it, and they're all finished and ready to go! So that was my day! =) / =l
I'm not too sure about what my WLE project will be. I've been doing inventory for my mentor, so it may be along those lines but I'm still not sure of exactly what I want to do. But I will keep thinking and asking my mentor about some ideas.
I'm not too sure about what my WLE project will be. I've been doing inventory for my mentor, so it may be along those lines but I'm still not sure of exactly what I want to do. But I will keep thinking and asking my mentor about some ideas.
Post 8: Analyzing My Workplace
At the hair salon I work at, it would be considered as a small business, there's about 6 stylist's in the salon. I enjoy working at a small business because I can get to know people fast, and build relationships with most of them. Some of my classmates do work in a medium to large business. I believe that no matter how small or large of a business you work at, you can benefit from them all. For example, like I said earlier, you can build relationships with all of your co-workers in a small business. Also, no matter what type of business you work in, it will allow you to learn how to work with everybody in the business, despite everyone's different ways, or atitudes. What I mean by that is that, you might have a couple co-workers that are very social and you get along with. Or you might have some co-workers who aren't so social, and keep to themselves. That would mean I would have to learn to work with everybody in the business, and know how to communicate effectively with the different ways of every person.
The Chain of command at the salon would be the owner, who is Tonia. It seems to me that everyone is happy with Tonia. This isn't the type of business where you have to ask permission to do things from Tonia all the time. It's more of your on your own, and you know what to do, and what not to do. Some people would probably label a hair salon as "working class" but I think differently. The people in the shop have went to beauty college. Eventhough thats not like an average college, it is still college, so I consider the salon as a professional work place. I do enjoy the type of enviorment
I work at, and wouldn't mind working in, or owning my own salon one day.
The Chain of command at the salon would be the owner, who is Tonia. It seems to me that everyone is happy with Tonia. This isn't the type of business where you have to ask permission to do things from Tonia all the time. It's more of your on your own, and you know what to do, and what not to do. Some people would probably label a hair salon as "working class" but I think differently. The people in the shop have went to beauty college. Eventhough thats not like an average college, it is still college, so I consider the salon as a professional work place. I do enjoy the type of enviorment
I work at, and wouldn't mind working in, or owning my own salon one day.
Post 3: Another Day Without My Internship!!
Today was quite a long day! I had to wake up really early because I had to go to court! I had to go to court because I got a j-walking ticket in October of 09'. I got my j-walking ticket when I was trying to go to Wallgreens and buy some trail mix. My trail mix ended up costing $102! (that's how much the ticket was for) So court was all the way in Fairfield, and I was coming from Berkeley. I was a little nervous going into the court room because this was my first time, and I didn't know what to expect. I was waiting for a while before my name was called, because there was a lot of people ahead of me. When I was called i grew nervous again. I got up to the stand and she asked what I had to say about me getting the ticket, and I told her I didn't know that j-walking was illegal until I recieved the ticket. (which was kind of a lie) But to make a long story short, the judge let me off with a warning, and told me to not be back in here for a j-walking ticket. After getting my first ticket, and going to court for the first time, I've learned my lesson!! No more j-walikg for me!
I didn't go to my WLE because-unfortunatley- I still don't have one. I am still currently looking for one, and am still very un-lucky. I went to Joel and told him I was interested in interning at the Jambe Juice headquarters in Emeryville. He e-mailed the person, and they did not respond. Also Morgan e-mailed the people from Justice Now, and we still haven't heard anything from them. I've tried asking family members for help, and I still am unable to find one. I don't know what else I can do! So that was Another Day Without My Interenship!!
-Katrina =)
I didn't go to my WLE because-unfortunatley- I still don't have one. I am still currently looking for one, and am still very un-lucky. I went to Joel and told him I was interested in interning at the Jambe Juice headquarters in Emeryville. He e-mailed the person, and they did not respond. Also Morgan e-mailed the people from Justice Now, and we still haven't heard anything from them. I've tried asking family members for help, and I still am unable to find one. I don't know what else I can do! So that was Another Day Without My Interenship!!
-Katrina =)
How I Plan to get My WLE: January 6th
How I plan to get my WLE is by taking one that is available. Micah told me about an internship that another student is not able to go to anymore. It's in Downtown San Francisco at a theater. Theater was not one of my options, but this is my only option now. I'm always open to doing new things, so I'm excited to see what it is going to be like. Hopefully i enjoy it, and maybe it will lead me to another career path.
