WLE Project May 9, 2008
Graduation Portfolio - WLE Reflection
The Workplace Learning Experiences have been one of the major highlights throughout my time at CAT. It has done what Envision has intended: familiarized students with the working world and built strong networks in the community. However, along with the curricular goals, the experiences have benefited me in more than those ways. I have observed, first-hand, the dynamics of the working world but, more importantly, it has led me closer to and driven me further from what I want and don’t want to pursue. I have made connections with companies and organizations but, more importantly, it has given me the opportunity to learn the unofficial and unwritten principles of the working world. Those are the lessons many education systems lack and those are the lessons I learned.
Between my junior and senior years at CAT, I interned with three different locations, all of which had different “systems of government.” None of them were perfect but all of them had a flow and dynamic that allowed them continue to function. All three locations had methods of decision-making, leader-to-worker relationships and characteristics from which to learn.
My first internship was with Swallowtail Interiors. I learned my first lesson before I even embarked on the internship; never hesitate to ask for help. The owner of Swallowtail, Sheri Sheridan, used to be roommates with Regina. After hearing that I was interested in design, Regina referred me to her. I was appreciative that this internship came so easily but knew that it would not be as effortless the next time. My internship at Swallowtail taught me “working-world” basics and grasping those skills. It was my first “real” job so, from the very beginning, I understood real-world job finding and interviews, that they require an intricate balance between professionalism and showing the person/people “who you are”. Conscious or controllable tardiness has never been a problem for me so, on the first day, I allotted thirty minutes for myself to get to the store. Punctuality is crucial in the working world and I did not want my employer to see me negatively for something so preventable. These are two of the very basic life skills that I’ve learned to master.
Swallowtail consisted of four part-time workers and Sheri, the owner. Their government is similar to what the ideal of our government would look like. Sheri makes the larger decisions, like what pieces to consign or what things to order but Peter makes smaller everyday-decisions. For example, if Sheri asked us to revamp the store, Peter would dictate the overall design. Though they seemed like the main decision-makers, they were always open to input, especially when all the decisions related to design. They had a vision but during the process and even after, when it was “done”, our input and constructive criticism was requested. Design is communication and people send / receive it differently. I have always heard this being said in design classes but I finally experienced it at Swallowtail.
My second internship was with Skunk Funk, a Spanish company opening their first store in the US. This internship was unique in the sense that it was a start-up company. It was interesting to compare the things I’ve learned from attending a start-up school to the things I’ve learned from working at a start-up company. My mentor, Eileen, was the manager but that title poorly represented what she really did. My apprenticeship with her allowed me to understand the business world through her. She was the “manager” but was also in charge of store up-keep, employee relations, upcoming events and product inventory among others. Along with helping her with small projects and miscellaneous tasks, I observed her interact with colleagues and incorporate her design background into all she did. When Eileen applied for this job, I do not think she foresaw that her job would encompass so many sub-jobs. It made me realize that there are a variety of opportunities one has with a design background and, vice-versa, a job title may not accurately represent the actual tasks, one must be versatile.
At Swallowtail, two people knew how to use Photoshop, Cameron, Sheri’s assistant, and me. When I began my internship, Cameron and I briefly discussed the projects I would be working on and one of them was the company website. With all that Cameron had to do, there was little time for her to work on the website, so she assigned me the task of taking and editing pictures for the site. Every Wednesday, Peter and I would go around the store, creating a list of items that would be featured on the website. Once the list was made, I went around the store taking pictures of all the pieces. Neither Cameron nor Peter gave a preference of how they wanted the pictures so I took them the way I wanted, from an artist’s point of view.
The part that fascinated me the most was when I finished taking the pictures. I was the only person in the store who knew Photoshop well enough to edit the images to Sheri’s liking. Cameron knew basic tools but wasn’t entirely sure when it came to making photos ready for a professional website. It was odd at first but after stepping out of my CAT bubble, I realized how new Photoshop, or any similar program, was. There is a generation gap between Swallowtail-ers and I. Unlike them, I was born into this technology-based world; familiarizing myself with a computer at the same time I familiarized myself with long division. This incident triggered the realization that in the working world exists a range of skill and intellectual levels. Unlike school, there are people from different age groups, generations even and that, in itself, is already a major difference. It made me think back to when Forris asked what my thumb drive was and how much interest he had in the fact that I carried a school year’s worth of assignments in it.
These little things remind me of how lucky we are to be born in this world. We have the convenience of not having to change the way we do things and when we arrive in the working world, with college diplomas and leadership skills in hand, we need to take advantage of that.
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