To Do

To Do:

Pick up Dry Cleaning
Go to the gym (after internship)
Print out Four resumes
Buy four green/teal folders
Print four short question responses
Make quarter page
Buy eye liner and mascara
Write down ideas for recruiting girls, troop leaders and admin
Craigslist (Don't get lazy)

My Answer to a Question on Diversity

1.    Describe what it means to have a commitment to diversity and how would you develop, promote and apply your commitment to diversity amongst Girl Scout volunteers? In a globalized world, where we transcend borders, it is becoming inherently important to embrace the diverse aspects of humanity. It is important to me that people understand the depth of diversity. In the psychological community, we call this depth the "Big 8 of Diversity."  This includes:  1) Age, 2) Ability, 3) Culture, 4) Sex, 5) Gender, 6) Ethnicity, 7) Sexual Orientation, and 8) Socio-Economic Status. 

I 

I      In the United States we tend to have metaphors to describe an idea of diversity. Usually these terms, look towards acceptance or tolerance of differences. I have a different belief. I show my commitment to diversity by embracing differences. I want to learn about an individual's heritage and experience life from another perspective. I would develop, promote and apply this commitment by 1) Organizing a training on multicultural manners, 2) Celebrate an aspect of diversity each month, and 3) Partner with the International Cottages of Hospitality in Balboa Park  to host a Girl Scouts Diversity Event.  

My To-Do List of Some Sort

I know it is two posts in a half hour or however long it takes me to type this up, but I had to start a new post. There needed to be a clean break from my deep thoughts from today, because this is my update of what is going on with my internship. This is supposed to help keep me grounded, but most of all, my head secure. Sometimes when I have many projects, I see a vortex in front of me. Words and pictures pop before my eyes. For instance right now I see athletics and job hunt vying for visability. I must cut this short and get into the grit of this post. I need to keep my head straight.

Athletics- I am establishing an athletics program at my school. Right now basketball season is getting started. Some things to think about are:

• Print out forms
• Call coaches to discuss code of conduct
• Show Jen (my Prinicpal) code of conduct and emergency contact form
• Get a schedule from Joe (Boys Basketball Coach) when practices are\
• Call soccer coaches, start putting that together

Athletic Dinner- I had a parent express interest in having an athlete dinner at the end of the year. This is to recognize the great work our teams did this year. I hope the parent will have a big hand in helping plan this

• Call Jayde
• Research Athletic Banquets
• Prepare a Space

DC Collaboration- I tried to pull together a Washington DC Trip this year, but people did not have the financial capability of doing this. Thus, I am making a commitment to Summer 2013. I am putting this on hold until February. I do not want to think about it right now.

Grant Project- This actually needs to get done soon. So, my position is a unpaid internship. My family says I am getting paid in experience, and that I am. I feel like I have learned a lot about working with people. Anyway, it would be nice not to feel under financial duress and be able to put all my time into this position. The only way to do this is to find a grant. It's interest at HDA, we do not have an official grant writer. One faculty member at our sister high school told me grant writers dont pay for themselves (or at least all the ones Escondido Charter High School has had). Thus, faculty members wear multiple hats. Some juggle teaching and finding the funds to keep our doors open. That is what I call passion. The problem is that for everyone (like me) that is not a integral part of the school, they have to find grants to pay for themselves. And this is where I am, on the hunt for grants. While searching for funds, someone delegated an interesting project to me.

• Pull info from database and put it on excel
• Then create own database

Community Based Research- In order to get funding, I had a faculty member for San Marcos State suggest creating a Needs Assessment. If parents and families say this is a worthwhile project for them, then it makes a greater statement to foundations.

• I need to really think this through. What do I want to do? What kind of questions should I ask? What are parents lives like? I want my job to make life easier on them by creating a safe place for their students. But this is what I want, is it what they want?

Robot- My Director seems to want the robotics team to build a robot house sorting machine. I think it is a great idea. I approached the Director of our technical program and he said to wait until April and to find someone to coach.

• Talk to John about this
• Develop questions for him
• Why do I feel like I am imposing upon him?
• I think I am afraid of rejection, but if you don't ask, you never know.

Wreaths-  I organized a wreath fundraiser. We raised over $350. Our rep said that was a really good showing for our first year. It will interesting to see next year.

• Call parent
• Send e-mail with addresses

Interns- I need to spend more time on developing partnerships for our interns. This is the core of what I care about in programming. How does it get pushed down to #8 on my list? Because there seemed to be more imperative things at the time. I have to ask myself is what I'm doing what I want or what the school wants. The answer should always lead towards the school. Hence, tomorrow first thing, I am going to call the Community Engagement Office at San Marcos State. HDA needs to be on their list of approved service learning sites.

• San Marcos State Phone Call
• Reach out to Palomar (I haven't had as much luck there, but who knows)

Showcase-  I have no clue where to go with this. All I know is that I want it to happen. I have a meeting with our music teacher tomorrow. Hopefully I will find guidance there, especially now that I have four parents suited up to help.

Ruminations on work environments

Hello Out There,

Finishing up my day at my internship. I feel fortunate to have it. I still find it funny that I am an intern who oversees interns. I met with one intern today and she felt so morose over our school. She felt like she was not supported by anyone but me. This led me to thinking about the welfare of my interns. I want them to grow and learn in a conducive environment. I do not want anyone to be left behind. Hence, this has made me dwell on developing a person. We may stop growing tall, but we always grow in depth and understanding of the world. Like children, we need support from our community to survive. One person can help us survive, two or more can help us thrive. Hence, I have learned from my exhausted teaching community that we need to feel the love from one another and it is hard to do when stressed with finances and uninspired. I once thought charter schools were the light in a dark time of education. The light is now tarnished with exhausted expressions of my colleagues and the lack luster passion in their heart. This scares me like it scared my intern.

I try not to let this monster of disdain affect my work and passion, but it makes me question. Who are these people? Where did they come from? Why do the feel so fore lorn and angry? How can you inspire disheartened people? This all comes down to my interns. What is best? I want them to thrive, not survive. I think my newest goal for this internship is to make a connection with each faculty member. If I listen to them and help them. Then maybe, they will help guide not only me but my interns. I need to do a little thank you. I wrote a cover letter today for Girl Scouts San Diego. In this cover letter I said that there are five pillars to retaining volunteers. They are: 1) Education, 2) Reflection, 3) Training, 4) Appreciation and 5) Support. Throughout my day, I ruminated on this. I realized that this goes beyond volunteer world, it goes straight into every work environment across the United States and even the world.

Thus, I want to state this one goal loud and clear: Get to know each co-worker, show each one that I care, help them feel supported. Maybe then, their opinions, their lives and their demeanor will change.

Right here,

Jenna

Why I help

I have been looking for part-time jobs. While I enjoy my internship, it does not pay the bills. One posting asked me to describe why I like to help others. This is my answer:

"I have always loved helping others. It began with the tingling sensation of knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life and then grew into a deeper understanding of what helping really means. Helping someone else means helping my community and myself. It is sharing knowledge, privilege and skills to provide each other with the means of creating a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. It is a partnership of learning and appreciation for the experience each person has to offer. This communication, mutual learning and support of one another reflects into the community at large. Thus, creating a happier, healthier and more sustainable society."