Week 13: The Overall Experience

Week 13 – The Overall Experience

I honestly feel like I have grown as a worker and as a person with this internship ever since I started to participate in it since January. I was challenged by both the quantity and the quality of the work that I was responsible for even though my supervisor was fair enough to let me work on my own time and maintain school as a top priority. The fact that I was given more leadership tasks such as filming with minimal supervision and organizing the video clips to make a fluid storyline was especially important for me because it allowed me to use my critical thinking and what I thought was right and wrong towards my assignments rather than just follow orders. Although the computers malfunction at times, I still find a way to get my work done by coming in on days that I usually don’t come.

All of the time that I have spent with this internship has been very beneficial to me when it comes to learning how to use the necessary programs for making videos.  Also, this time has gotten me used to matching my appearance with the high standards that I’m expected to carry within this internship. I’m now used to wearing business-casual clothes and being well groomed because of this internship.

 I am glad to have been part of this experience because I know that this type of work is important in taking visual research information that may serve someone greatly and spread it to the masses. I would definitely recommend this internship to anyone who has an understanding of creating professional videos and has a passion for research. For me, I feel like this internship covers a fraction of what I am capable of doing. I would love to work in a production studio, working with either camera, editing or even writing. And I know that this internship has provided me with enough experience to pursue a career in a similar field and it has given me the drive and confidence to challenge myself and put my skills to use. 

Week 11: Codes of Conduct

Week 11 – Codes of Conduct

The department that I work in has a series of policies and procedures that lay down the basic guidelines that all employees should follow in order to perform their daily tasks and keep order in the workplace.  These policies consist of Attendance and Punctuality, Disciplinary Action, Dispute Resolution, Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace, Personal Appearance, Preventing Hostility and Violence in the Workplace, and Supporting Victims of Domestic Violence.

These policies cover every single type of issue that could happen in the workplace and provide ways for us to prevent obstruction of these policies. Since scientific researchers mostly inhabit this department, these policies encourage employees to maintain themselves in the most formal and hygienic manner. Being formal and keeping your mind on the task at hand at all times is really important because of the many ways that research can go awry. Maintaining hygiene within yourself and within the workplace is very important in keeping the work area bacteria free and maintaining a formal appearance. The consequences for breaking any of these policies lie within the “Disciplinary Action” part of the list of these policies and procedures. 

I think that these rules and regulations hold a high but necessary standard for the employees of the QHS department but they are necessary for an institution like the UMASS Medical School. After briefly looking at these policies, I found no flaws in these policies when it comes to maintaining order in the workplace. I admire how there are different groups of people within the department that assess to different issues in the workplace such as the Risk Assessment Team, who review any action in the workplace that can pose as a risk to a person’s well being and come up with possible plans to prevent such action from happening. So not only do these policies expect employees to look and behave their best, but also they make the overall environment of the QHS department feel safe to work in.

Week 9: Tasks/Assignments and Educational Implications

Week 9 – Tasks/Assignments and Educational Implications

In my internship, I am in charge of editing a large amount of raw video clips of long duration into smaller and shorter clips based on specific instructions given to me through excel spreadsheets. These excel spreadsheets contain the transcriptions of all of the clips within a certain project and have them organized into what they want the clips to be like based on theme, rating, and the duration of each clips. The finished products will often get uploaded to Vimeo for review from the heads of the QHS department. These people will then send their thoughts about my edits through email to German Chiriboga, who is my supervisor, and he will then further instruct me. Usually, I first start with using Premiere CS6 to do the basic edits of the raw video clips. Once this is done, I then take my edited footage to iMovie so that I can not only do minor edits like removing time codes and converting them to HD files but to organize each clip by interviewee. Once this is done, the new clips go into Encore, in which all of the clips will be further organized to be put in a DVD.

I have also started participating in the filming of the interviews and I have enjoyed it so far. Here I am responsible for setting up the camera and the microphone. I am also responsible for accommodating the interviewee, letting them know the purpose of the interview and asking the questions as clearly as possible. I like interviewing people not only because it is challenging, but because it poses more as a leadership position. This task is also challenging my abilities to formally speak to fellow students/researchers.

This internship has enabled me to continue with the practice of filming and editing videos that I started a few years ago in TV Production classes and Video Editing. Some of the new things that I have learned consist of using new programs, reading excel spreadsheets for video editing purposes, and utilizing a modern and professional film camera. For my minor, which is Web Development, I am required to take some Communications courses that relate to visuals and media such as Intro to Digital Imaging and Intro to Multimedia. Since there weren’t any of those courses being offered, I substituted them for this internship because I feel that what I do here is along the lines of interpreting and manipulating images, which is similar to the classes that I was required to take. And I feel that the experience that I gain from this internship will give me a better idea of how to manage other forms of media for when I’m building a website.

Week 7: WSU Communications Department

1) Intern's Name Manuel Reyes

2) Internship Firm/Organization Quantitative Health Sciences/University of Massachusetts Medical School

Think seriously about your internship performance thus far. Reflect on the items below and use them to help clarify areas of strength and weakness so that you may improve the outcome of your internship.

3) This internship provides me with an adequate learning experience for my background.  Yes

4) My mentor at this organization understands my goals and objectives.  Yes

5) I did adequate preparation investigating the sponsoring organization and level of placement before accepting this position.  Yes

6) This organization expects too much work or requires more polished work than I was prepared to do.  Not really. This internship gives me a fair amount of work.

7) I cooperate with my colleagues in our work or to accomplish joint goals at the organization.  Yes

8) I cope with annoying situations without losing my temper or poise?  Yes. Even when there’s technical difficulties.

9) I am eager to learn new skills.  Yes.

10) I find something new to learn even in the most routine tasks.  Sometimes.

11) I consider my internship position challenging and worthy of my talents. Definetly

12) My attitude toward colleagues and clients is helpful and concerned. Yes

13) I easily recognize clients' needs and then try and assist them. Yes

14) I demonstrate ease in initiating conversation with colleagues and clients. Yes

15) I show confidence and poise in dealing with colleagues and clients. Yes

16) This organization can point to me with pride as one of their employees. Yes

17) I approach all tasks, even low level ones, with enthusiasm and a commitment to excellence. Yes

18) My work patterns and quality of work produced justify the time and money the firm is investing in me.  Yes

19) I look forward to each day enthusiastically.  Yes

20) Although this internship is a short-term position, I am personally committed and involved for the present.  Absolutely. I am actually thinking about continuing with this internship after the semester finishes.

21) This internship experience has helped me clarify future goals.  Yes.

22) Describe areas of personal interest and ability that you had not been aware of before working for this organization. Apart from the video editing, I was told within this internship that I was going to possibly be involved in the actual filming and interviewing and that this would require travel. This would definitely enhance the experience of this internship and get me ready for a related job.

Week 5: Organization Hierarchy, Management Structure, Communication Methods

Week 5 – Organization Hierarchy, Management structure, Communication Methods

-

Dept.Chair

-Vice Chair

-Faculty & Dept. Heads/Academic Administrators

-Project Directors

Project Coordinators

- 

-Administrative Staff

-Research Assistants

Undergrad Interns, Grad Interns, Post Doc.

There are a number of positions in the QHS department that all work together to accomplish its goal in research. Like all other position levels, this department too has a hierarchy that separates each position as well as formal ways of communicating with one another. On top of the organizational chart is of course the Department Chair, who makes all final decisions for QHS and oversees all of the actions of everyone in QHS. Below the Department Chair is the Vice Chair, who is just in charge of overseeing all operations and taking over the head position when necessary. Under the Vice Chair is the Faculty and Department Heads and the Academic Administrators, all who are in charge of gathering the research topics that must be analyzed by the people who are in lower positions. Below the Department Heads are the Project Directors, who assign these research projects and set the guidelines for them. Next, the Project Coordinators are the ones who coordinate the research project as well as provide researchers with the necessary tools and develop strategies for the projects. After the coordinators come the Administrative Staff, who are in charge of all of the business or institution-related activities within the research that goes on. And finally, below the administrative staff are the research assistants, who help the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctorate interns with research.

I am an undergraduate intern working in the video/interview part of the QHS. I work under German Chiriboga, who is the research coordinator of the QHS department. German stays in contact with all of his interns either through phone, text, email or physical encounter. Everyone else in the QHS department stays in contact with one another through phone, email, and regular meetings.