Blog #1: My Workplace

The workplace that I currently intern at is called ABS-CBN and it is a Filipino TV Network and a non-profit/governmental organization that helps the less fortunate in the Philippines. It is a large corporation located in Redwood Shores, California. The company itself looks very amazing in architecture and is also surrounded by many buildings such as Oracle and the EA Headquarters. I do not know how many people work at the company itself but if I were to make an estimate, I would say about a few hundred employees. My workplace employs a diverse group of ethnicities, but from what I had seen mostly people from the Philippines work there. Yes, most of the people there are required to have a 4-year college degree because it is a large corporation that is located worldwide and that does require you to be educated in what you are doing since it is a global corporation. The workplace serves the less fortunate in the Philippines and also is a global TV network so also the people who view the channel. The strengths of my workplace is that it is a friendly environment and everyone seems supportive. It is easy to build a relationship with everyone there and it makes you feel like your home. The only weakness I can think of for my workplace is how it is fast paced so I will have to adjust to that. Overall my workplace is very fun and I enjoy it.

Blog #2: My Mentor

My mentor is Ms. Jenny M. and her occupation is the US Sales and Marketing Manager at ABS-CBN. A typical day for Ms. Jenny is her in her cubicle on the computer inputting data, gathering information about partners from different businesses, designing banners for the charitable side of ABS-CBN. I also help Jenny, alongside with my associate Mr. Wallace, in the warehouse for shipments she has ordered and tag them with a note to notify the other departments that those shipments belong to Jenny. I do not know what has interested Jenny to become a Manager for the Sales and Marketing department at ABS-CBN but I do know that she has the credentials that had landed her the job. I do not know much about my mentor as of this moment but as the weeks progress, I will try to get a more clear understanding of my mentor and her role in ABS-CBN.

Blog #3: My Role

My main responsibility at ABS-CBN is assisting my mentor Jenny in inputting, helping her lift her shipments of banners, posters, or equipment in the warehouse, and helping her multitask so she can finish her work much faster and quicker in organizing events or gathering information about guests who want to show their support for the Phillippines at the events. I really do not have a title at ABS-CBN besides being the "intern" but I would like to consider myself as one of Jenny's assistants, alongside Mr. Wallace. Each work at ABS-CBN I am either helping Jenny input data on the computer, helping her in the warehouse, or organizing events for ABS-CBN. A regular day me at my internship is that I arrive around 8:00 am( I start around 8:30 am). I go to Jenny when it is time for me to start and then she gives me directions of what she and I should accomplish on that specific day. After completing task Jenny goes on break and gives us breaks too. I get about 1 to 1 hour and 30 mins for lunch( from 12-1:30 pm). I arrive back at ABS-CBN and then Jenny present me with new tasks and some feedback on how I am doing so far on that day. After helping Jenny, I go and get my time sheet for Jenny to sign around 5:10 pm and my internship ends at 5:30 pm. On my first day of interning for Jenny was very tiring but also more of an awesome workout. Me and Mr. Wallace lifted roughly 10-15 boxes in the warehouse filled with banners and equipment for Jenny. It was kind of a weird experience since we had expected to be at a desk for our whole day at our internship bu overall it was a very productive day since we helped Jenny.   

_Blog #4: Project Brainstorm

For my WLE project, me and my associate Mr. Kyle Wallace were brainstorming with our mentor Alvin about a documentary video on ABS-CBN. I came with this idea by brainstorming with both Kyle and Alvin since we were a little behind and our mentor knew about the situation already and so we had arranged a short brief meeting. Since we were limited on time we decided to do something short, easy, and quick. After a few minutes, we all came to the consensus of doing a short documentary of our WLE workplace ABS-CBN. I am excited because I get the chance to interview many workers at ABS-CBN and see how it is in each department and their functions. I am excited because ABS-CBN has many departments and so now I get to explore and meet new people and have a better knowledge of their profession. Since Kyle and I were behind we had to double up on our time, we were basically were provided with materials such as video cameras(we eventually decided to use Kyle's phone since had a better quality camera) and the computers at ABS-CBN. This pretty much concluded our day.

_Blog #5: Progress on my WLE Project

As both Kyle and I arrived at our WLE, we wasted no time and started our first day of filming. We quickly constructed a script with some questions to keep in mind while interviewing the employee's. We started first upstairs interviewing the "corporate" side of ABS-CBN and see what their jobs were like and pretty much explore that side of the company. We wanted familiarize ourselves with each department before we conducted the interviews so we knew who to interview and what would be important for the documentary. After exploring the "corporate" side of ABS-CBN, we had met up with our mentor Alvin and discussed who we would be interviewing and which departments would be included in our documentary. So far in the project today, we conducted many interviews with employee's from the "corporate" side of ABS-CBN including Emma, the VP of the company. Kyle and I had also sketched out a template for what our documentary video would potentially look like.

_Blog #6: Leadership Skills

The leadership skill I think I had used the most was both "Completing Projects Effectively". I created a gameplan such as a script for the interviews and a template for my WLE documentary video. I had also a limited time to complete everything and so I created a timeline for myself to complete certain tasks each day at my WLE in order to have an on time project. Kyle and I used our resources such as his phone to capture the interviews for our WLE project. We had also both used the leadership skill "Collaborating Productively" by both of us giving each other feedback on our ideas for the documentary, we delegated our work by Kyle being the interview for some interviews and vice versa while the other would be the camera man, and also we both were leaders/followers of each other because sometimes I would follow Kyle's directions if he told me to ask questions or he followed my directions if I had told him to create a sketch of what he thought the final product should look like while I created mine since in the end we would incorporate both of our ideas in order to create the overall project. I believe I used my leadership skills all proficiently because I carried out my tasks as partner and also met my deadlines. These leadership skills can help me in the future because it can help me in future work if I ever have to lead/follow or it can help me be responsible and make "plans for myself like in high school where I prioritize my time so I can finish all of my work on time. My mentor used Collaborating Productively because he, in the beginning before he had left, brainstormed with us on a project idea and provided us with resources such as computers and bloggers. We all had inputs of what should be within the documentary, not a one person say.

_Blog #7: What I learned, Reflection

What I have learned about myself through my WLE is that I can meet deadlines under any circumstances since I did have the half the time doing my project than other interns/sudents. The challenges I faced at my WLE were both being behind on my project in the beginning of the "project stage" and also moving to many departments and having multiple "temporary" mentors. I overcame the obstacle of being behind in my project by working offline(at home or school) and just creating deadlines for myself. As for the multiple mentors I had, I overcame that obstacle by getting lucky and finding a mentor who "really really" needed interns. A life lesson I have learned from this experience is that you should always be yourself and be open. My creativity was put to use through my project because I needed to plan out what should be in my project(documentary film) and also how the structure of the video would be. Some skills I have learned from this WLE experience is to prioritize my time to meet deadlines and also how to multitask. The choices I've made at my WLE will ready me for college and future internships/job places because it has gave me the practice or "experience" of how an everyday workplace functions and how you always have to maintain professionalism.

_Blog #8: Professionalism

In order to find my WLE and get hired, I had to_ research about companies I’d be interested in, network with my peers by maybe seeing what they were planning to do and see if it interested me(easy carpool way) and also call potential job places that were in need of interns. The most effective way of looking for a job and getting hired is by using your resources(if you have any) such as I who used my friend John and his mom to get me my internship. Another way is to research about a company before you want to work there so you know how the company is and not just what you read in the job description. As a result of my WLE, I think being a professional or a responsible adult in the work world means going to work on time, have apt vocabulary, causing no drama with your peers, and always getting your assigned task done at the designated time given._

_Blog #9: Life at my WLE

What I pretty much did today at my WLE was focusing primarily on my WLE project with my associate Mr. Kyle Wallace. We wrapped everything by just getting our final interviews for our WLE project, a short documentary of our WLE, and then soon got into some editing and learn how to use a editing program called "Sony Vegas". I think, compared to day one, I have improved as an intern by being more open and approaching my mentor more than they approach me. I've become more responsible by finishing all of my work on time and also been on track with my project. What makes it so great at my WLE that I am really going to miss is the loving atmosphere it includes. I would be approached by many people I would never maybe speak to and they would give me a warm welcome or greeting. I would always joke around sometimes with some employee's and we all pretty much just got along. My WLE, I can say, pretty much made me feel that I have a second family and I will truly miss everyone that I have encountered and interacted with. My WLE has no flaws, only perfection.

_Blog #10: The End

My final thoughts of my WLE is that I will really really miss it and all of the wonderful people I've met there. My WLE made me feel open and I can honestly say that working in that kind of atmosphere definitely attracts my comfort zone because it is both a fast-paced company but also very sincere to each and every employee's. It also gave 10 days not to go school and will be hard to adjust but overall, I love my WLE and I would love to intern there again next year(if possible) or maybe become a future employee. I think the experience from this year's WLE will affect next years options by me researching about the company before I intern there because I wouldn't want to have a decent internship but a very boring working environment. Overall, it will help me choose WLE sites that appease me and my comfort zone and also aim for large corporations because the mindset in those environments are both professional and sincere.