First Day at My Internship

Today was my first day interning at the California Center for Sustainable Energy.

I arrived at my internship site via a 45 minute shuttle-ride. Ana, Leo and I intern at the same company; Leo and I have the same mentor. We walked in the building with little knowledge of what awaited our entry. We were greeted by three employees enjoying their lunch breaks in the lobby; they told us that our mentors would join our small group in a few minutes. Ana, Leo and I casually looked at several of the sustainability themed displays in the lobby.

About 15 minutes later a woman named Kimberly walked into the lobby and introduced herself. She gave us a tour of the building and introduced us to all of the employees. After roughly half an hour filled with brief introductions, handshakes and small talk, Kimberly concluded our tour by showing us two videos that documented fundraisers that the company had organized.

My mentor, Andrea, was in a meeting, so Kimberly sent Leo and I to start our first assignment. An intern named Jeremy asked us to look through multiple employee airfare reimbursement documents in order to help calculate the company's 2008 carbon footprint. After about 45 minutes of recording information, Andrea walked into our office (that's right, not a cubical, an office) and introduced herself and gave us a description of our duties. We continued to work until 4:30 at which point my dad picked me up.

Roosevelt's Words Echo Through Obama

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first inaugural speech during the Great Depression, promoting his plan known as the “New Deal,” that would generate economic stability. President Barack Obama seems to be a situation similar to that of Roosevelt’s presidency; in the midst of an economic crisis. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech and Barack Obama’s inaugural speech recognized America’s crises, planned to resolve the economic issues and inspired hope within Americans.

During the Great Depression, unemployment rates in America peaked at 25%. President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not ignore the grim economic situation America faced when he gave his first inaugural speech. “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” Similarly, Barack Obama stated during his speech, “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” Both Roosevelt and Obama realized that America’s economic hardships would not simply resolve themselves; action had to be taken in order to shift gears toward a brighter future.

In his first inaugural speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged to free America out of the gripping hands of the depression by initiating a set of programs aimed at restructuring America’s economy. Some of the programs that Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated under the plan known as “The New Deal” such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Social Security System still exist today. Obama plans to help ease the current economic deficit by installing a $850 billion stimulus package that would “devote $303 billion to tax cuts…and $550 billion to new federal spending,” as reported by the Washingpost.com article “Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance.” Unlike the New Deal, Obama’s stimulus package aims at easing the short-term economic wounds rather than creating long-term solutions.

Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama inspired hope for a more prosperous America during their inaugural speeches. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s infamous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” echoed a message that a brighter day would come, so long as the American people remained courageous and worked hard during the calamity known as the Great Depression. Faced with a similar crisis, Barack Obama sought to instill the same confidence for a better tomorrow in a new generation of Americans when he gave his inaugural speech. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.” Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama delivered a realistic perspective of the hard times approaching, yet they provided reassurance of a more promising economic future.

America’s current economic obstacles are further evidence of the long-standing ideal that history repeats itself. Just as America’s economic troubles have reappeared, so too has an inspiring leader that may direct us through these rough times. Although his methods of curing our country’s ailments may differ from those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama provides the same message of progression towards a stronger America.

"Compensation from before World War I through the Great Depression." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 25 Jan. 2009 .

"Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and hundreds more. 25 Jan. 2009 .

Kane, Paul. "Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance - washingtonpost.com." washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines. 25 Jan. 2009 .

"Op-Ed Columnist - Franklin Delano Obama? - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 26 Jan. 2009 .

"Transcript - Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address - Text - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009 .

Obama's Inaugural Speech

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true."

I believe that this was the most memorable section of President Barack Obama's inaugural speech. In this quote, the President asserts that the values that America was founded upon still resonate in today's ever-changing society. Modern day America faces challenges different than those of the past, however we will still overcome these obstacles by applying our traditional values with technological and diplomatic innovation. If the American citizens work hard enough to secure their future, while facing each day with confidence, they can overcome the rough economic times that have so quickly presented themselves.

Hall of Icons Artist Statement Rough Draft

Johnny Cash's cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" epitomizes the struggle Billy Mills faced in order to overcome the social and economic adversities he faced as an American Indian and win the Olympic gold medal for the 10,000-meter race.

Throughout the road of life, one will undoubtedly face numerous obstacles in order to continue moving forward. The song “Rusty Cage” uses the metaphor of breaking out of a rusty cage to depict the struggle one must face in order to endure the challenges they will encounter and pursue their dreams.

The adversities Billy Mills faced on the road to become an Olympian were the components that made up his rusty cage. In 1938, the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) native, Billy Mills, was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the poorest Indian reservation in the entire country as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000” and was orphaned at the age of twelve. He began participating in cross-country running with hopes of one day becoming an Olympian, however he would have to overcome the social adversities he faced as an American Indian. In an interview for the July 2008 issue of “United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine,” Billy Mills reflected on his struggle to reach his goal. “By the time I was a junior in college I came very close to committing suicide after being asked to step out of a photo at the national championships, where I had made All-American for the third time in a row.” Although he came close to attempting suicide, he realized the importance of continuing to chase his dream. Three years after his suicidal low point, Billy Mills burst out of his rusty cage during the 10,000-meter race of the 1964 Olympics by running through the yellow tape that awaited him at the finish line and winning the gold medal.

Billy Mills’s amazing victory during the 1964 Olympics is a tale of a societal underdog courageously persevering through adversity and quite literally running ahead of the pack, inspiring countless others to chase their dreams.

1) Cornell, Chris. "Rusty Cage." Unchained. By Johnny Cash. MP3. Rick Rubin, 1995-1996.
2) "Pine Ridge CDP, South Dakota - DP-3. Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000"
3) Johnson, Maria. "Innerviews-Running Strong." United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine : 96-99. 17 Jan. 2009 .

Hall of Icons Artist Statement

Introduction
Billy Mills became the first American to win the Olympic gold medal for the 10,000 meter race, overcoming the social, political and economic adversities he faced as an American Indian. Johnny Cash's cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" shares a metaphorical, as well as a literal connection with Billy Mill's struggle to win the Olympic gold medal for the 10,000 meter race.

Body Paragraphs
- Billy Mills broke out of his rusty cage during the 1964 summer Olympics. He grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the poorest Indian reservation in the country. The struggles he faced.
- Billy Mills almost committed suicide after being asked to step out of the picture for the National Championships while in college. Sports Illustrated Article. Continuing to pursue your dreams and never fully losing hope.

Conclusion
Never lose sight of your dreams and aspirations. Overcoming the challenges that you are presented with only makes you stronger.

Optimistically Viewing the Future of the Environment

In the Washington Post article, "Bush to Protect Three Areas in the Pacific," the author, Juliet Eilperin, explains President Bush's environmental action to protect three large areas of the Pacific Ocean. Bush has protected almost 200,000 square miles of the ocean by establishing the three areas as national monuments, restricting oil and natural gas extraction, as well as commercial fishing. The author maintains a "forgive but don't forget" mentality throughout the entirity of the article by recognizing Bush's previous faults in terms of environmental protection, and then applauding the President's most recent green actions. "While he has resisted imposing mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change and has opened large areas of the nation to drilling, mining and other use of resources, by the end of his term he will have protected more ocean than any person in history."

In Salon.com's article, "Bush's Seven Deadly Enviromental Sins," the author, Katharine Mieszkowski, presents seven different enviromental faults that Bush has made during his presidancy and the seven different plans that Barrack Obama must initiate in order to correct Bush's mistakes. Only three of the seven solutions provided in the article were officially proposed by the Obama campaign, the four remaining solutions seem to be posed by the anonymous, yet "leading environmentalists" that she references in the second paragraph. "We also invited leading environmentalists to outline Barack Obama's mission for cleaning up the nation's land, water and air." Who are these leading environmentalists? Are they super heros? If they are super heros I can understand why their identity can't be revealed, however I have reason to believe that these "leading environmentalists" are, in fact, not super heros but that the term "leading environmentalists" provides no explanation or indication of a specific expertise.

Although the author attempts to include a bright outlook for the future of the environment by listing solutions, the way in which she presents Bush's faults ultimately leads to the downfall of the editorial. Each section that highlights a "deadly sin" is used to emphasize the severity of a specific issue and assign guilt to the Bush administration. Each Obama solution supplies a sense of urgency fueled by the "or else" fear tactic that she so clearly presents by emphasizing Bush's faults, instilling fear in the reader.

It is more benefical to focus on the newly instated contributions to marine life rather than linger on the environmental faults that the President has made because the latter perspective directs attention towards the past by criticizing Bush, while the former perspective highlights the future wildlife growth that the marine monuments will bring. The pessimistic Katharine Mieszkowski seems to be entreched in the past, while the optimistic Juliet Eilperin embraces the future.

Internship Questions

I wish to learn professional interaction skills used in a workplace environment. I would like to truly learn the weight of responsibilities in the workplace and see how interaction is incorporated throughout the day. I am curious to see how the "adult world" differs from my school environment. I also would like to see how I will apply concepts I have learned from academic environment and apply them into a setting.

I hope to discover how to better manage my time while working at my internship. The workplace demands stricter deadlines and requirements than those that I am familiar with in school. I have never had a job, so I am looking forward to seeing how well I adapt to a workplace environment. I am anxious to apply my academic and social habits to a completely new setting so I can learn what I need to improve.

I plan on putting in my best effort towards interacting professionally with others in the workplace and into my project, what ever it may be. I plan on forming a good relationship with my mentor and other coworkers. I want to enjoy my internship as much as possible, regardless if the internship is not focused in the area I would like to pursue for a career.