Before beginning any rigorous physical activity, it is important that one stretches their muscles in order to reduce the possibility of cramps or strains. I aimed to incorporate running in my internship immersion experience. I had roughly one month to regain my cardiovascular stamina and leg strength to their former glories before track & field season started. Whether I endured a rigorous 8.8 mile journey from my house to my internship site in the morning or a quick 1.4 mile venture to In-N-Out Burger and back during my lunch break, running became one of the most memorable experiences of my internship immersion. Traveling to internship by means of my legs jump-started my metabolism, keeping me fully alert and awake for the rest of the day. My fast paced travels to the local food establishments during my lunch break ensured that my body received nourishment whilst allowing my mind to take a healthy break from my assignments. The reason for this exercise was not solely for my own health benefits but to ensure my productivity output in the workplace.
The internship workroom became a second home for me during immersion, not in the sense that it was a place that provided me comfort but that there was no other place besides my house that I spent more time occupying in that two week time frame. Somewhat isolated from the other employees, this room, if you could call it that (this area resembled a short hallway that happened to meet a dead end), felt like a pen due a constant sense of containment I always felt whenever inhabiting this space. This “room” witnessed the completion of all my assignments as well as all of my habits. Overrun with clothes, papers and boxes, this area offered a reflection to my organizational tendencies that could not differentiate a house from a workplace. The clutter spread like a virus, infecting a new section of the room each day. However this pathogen of untidiness failed to latch on to the hard drive of my computer and disrupt the completion of my tasks.
One of the key differences that I noticed immediately at the start of immersion between my internship workplace environment and an academic environment was the amount of time I sat in front of a computer screen. I often use a computer three to four hours a week during school in order to finish my assignments; however that amount of time is far less eye-straining than the six hours I spent each day staring at a monitor during immersion. I felt that my computer was devouring my conscious state of mind, sucking all my thoughts into a vortex, emptying them out on to the formerly blank document before my eyes. By the end of immersion I viewed my computer not as a tool of convenience, but as a fascist vampire with a thirst for mental processing. Despite the monotony of investing hour upon hour of my tireless efforts researching and learning all the topics for my project, I ultimately emerged as a more environmentally conscious individual at the end of my internship immersion.
My project during immersion dealt with the several different aspects that form one’s carbon footprint such as: post-consumer paper products, recycling by the numbers, excessive packaging and the energy required to deliver products from their factory to you. I found it impossible to research each of these aspects of one’s carbon footprint without reflecting on the environmental impact of my own daily actions. Prior to this project I never considered the amount of energy that is invested into the generation and transportation of goods or that the multiple layers of plastic covering a product is nothing more than garbage in the eyes of a landfill. Learning about the issue is only half of the battle; I must now use that knowledge to reduce my environmental impact. Each individual that inhabits this planet has a carbon footprint; however it is the actions and choices that one makes that determine the size of their footprint.
The purpose of my carbon footprint project was to inform middle school and high school kids of how their daily action or choices impact the environment. Educating children at the High Tech Fair was an eye-opening experience for all the parties who participated in the event. Half of the students that approached our booth did not have an understanding of the term carbon footprint; however I was able to give them a quick lesson detailing an explanation of the term as well as numerous ways that they could reduce their footprint. The entire day I delivered lessons that were compacted down to short, yet coherent presentations. Seeing the wonder in their eyes empowered me with a large sense of confidence in my presentation skills. At the end of that day I arrived at a great realization: I want my future career to incorporate some form of public speaking.
Before beginning any rigorous physical activity, it is important that one stretches their muscles in order to reduce the possibility of cramps or strains. I aimed to incorporate running in my internship immersion experience. I had roughly one month to regain my cardiovascular stamina and leg strength to their former glories before track & field season started. Whether I endured a rigorous 8.8 mile journey from my house to my internship site in the morning or a quick 1.4 mile venture to In-N-Out Burger and back during my lunch break, running became one of the most memorable experiences of my internship immersion. Traveling to internship by means of my legs jump-started my metabolism, keeping me fully alert and awake for the rest of the day. My fast paced travels to the local food establishments during my lunch break ensured that my body received nourishment whilst allowing my mind to take a healthy break from my assignments. The reason for this exercise was not solely for my own health benefits but to ensure my productivity output in the workplace.
The internship workroom became a second home for me during immersion, not in the sense that it was a place that provided me comfort but that there was no other place besides my house that I spent more time occupying in that two week time frame. Somewhat isolated from the other employees, this room, if you could call it that (this area resembled a short hallway that happened to meet a dead end), felt like a pen due a constant sense of containment I always felt whenever inhabiting this space. This “room” witnessed the completion of all my assignments as well as all of my habits. Overrun with clothes, papers and boxes, this area offered a reflection to my organizational tendencies that could not differentiate a house from a workplace. The clutter spread like a virus, infecting a new section of the room each day. However this pathogen of untidiness failed to latch on to the hard drive of my computer and disrupt the completion of my tasks.
One of the key differences that I noticed immediately at the start of immersion between my internship workplace environment and an academic environment was the amount of time I sat in front of a computer screen. I often use a computer three to four hours a week during school in order to finish my assignments; however that amount of time is far less eye-straining than the six hours I spent each day staring at a monitor during immersion. I felt that my computer was devouring my conscious state of mind, sucking all my thoughts into a vortex, emptying them out on to the formerly blank document before my eyes. By the end of immersion I viewed my computer not as a tool of convenience, but as a fascist vampire with a thirst for mental processing. Despite the monotony of investing hour upon hour of my tireless efforts researching and learning all the topics for my project, I ultimately emerged as a more environmentally conscious individual at the end of my internship immersion.
My project during immersion dealt with the several different aspects that form one’s carbon footprint such as: post-consumer paper products, recycling by the numbers, excessive packaging and the energy required to deliver products from their factory to you. I found it impossible to research each of these aspects of one’s carbon footprint without reflecting on the environmental impact of my own daily actions. Prior to this project I never considered the amount of energy that is invested into the generation and transportation of goods or that the multiple layers of plastic covering a product is nothing more than garbage in the eyes of a landfill. Learning about the issue is only half of the battle; I must now use that knowledge to reduce my environmental impact. Each individual that inhabits this planet has a carbon footprint; however it is the actions and choices that one makes that determine the size of their footprint.
The purpose of my carbon footprint project was to inform middle school and high school kids of how their daily action or choices impact the environment. Educating children at the High Tech Fair was an eye-opening experience for all the parties who participated in the event. Half of the students that approached our booth did not have an understanding of the term carbon footprint; however I was able to give them a quick lesson detailing an explanation of the term as well as numerous ways that they could reduce their footprint. The entire day I delivered lessons that were compacted down to short, yet coherent presentations. Seeing the wonder in their eyes empowered me with a large sense of confidence in my presentation skills. At the end of that day I arrived at a great realization: I want my future career to incorporate some form of public speaking.
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