I N T E R N S H I P W O R K S U M M A R Y

Seniors at New Technology High School are required to complete a 50-hour internship before graduation. To present my Internship Work Summary in a reader-friendly way, I have created the five following sections: Introduction, Tasks, Educational Relationship, Technology, and Evaluation.

Introduction
At the start of my senior year, I began an internship with the Friends of the Napa River. This nonprofit organization is operated out of a cottage-like office, so small that one may assume its undertakings are minute as well. I quickly discovered just how mistaken I was, because the Friends of the Napa River has a momentum that is unrivaled due to the passion and drive of its devoted members. I worked with Shari Gardner, the office manager, to lay down a few work objectives. This organization has many goals of its own, including the completion of a seven-year grant project, collaborating with other organizations in the region, organizing volunteer river clean-up days, and integrating community members through a few different tactics. Their website is one way in which they communicate with the people of Napa, which is where I come in. In order for Friends of the Napa River to update their website on a regular basis, I recreated their site in Dreamweaver, which is an easy-to-use web program. Along the way, I attended open houses, researched the history of the river for their grant project, worked the booth at the Mare Island Flyway Festival, and organized a student art competition for their Spring River Festival.

Tasks
I recreated their website, volunteered at the Flyway Festival, spoke during their open houses, researched at the library for their grant project, and organized an art event for their May festival with the New Tech art department and Ms. Dennett. I focused on the website in the research center at school during my free time and taught Shari how to use Dreamweaver by writing up a how-to sheet. This website has definitely been the focus of my internship, so I have done my best to positively affect Friends of the Napa River while creating it. I physically went to Mare Island to help out for the children’s booth at the festival. This instance in particular was influential because they were in need of volunteers to attend. I’ve learned a lot about how a business runs, i.e. communication, meetings, e-mails, phone calls, and brainstorms.

Educational Relationship
The tasks that I completed could be best fit into the following learning outcomes: Collaboration, Technology literacy, Critical thinking, Career preparation, and Oral communication. I completed a website in Dreamweaver, spoke at their open houses, researched for their grant project at the Napa Library, volunteered at the Mare Island Flyway Festival, and organized an art show for their May festival. I spent a lot of time with Shari Gardner and Bernhart Krevet to check in and formulate new ideas. Much like a group project at New Tech, we set goals, held each other accountable, and did our best to communicate effectively.

I found that time management was the most valuable skill of all. I really had to make time in my schedule to work on their website and fulfill our weekly check-ins. A large difference about my internship in comparison to the methods at New Tech is that I didn’t have an online calendar to check up on my progress. It was my own responsibility to get things done and make time for my internship. I think New Tech already does an exemplary job of teaching students individual responsibilities through the school and community service hour programs.

Technology
I used a few technological programs, including Dreamweaver and the photography slides at the Napa Library. The majority of the internship was done in Dreamweaver, which was beneficial because I had access at school. I used this program to recreate their website to the best of my ability. Along the way, I learned how to do many advanced things, like inserting named anchors that link to a spot on the same webpage. This experience will be especially useful when I’m creating my portfolio. The photography slides of Napa newspapers were a type of technology that I had never seen before. They were very interesting because they gave me a window to the late 1800s and forward. It was amazing to read the stories about the river and see the ads that were popular during that time period. This skill will probably be useful in college for research papers.

Evaluation
This experience added a much-needed element to my senior year. It gave me the opportunity to spend time on my own interests, on my own time. I learned about the current state of river issues in the Napa and American Canyon, but was also given the opportunity to make suggestions and provide my opinion. At the Mare Island Flyway Festival, I met many people who share interest in the river. I would certainly recommend this internship to a student next year. Friends of the Napa River greatly appreciates any help they can get, and I think it would be awesome if a student helped them next year again. In relation to my career goals, I learned that communication and time management are essential if I want to be productive. With my web skills, I feel that I could make a website in the future.

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