My Workplace: Tuesday October 11th

I work with a freelance photojournalist named Neil Brandvold over the internet using gmail and Skype. He works independently and with non-profit organizations. Neil travels to different places, such as Libya and Haiti, and takes photographs of events that go on. On October 28th he will be going to Haiti to study more about voodoo rituals and the effect of the current earthquake they had there. My workplace employs people with talent. Neil is going to get his masters degree in photojournalism in the spring. My workplace serves everyone who is interested in world affairs, photography, journalism, photojournalism and people who are fascinated with different parts of the world. Neil also works full time with an organization called the  Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) which I have written for under his mentoring. The strengths of my workplace are that it is interesting, it keeps me engaged and I am constantly learning. Neil provides many projects for me, and he lets me choose which ones I want to do. The best part is that I love what I do as an intern. On the other hand, I do get lonely sometimes because there are no UD students on campus and I work in an empty room.

My Mentor: Tuesday October 18th

My mentor is named Neil Brandvold, and he is a freelance photojournalist, though right now he works full time for the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC). His typical day is going to meetings, doing research, finding people to buy his stories and photography and writing for blogs dealing with the middle east. Also, he goes to different countries to do his photojournalism. On October 28th he will be going to Haiti during day of the dead. When Neil was young, he was a natural at photography; it was his passion. In 1999 Neil moved to Honduras. During that time Hurricane Mitch struck and destroyed the country. It was after visiting other countries and returning to Honduras in 2009 that really got Neil into world affairs, which then he started taking pictures and writing articles for various newspapers since there really weren't any foreign journalists covering the massive protests and violence around the coup that roused due to the return on President Manuel Zelaya. In the spring Neil starts a program at the Corcoran College for a masters degree in photojournalism, in which he is hoping to use that to transition to full time photojournalism focusing on natural disasters and conflict areas.

My Role: Tuesday October 25th

As an intern, I have many responsibilities. First of all, do some research about Voodoo rituals in Haiti. I do this to later work on a documentary with him. Second, I am learning how to use Adobe Photoshop. This will be helpful when Neil sends me pictures from the Day of the Dead in Haiti, and then I can Photoshop them. I am currently learning how to use photoshop with an online class Neil provided me. I also do side jobs for Neil, too, like writing for teachmideast.org. My main title is being Neil's research associate, because a lot of my role deals with research. A typical day for me at my internship is that I arrive to school and get on the computer right away. When I log on to my student email, I always have an email from Neil telling me what my tasks are for that day. I complete them in order and it usually takes up the whole day. For example, the first day of my internship, Neil provided me with about 12 websites and videos about Vodouism in Haiti and the recent Earthquake in Haiti, and it took me the entire day to complete. Throughout the day, I sometimes do stretches and close my eyes for a bit because I know it is not healthy to be in front of a computer for so long. When lunch time comes, my grandmother usually picks me up to go get a quick bite to eat. When I return, I email Neil, informing him everything I have completed thus far, and then he responds. When I'm getting ready to go home, I email Neil all of my completed tasks, get my hours signed and shut down the computer. 

Progress On My WLE Project, Part 1: Tuesday November 8th

Today at my WLE I did a couple of things. First, I took more Photoshop classes, which went really well. I learned more about things like "histogram" and "curves". Second, I did more research. The research I need is for the points I will make in the documentary my mentor and I are working on. I also talked to my mentor about my project. He said that it sounds like a great idea, and that we could be done in about three weeks. I am excited to see how it will turn out! So far, I have finished some of the points for the documentary and have learned a lot about Photoshop to maybe edit some of my mentors photographs. I think that this project is going to be beneficial to many, and will make me feel very accomplished. 

What I Learned, Reflection: November 22

What I have learned about myself is that when I am handed work, I work on it right away and don't stop until it is finished. For example: On my first day of WLE my mentor gave me a lot of Youtube videos to watch and articles to read, and I watched and read while taking notes and I did stopped only for a lunch break. I was very focused and determined. I also realized that I doing new things makes me feel accomplished. This is my first time doing an internship, and I was nervous at first, but now I feel like I overcame that nervousness. There have been challenged during my internship. Sometimes my mentor wouldn't be there when I was because of meetings and such. I thought that I wouldn't get work done, but I thought critically and did my own research. Another challenge has been sometimes communicating with my mentor over email. There's something about asking questions in person versus email that is different. Sometimes the message is more clear in person. I overcame this challenge by re phrasing questions. I learned a lot from this experience. I first learned that more and more people, especially the people in the arts, are switching over to working at home, working over the internet, and have a profession that once was considered a hobby. I also learned that working over the internet is very possible, and is not a disadvantage. My creativity was put to use many times during my internship. It was in use when I used Photoshop, when I made a video using iMovie, and when I wrote an article for reachmideast.org. If someone were to ask me why what I did at my WLE was important, I would tell them that it is important because people need to be aware of world affairs. What I have learned at my WLE that will affect the decisions I make in the future is first of all, my communication. When I am asked to communicate at a certain time, I will make sure I do it. I will also be persistent with my work in life, because putting it off will only make things worse and me, more stressed.

Life at my WLE: Tuesday December 6th

I actually did not go to my WLE today, but am still capable of answering these questions. Today I was at the Ritz-Carlton for a conference called The Big Ideas Fest, which you can see here http://www.bigideasfest.org/. It was an amazing event, and an incredible experience. However, I know that I need to make up my hours for that missed day. LIfe at WLE is probably different than most, and I love it. My mentor is really understanding and I know what I am doing. Because I did so much research from the beginning of my WLE, it made making the short documentary a lot easier. I think that over time, I have improved as an intern. I am always aware that I need to stay in contact with my mentor, as well as telling him when I won't be in or when I will arrive late. Also, throughout the course of my internship, I have become more comfortable with asking questions. I have an advantage some might say, because I work at home. I do like to work at home because it is a comfortable environment and I can focus. However, it does get lonely sometimes. I am fortunate that I was able to get an internship with a profession that I find fascinating, interesting, moving and fun! This is a rare chance, and I am so glad that I took it!

Project Proposal: November 1st

For my WLE project, my mentor and I will be making a short documentary on some of the issues surrounding Haitian voodoo, including how the earthquake affected the voodoo community,  oppression they have suffered since, along with a variety of other issues surrounding the current situation in Haiti. Because Neil is recently in Haiti, he is documenting the Haitian people there and taking pictures of the Day of the Dead ceremony. In the beginning of my internship, my mentor and I actually talked about what I will be doing for my project. He gave me other ideas, too, like working and writing for TeachMideast.org. Making a short documentary really fit my interest, though, because it is something I can always look back to, something I will enjoy doing, and something that will look great on a college resume. I also get to help Neil plenty with research and editing photos using Adobe Photoshop. So far I have done a ton of research dealing with Haiti, and have taken online classes to learn how to use Photoshop. Neil is helping me with this documentary, editing the typed part of the documentary and sending me his photos for me to edit. 

Edited photo of Christina and Sabrina using Photoshop

Leadership Skills: Tuesday November 15

The two leadership skills I am using the most are Thinking Critically and Communicating Powerfully. This is because I have to think by myself sometimes when trying to solve a problem. When thinking critically, I do it fairly well. Sometimes my mentor has to go to meetings, and I have to think critically on what to do next and how to do it well. I usually then do research or learn more about Photoshop. When communicating powerfully, I try to phrase my questions clearly and my thoughts straight forward. Because there is no body language or facial expressions going on at my internship, you need to be comprehensible as possible. I do this quite well, because my mentor and I have not encountered any problems thus far. However, I do wish I could communicate to him how much I do enjoy and appreciate this internship; perhaps he will see that in my presentation. Thinking critically has helped me understand my research better, in that sometimes I get confused about certain aspects of Voodoo, but I reread and ask clarifying questions in order to understand. It has also helped me to always do work during my internship instead of having "slow days" or days where I don't do much. Communicating powerfully has helped me understand what my mentor expects of me, and vice versa. It has also helped me understand my project more. My mentor uses Communicating Powerfully the most. This is because he has to be able to tell me my task in a way that I will understand, as well as how he wants the talk done. My mentor is very successful at this because every time I am assigned a task, I know what is expected of me. If I am confused, I ask him clarifying questions and I always understand when he answers them.

Professionalism: Tuesday November 29th

In looking for my WLE, I did it a little differently. Because I showed interest in photojournalism, Erin told me about her brother (Neil) and the possibility to intern with him. From then on, which was about five months prior to even starting WLE, I kept asking Erin about it and sending her emails to see if it would actually work. Luckily, it did! To be professional and to be on top of things, though, it is very smart and responsible to look for other internships. My first internship I started to look into was a photography place near my house. Before calling, I researched the place to learn more about them, their staff and their goals. Then, I practiced what I was going to say using a "call sheet" in academic seminar. When I called the company, I made sure to be clear, concise, respectful, patient and I gave out my contact information. I heard from Neil and got the internship with him, so then I called the photography company back and politely told them that I could not be their intern. As a result of my WLE, I think being a professional and being a responsible adult means to be mature. It means to be able to arrive on time, make appropriate appointments, know how to socialize with other people in order to get your job done, to be able to utilize the 21st century leadership skills, and to be able to handle your responsibilities. 

The End: Tuesday December 13th

My WLE experience has been nothing but positive. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do something new, creative, productive and out in the real world. It has opened my eyes to the work world and the creative world. Because of my WLE I am now optimistic about getting a job in either senior year and/or when I start college. My final project turned out great, and I am even more happy that my mentor was satisfied with it. I uploaded it to Facebook, Youtube and Vimeo, and now I will wait to see what happens. I will miss going to my internship every Tuesday, and I am hoping that I will have the time to still do projects with Neil Brandvold. I have his permission to, but because I am such a busy person, I now realize that might be a bit difficult. I learned about so many new things during my internship, such as Voodoo in Haiti, the earthquake in Haiti, how priests and Voodoo practitioners are being oppressed, to learning about Photoshop, Dropbox and about my memtor, too. Most may see their internship as coming to an end, but I see it as only the beginning. In result of having this specific WLE experience, it will affect what I will choose next because I want to do something just as meaningful. My internship with Neil Brandvold inspired me to learn about world affairs, opened my eyes to independent professions, challenged me to be creative and taught me to do what you love. It was not only an incredible learning experience, but a great hands-on experience, too. Next year, I want an internship that will reach a wide audience for the purpose of moving them and informing them about something important. I want to hopefully do something unique that will help people and benefit people.