One task that I was in charge of throughout the semester was organizing a screening of Girl Rising, a film whose goal is to raise awareness about the importance of education for young females around the globe.  The film was brought to my attention by the organization I studied abroad with during the Spring 2013 semester, CIEE. I received an email from them in mid-September with information about the film and the steps necessary to secure a screening within your community, university or corporation. When I first saw the email I thought it would be great if the Center for Global Studies sponsored a screening at Penn State. At first I wasn’t sure if I should forward it to Sarah because I had only just started as an intern.  After a little bit of thought I decided to do so because the worst that could happen was that Sarah said no.  Fortunately, however, my initiative paid off as Sarah really liked the idea and asked me to apply on the Center’s behalf.

The first order of business after our application was accepted was to decide on a date.  There were a few dates that CIEE recommended, all of which corresponded with either International Day of the Girl, International Education Week or International Women’s Day.  Sarah and I talked about it and decided that International Education Week in November would provide us with be the right amount of time to plan a successful screening. It turned out that a few other groups on campus were interested in co-sponsoring, including the International Agriculture Club, United Nations Association of Centre County, and the University Libraries. I connected with the President of the International Ag Society, Amanda, and the two of us started emailing back and forth.  We thought about what day of the week and time of day would draw the biggest crowd.  We decided to screen the film early in the week, a Monday, and at 6pm so that students, community members, and PSU faculty could attend. Sarah suggested screening the film in Foster Auditorium and provided me with the contact information for the woman in charge of organizing the auditorium’s events. By early October we had secured the venue and I started working on other tasks.

Sarah also thought it would be beneficial to have a panel either before or after the film so that audience members could discuss either what they were about to see or what they had just witnessed.  The woman in charge of Foster Auditorium provided me with contact information for panelists but unfortunately I didn’t hear back from anyone right away.  Amanda contacted a professor in Women’s Studies but she never received a response either.  This is when the process got a little stressful because no responses made it difficult to progress any further. One of the biggest lessons I learned throughout this entire process is that communicating in person is so much easier than emailing back and forth.  I always believed this to be true but this event more than proved it to me. Eventually, Sarah was able to get in contact with a professor in Migration Studies who provided me information about a woman who had recently returned from a Fulbright Scholarship in Sri Lanka.  I emailed her and she was more than willing to help (and I very much appreciated her quick response). She asked that I keep her in the loop, which I promised to do once the panel was completely organized.  As it turned out, the woman in charge of Foster Auditorium’s computer crashed so she was unable to provide panel members until pretty late in the process.  Eventually we secured two other members and Amanda and I started to brainstorm how we wanted to organize the panel.

Originally, Amanda, with advice from her advisor, thought it would be best to have the panel beforehand so that our speakers wouldn’t be disrespected if audience members left immediately after the film.  I thought this was a good point so we settled on this arrangement.  However, while I was collecting bios from the panelists and what they planned on saying in regards to women’s education based on their research and experience they felt uncomfortable.  All three of them thought it would be better if they saw the film before speaking on the themes within it. Obviously we wanted to accommodate the panelists as much as possible since they were giving up their time.

As the date got closer I was getting very anxious that no one would show up.  As it turned out, there were a few other screenings of Girl Rising both before and after ours.  The final pieces of the event took a while to put together and I was worried that advertising went out too late.  Luckily, CIEE provided us with advertising materials that we could use as much as we wanted. Eventually the Libraries sent out a press release and completed the poster using a layout found on the CIEE website. Since I am in charge of social networking for the Center, I used Facebook and Twitter to post facts on female education that would “shock” the public. I hoped these numbers and statistics would entice people to learn about the importance of educating young girls.

Finally November 11^th came along and much to my relief people showed up! Amanda was in charge of introducing both the film and panelists because I really don’t like public speaking.  It’s something I need to work on but I didn’t want to test out my skills during the event. In total, about 85 people attended, which I was happy with.  After the film ended, the panelists led an “organic” discussion based on their experience and expertise as it related to what they had just seen on screen.  Audience members shared their opinions, which were mostly positive. The discussion lasted around 45 minutes and I think audience members were thankful for being able to discuss such a powerful film with others. Overall, organizing the screening of Girl Rising was an enriching experience because I learned how to work with other organizations on campus and within the community.  Although it was a little stressful at times, I am now more confident in my ability to organize events and I am thankful that Sarah and the Center provided me with this opportunity.

Part of my duties as an intern for the Center for Global Studies is leading an after-school club at a local K-8 elementary school.  Every Monday for the past nine weeks or so I go to the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School to teach a group of students about the Spanish culture I experienced while I was abroad.  In the beginning I was a little unsure of how I would take the knowledge I gained over an entire semester and translate it into something that would be fun and interesting for nine and ten year olds. I was also nervous to be the teacher after sitting in a classroom chair for so long but I knew I would overcome this fear as time went on.

I had no idea what to expect the first day even though I planned on going over the logistics of the club.  Although I only have three students in my club, I immediately liked all of them because they seemed really interested in the subject matter.  We spent the rest of that first day discussing what they wanted to learn throughout the semester while also talking about what I wanted to teach them.

Since then we have learned about a variety of topics. The first lesson we did was based on soccer, or fútbol to the Spaniards. Spain has a long history of fútbol success and a cult like following.  Two of the three kids play soccer so they were especially interested in the topic.  In the first session, I taught them about five footballers that are either from Spain or play club there.  We played a matching game where they had to connect a footballers name, picture, nationality and position.  The activity was definitely a challenge, but one of the girls enjoyed it so much that she took the completed activity home.  Luckily the following Monday was so beautiful that we were able to go outside and play soccer. It was hard to scrimmage with so few kids but we took turns playing goalie, passing and shooting.  The kids definitely enjoyed being outside after a long day of school and I was glad to be moving as well.

The next unit was Spanish art and some of the famous artists who are world-renowned.   The first lesson was on Pablo Picasso.  Using a PowerPoint presentation I shared some interesting facts about Picasso including his date and place of birth, influences on his work and his most famous paintings. After the brief introduction, the kids worked on collages because Picasso was the first modern artist to use this medium.  The following week we focused on the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.  Again, I used PowerPoint to highlight a few important aspects of his life and share pictures of his work that I took in Barcelona.  The kids then made clay models of the lizard displayed in Parc Guell that has become a symbol for Gaudí’s work. All three kids really enjoyed working with clay.  After they finished the lizard, there was enough clay for the kids to come up with their own creations such as a flower, heart, and even Pokémon.  I know this doesn’t have much, or anything, to do with Spain but I don’t mind if the students show some additional creativity.

This week we changed gears a bit and learned about the novel Don Quixote.  Written by a Spaniard, Don Quixote is arguably one the best books ever written so I wanted to introduce it to my three kids. The actual novel is probably above my reading level but I learned what I could over Wikipedia and turned it into a “Once Upon a Time” story that the fourth graders could relate to.  After that, they colored in a picture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza standing in front of a windmill.  Then they worked on a word search based on points highlighted in the story.  One of the girls told me it was a too easy, but I was having a hard time deciding what was appropriate for their grade level.

Overall, I really enjoy my time leading the after school club.  I like talking to the kids about their school days, what they did over the weekend and what they dressed up as for Halloween.  In the coming club weeks, I hope to teach the students about festivals/holidays, food and the Royal Family.

            The first month interning at the Center for Global Studies has opened my eyes to the reality of life beyond college.  The difference between college and the little taste I have acquired of the real world isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that it takes time to adjust to the change. Although I am a senior, this is my first internship but so far I have learned a lot of skills that will make me attractive in the job market and I will also be able to transfer them to my first “real” job.  I do feel as though I am behind in relevant work experience in comparison to my peers but am very thankful for this opportunity to intern at the Center because I feel as though I am catching up. When I attended my first job fair at the Bryce Jordan Center this past Tuesday, I was able to talk about what I have learned so far as an intern in a way that attracted the attention of a few recruiters.  This made me especially happy because I will continue to learn and experience a variety of skills that are necessary to stand out in the job market

My first office hour session centered around creating posters for the annual Brown Bag Lecture Series, which is sponsored by the Center. I worked on a number of posters as well a few different varieties that will be used to advertise the event. I created a poster to advertise the entire series, a list of lectures for both semesters and individual flyers for each specific event. It probably took me longer than it should have but I was trying to get used to the software and wanted to make sure they did not contain any errors.  At my last office hour session, I followed up on this task by finalizing the poster for the first lecture.  I printed around fifty copies and hung them up around Burrowes and Sparks. I enjoyed this task a lot because I was able to see it through pretty much from start to finish.

Another aspect of my internship is teaching at a local K-8 charter school.  Every Monday I lead an after school club, which focuses on Spanish culture to a group of fourth and fifth graders.  I like this aspect of the internship because I can take what I experienced while studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain and share it with people who are especially eager to learn about it.  Before the first club, I was anxious and nervous because it was the first time that I had ever stood in front of a classroom.  Luckily, my students were not as rowdy as the kids in the club before me so I was able to accomplish what I had hoped, which included an introduction of the club, what the students know about Spanish culture, and what they hope to learn.  During the second club, we learned about some famous soccer (fútbol) players that are either from Spain or play there.  The kids did an activity where they had to match a picture, what club team they play for, and a few interesting facts to the correct player.  The activity may have been a little challenging but most of the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Since I am taking this class for credit, I am required to blog weekly about my experiences while also taking note of what it takes to have a successful internship.  The first blog focused on my goals for the semester and the importance of writing them down. I now believe that identifying what I want to learn while I am interning at the Center for Global Studies will make it more likely that I accomplish what I set out to do.  Although I am majoring in Political Science I have an interest in working in Public Relations.  This semester I am taking a class on the subject so I am really interested to see how a press release is written and how organizations transfer it to the appropriate sources. By the end of the semester I want to be able to write a well-written press release.  I also want to make it to at least six networking events because I have recently learned that networking creates opportunities for employment, whether it is in the immediate future or down the road.  Sometimes I do things just for the sake of doing things but I am going to make a valiant effort to gain the most from this experience by doing more than is requested of me, attending info sessions, networking at CGS sponsored events and learning as many skills that can be beneficial in the future.

So far I have had a great experience because I am learning the skills necessary to be successful in the workforce.  One thing that is especially significant is that I am learning how to better communicate with my peers and supervisors.  Good communication is the key to a successful organization and although I have learned this in a number of my classes, it is interesting to see the truth it holds in practice.  Ideally, I would like to take on more of a leadership position in the future but I still have a lot of learning to do before I can be a successful one.  Since this experience has been successful thus far, I am interested and excited to see what I learn down the road.