Internship has provided me with a lot of experience about the working world. Everyone at Ivey Ranch is very professional and provided me with a lot of insight about having a career and how to enjoy what you do. Through my projects I've learned that doing something with computers and technology is something I would like to do in a career. I think this internship has prepared me for working because now I have a lot of experience in time management, having a project to complete, and independence, which are also big concepts at school. I have noticed that all of the employees work really well together and I think that is a very important skill for the workplace.
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For my internship I did two projects. The first was creating an online store for Ivey Ranch, and the second was helping to put together a book on their sensory trail. The sensory trail is a trail with different sensory activities that can help people with disabilities. Some of the activities include ring toss, sensory buckets (buckets filled with different textures), and things like basketball and football. The online store will be up pretty soon, and I'll update this post when it is. I'll put some photos for now. This project was really important to Ivey Ranch. They have a physical store that provides them with a lot of extra money that is put back 100% into their programs and services. The problem is, the store is only open 3-4 days out of the year when there are big open public days. Putting the store online will help to provide them with a more constant flow of money to help improve the park.
My second project was to help the park create a book on their sensory trail. This was an ongoing project that the park has been wanting to do for a while. It outlines the purpose of each station, how to use it, how it benefits people, and the materials, cost, and how to build it. The book will eventually be distributed to other therapy ranches around the country so they can apply it and create their own sensory trails. How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace?I feel that I made a really meaningful contribution to my workplace. For my first project (the website), I provided the ranch with a new source of revenue that can be used to help better their programs. This can ensure that the people who come to the ranch for horse therapy services have the best experience that they can. For my second project (the sensory book), I feel like my impact on my specific workplace is not as big as my indirect impact around the country. The ranch I'm working at already has a functioning sensory trail, but the book I'm helping to make will be distributed to horse ranches around the country so that other people can have the same experience as people do here. How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education?My work as an intern has really become meaningful to my education. Before starting internship, I thought I would just be going and working on a project for a few hours. Once I got into internship and became acclimated at my workplace, it really opened up to me that internship is a very good opportunity to learn what I want to do during and after college. It provided me with a glimpse of what can be expected if I decide to pursue another internship on my own. How might internship influence the direction of your life?I used to think that I would be really good at office jobs, but over the course of my internship the office job became somewhat boring and I had to come up with things to work on myself. However, I think this is somewhat good, because I have a lot of time to go back and change or revise things that I may not have done my best on the first time around. How did your view of life beyond high school change or develop during your time as an intern?One thing that was really new to me during internship is realizing how active the world is while we are in school all day. Just watching outside the window of my internship I can see people going in and out of the mission, people going in and out of the nearby shopping centre, and people coming to the ranch for horse therapy and horse lessons. I think I could get used to a flexible schedule, unlike school, where I am somewhat free to do what I want and need to do while being able to work at the same time. I also gained a new skill of when to leave the office, to try to avoid the traffic of nearby El Camino high school getting out. What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? Why? Although it is not really part of my internship, I developed a new appreciation for the people who run the child care centre downstairs in the office house. Since Ivey Ranch has a lot of people and kids with disabilities in their programs, they have a child care/after school care centre that specializes in kids with special needs. Since I am in the office in the morning until around when the kids start arriving, I've been able to see the preparation and work that goes into providing the kids with a good experience. Kids start arriving around 1:00-2:00, but the employees always arrive a few hours early to prepare meals, snacks, and activities for the kids. It really made me appreciate how much the people working with the kids cared about their job and how much they enjoyed it.
I believe I have advocated a lot for myself so far in my internship. Everyone around me is very willing to help with any questions or concerns I have, and they are confident that I have the skills to complete the jobs I need to do. Mostly everyone else at my internship advocates for each other, and there is a big sort of family sense. Everyone is very close knit and they all work together very well.
I have been following the guide of how to be an intern everyone remembers. I definitely think that it has helped me even though my job doesn't involve a lot of traditional business things like meetings. While there is oversight, everyone is unchained to do whatever their job is and they are able to shape it however they see fit. Overall, even though internship is almost half way over, I think I can still build skills in self advocacy. Getting to know some of my peers even if they are not doing the same things as me is important. During my first days of internship I was really anxious and didn't introduce myself to some of the other people working in other parts of the ranch. Since then I have talked to a few people but not as many as I should have. That is the number one thing I can improve on. For my internship, I will be working on two projects. Each will take about 2 weeks so there is enough time to do both. My first project that I am currently working on is building an online store for my organization. It will have all of the items that they sell in their physical store. The store is only open a few days out of the year, so the online store will provide a lot of new revenue during the whole year that can be used to better the programs and services that Ivey Ranch provides. This project is mostly independent, because it only involves me getting to know the online interface and adding the items to the site. I would expect the store to be finished pretty soon, because I need a lot of time for my other project.
My second project is helping to create a book to describe the sensory trail at Ivey Ranch. The sensory trail helps people with sensory integration disorder (differences in the way that the nervous system manages senses and turns them into responses) to experience new feelings and to help them branch out and become more integrated in the world. After the book is finished, it will be distributed to therapy ranches all around the country for them to create their own sensory trails. This project requires a lot of collaboration with people working at the ranch, because I don't know as much about the trail as they do. Their knowledge can really help me make the book the best and most detailed that it can be. Mentor InterviewWhat should I know before working here? Ivey Ranch is a therapy horse ranch, and horse lessons are also available. There are many kinds of people who come to the ranch to experience the horses. How important is getting along with people in this career? Getting along with people is extremely important. Considering this job is almost always involving people, you should have very good people skills to get along with different people. What personality traits are important for this job? Patience and understanding are very important skills for the job. With the number of people you see and the different qualities everyone has, it is very important that you are patient, friendly, and respectful to everyone. What skills and training are necessary for your position? You must be able to work with people with special needs. You need to understand what everyone is experiencing and not be judgemental. You also need to be trained for how to take care of horses, how to provide medical care, food, etc., and also how to deal with a lot of unpredictable situations. Internship Reflection What connections can you make between this internship and what you've done in school?
In my internship there is a lot of time for independent work. This is a lot like school because we are able to determine what we want to make of our work and of our projects. What have you learned about your organization's mission and purpose? I have learned a lot about what my organization is trying to achieve in the community. They do a lot of work for people with special needs, and a lot of their services like horse therapy, day care, and lessons are focused around people with special needs. What new skills are you developing for this internship? I am developing a lot of time management skills since I have a lot of the day to myself to work on my project. I have to decide what to do when, since I am doing 2 projects at once. How are you getting to and from internship? What is it like to be commuting? My internship is really close to my house, so it's not much of a commute. I usually get there around 9:00, so I leave my house around 8:45-8:50. It is interesting to see later in the day around 2:30, when a lot of commuters begin to crowd the streets. I have never experienced that since I've always been in school until at least 3:00. What strikes you the most about your workplace?What strikes me the most about the workplace is how laid back yet professional it is. There is only a certain degree of professionalism in horse lessons and at a ranch, but everyone conducts themselves in a very professional manner while still being friendly and outgoing. What strikes you the most about your colleagues?What strikes me the most about my colleagues is how friendly they are but how professional they are at the same time. Most of them never have any problems with each other and all work together really well. I think this will help me because I try to get along with everyone. What strikes you the most about the job you're doing?What strikes me the most about my job is how it can impact a lot of people. After creating the sensory trail book, it is going to be distributed to horse therapy ranches around the country so people can build their own trails. What are you excited about?I am excited about being able to create something that will last (their online store) and also something that will be shown to a lot of people (the sensory trail book). I am also excited to work on something that I never have really worked on before and to develop my skills in computers. What are you worried about?I am worried that there is a lot of time for not a lot of project, and that I will be left with extra time with nothing to fill it with.
Where are you going?I am going to the Ivey Ranch Park in Oceanside. The park provides horse therapy for disabled people, riding lessons, volunteer opportunities, and much more. Who's your mentor?My mentor is Christina Paad, who is a riding instructor and also operates the park's store and website. I will also somewhat be working with April Nurse, who is the executive assistant at the park. She will be making sure that everything is done to the satisfaction of the park. What will you be doing?I will be doing 2 main projects during my internship. The first is getting the store online. The park has a store where people can buy merchandise, such as Ivey Ranch shirts, hats, and other apparel, as well as some larger items like horseshoes and small statues. My second project is creating a book on their sensory trail. The sensory trail is a track where people with disabilities, specifically autism and sensory overload (an overstimulation of a sense due to the environment) can ride a horse and experience different senses such as sight, touch, and hearing. I will be working to create a detailed book of what each sensory station's purpose is, and how other parks can recreate their own sensory trails. What are you excited about learning through internship?I am really excited about getting real work experience while doing something I like to do. I am excited to have a somewhat flexible schedule at a place that is a lot like school, an emphasis on learning by doing. What are you nervous about?I am nervous about being away from school for such a long period of time with just straight work. I do have a somewhat flexible schedule, but from what I saw at career day, the work might be more challenging than what I experience at school.
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