Starting my internship this semester, I was excited to return to the position I had left in the spring of 2020. The first time that I came, I chose this internship because I had an interest in social media; this internship allowed me to learn all things social media and more. The opportunity to work with different OU in Arezzo (OUA) staff and being able to pitch ideas for the six social media platforms is something that taught me so much about planning and execution. The first time I took part in this internship, most time was spent focusing on social media, planning, posting at reasonable times in the US, gathering pictures for posts and creating captions. I worked with the Director of Italian Programs, Director of Student Affairs, the old Center Coordinator, and my supervisor, Leanna Payton. Due to being sent home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I virtually helped with social media and the beginning part of redesigning the OUA blog. I helped focus on what we wanted as an outline, which domain we should have, and look at how to make it more student, parent, and faculty-friendly compared to a student-run blog. While working on projects, I was able to take part in discussions that looked at the future of this program. This first experience at OU in Arezzo made me realize my “why” I wanted to study abroad.
The decision to return to Arezzo was something that I did not think would work out. I was shocked and excited to hear that I would get to return, having an internship played an important role in returning. When I began applying again, the Director of OUA had asked me to apply for the same internship that was with OU in Arezzo so that I could complete some projects, as well as help them with social media while they were first having students return. This time coming back, I experienced new challenges and roles that I would have. I would now work with native Italian speaking co-workers. While collaborating with OUA faculty, Special Programs Coordinator, Ursula, and Student Services Coordinator, Lucio. I also work with the Administration Assistant, Giulia, with the OU in Arezzo Blog. While also working with the University of Siena (UNISI) interns as their “supervisor.” I check their English (British to American English), proofread, work with them to create content, and double-check that we have things completed. One of the recent things that I have reflected on within this internship is seeing our limits. While abroad, we are tested outside of our limits to adjust to where we are and use our knowledge and what we are learning in school to help other companies. I noticed that through this internship, I had gained experience in critical thinking & problem solving, teamwork and collaboration, oral and written communication, leadership, and global and intercultural fluency. I felt like I gained many of these in more day-to-day tasks and communication than a said project or aspect.
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In our class, we talked about the eight competencies that we can gain while having an internship, gaining experience abroad. However, it made me realize that we are gaining critical resources within what we talked about to help us when we enter the career field. When we have an internship abroad, we are tested outside of our limits in many ways. The people we are working with don’t always speak the same language, so it can take more work when it comes to relating or connecting. Through this internship, I had gained experience in critical thinking & problem solving, teamwork and collaboration, oral and written communication, leadership, and global and intercultural fluency. When it came to thinking about situations in each of these, they all flowed together in the sense that each of them was not defined by one example within my internship but a bit of each of them in everyday events. My whole experience of working with the Italian students, supervisors who speak Italian (and English), has made me learn the language more. It has also put me in the position to ask for more help or clarification due to a language barrier. This internship has also allowed us to get to work as a team despite the language barrier. For instance, talk out way through what we need to work on, and when it comes to two ideas, we will look at both together and then see which works best. When it comes to working with the UNISI students, we all have different schedules, so sometimes it is best to email back and forth- however, a big part of this internship is checking their grammar and writing, I work with them on American English and compare it to British-English. This internship has made me focus on working with people with a language barrier and cultural differences that lead to how we work. I can honestly say that they have taught me more about work and whatnot than I think I have them. It made me realize that as I enjoy working faster, we are all different, it Is necessary to be open to change and learn as we go.
For my midterm blog, I wanted to focus on how my internship has been different since last time in the sense of the community I work in. Beginning with how my role is different, I did not notice it at first, but I became a “supervisor” for the University of Siena, Arezzo (UNISI) students. When it came to creating content, I helped them by checking their grammar and English- as they wanted to learn more American English than British English, something I had not heard of despite my knowledge of different terms and dialects in each language. The interns I was “supervising” blew me away with how prepared they were when it came to planning, executing the work, and then asking me to check it. Previously, we talked about how Italians in the workplace could be more lenient in the office. Their goals are the same but they might have a different way of working towards them. . In class, we talked about several things that could be considered different within the workplace; communication, workplace culture, emphasis (hierarchy vs. group work), etc. The first thing I am going to talk about is communication. The most significant difference between our internships and me is that the students I work with speak in Italian, half the time they text in Italian and then English other times. This was a bit of adjustment, I wanted to be in the conversation, so I often used a translate app to figure out what they were saying and then either tried to respond in Italian or answer in English. To some, this could be considered a challenge, however as I am learning Italian and in Italy, reading messages forces me to practice pronunciation, reading, and writing it. Something that previously with this I had not gotten much experience with because I had worked with American OUA (OU in Arezzo) staff members, and I did not have to talk much Italian within my internship. In terms of communicating back and forth between projects, I thankfully live with two of the students I work with, Azzurra and Elena, and I see Silvia and Matteo close to every day, so we can talk in passing or text via WhatsApp to help each other. I like the culture; it makes me feel like I am working with friends vs. a coworker- with respect to time in cases. This eliminated the feeling of a hierarchy while at work. During our second internship class, we focused on intercultural learning. I had assumptions and different expectations about what this semester would have in store for me returning. Coming back, I had a good idea about what my internship would be with what I would do, and what I had thoughts about. I assumed I would know everything about how the relationships would go and what would be expected on both ends. With, to my surprise, it was very much the opposite. The internship I was returning to had a different supervisor. To start, I enjoyed speaking about this in class; it made me think and talk about what I was experiencing. A big part of my job is looking at what UNISI interns do for our social media platforms. Reviewing their work in terms of checking grammar, see who is doing what, communicating more about what I could do, or plans for OUA social media. For me, this was a different role compared to last time. Previously, I did so much work that focused on actual posts sent out to each platform and did more hands-on things. This time around, I would have more of a supervisor role. This has allowed me to talk with the Italian UNISI interns and touch base with them, who create the content, and Lucio, our supervisor. When it came to talking about intercultural relationships within our internships and those we work with. My assumptions were very wrong, coming back, I had the belief that it would be very relaxed, and I would be reminding the UNISI interns to submit things to me or question how they were doing, but it was quite the opposite. I had assumptions- however, they were just that, assumptions. The UNISI interns have been a joy to work with and I feel like I am learning more from them than the reverse. I have learned how different cultures can impact how we talk to each other and how I prefer the Italian way of personally communicating, compared to in the U.S. we focus on digital connecting. Below is a recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion post I created for OU in Arezzo. *The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Oklahoma, OU in Arezzo or any affiliated entity* My internship is with the University of Oklahoma in Arezzo, also known as OUA. It is a branch of the University of Oklahoma located in Arezzo, Italy, in the Tuscany region, about an hour from Florence and two and a half from Rome. I will be completing the OU in Arezzo Marketing and Media internship. As their intern, I will be focusing on their social media and helping local students from the University of Siena, Arezzo (UNISI), create content and review it. They currently have six ways to reach students via social media; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Spotify, and their own OUA Blog. Not only will I be creating some of my content, but I will also be overseeing the content that the UNISI interns create. This will be by checking their English, grammar and help them come up with ideas for different social media platforms. I have previously completed a part of this internship. In spring 2020, I had the opportunity to have this same internship with OUA. Coming the first time, this internship was my first, but I was interested in working with social media. It allowed me to get experience that I could use while finishing my degree. Still, it also allowed me to see how to use social media for a business within higher education compared to running a personal Instagram. Previously (Spring 2020), my job was somewhat similar; creating content and running social media. Towards the end, I was able to help create what is now the new OUA Blog. I helped create its outline and give ideas to make it more student, parent, and faculty-friendly than just a student-run blog. This allowed them to help look at the future of this program. And how they wanted to communicate to those outside of prospective students and alumni of this program. Deciding to return, having an internship held a big part in my decision. I wanted to challenge myself with a new internship with an Italian brand or come back to this one where I would still hopefully challenge myself and help them find new ways to connect with students, parents, and alumni. I wanted to focus on areas that are working for OUA and areas of improvement. Before coming back, I completed my capstone class, our client being OU in Arezzo. This allowed me to do a deep dive into OUA as a whole and piece by piece to help them increase enrollment. Getting to do the internship in Spring 2020, completing my capstone that focused on OUA, and returning to have my internship again be OUA feels like I am finishing things full circle. It has allowed me to see OUA as a program in different lights and where I can see them going for the future and hopefully get to be a part of it. My goals for this internship are to focus more on communicating with my supervisor, creating content that helps grow our numbers and challenge myself to assist the UNISI interns. I know that I find comfort in having this internship before, so I know that I am capable of completing it and helping where I can, and taking more initiative. I can see the challenges will be more on promptly creating content- I will nitpick a piece of content until I think it is perfect. However, the downside of social media is that the turnaround time for when to post and how far it is too far after something to post can be tricky. For example, I would view it as when we go on a weekend trip- post about it within three to four days after. This internship challenges me because there are technically no rules to social media; we can do whatever we want (in the sense that it is what we want to post and do). When I look at how OUA views social media, it might work to wait a bit then post something that we know will generate a good amount of likes and views compared to rushing something. I've also noticed a significant change in how they have done things on social media; it seems to be fewer long posts, which is easier for the viewer and focuses more on engaging with those who follow us. This is a good way to use social media, but I hope to challenge myself and those I work with to make everything we post have the same amount of views and likes. *The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Univeristy of Oklahoma, OU in Arezzo or any affiliated entity*
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AuthorMy name is Torey Henderson, I will be graduating the University of Oklahoma in December 2021. I am currently studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy with the University of Oklahoma and blogging my internship expierence! |