1.

Now that you have nearly completed your spring practicum, what advice would give
to an incoming student about the organization you interned with?

Being able to remember information on the fly and taking good notes is key
when working with ODOT. I often have to call project engineers and ask them
questions about the job and if I do not take good notes, then I would have to call
them back and bother them again.

It is also important to be an exceptional editor. This comes in forms of

videos and print. ODOT does not want to release a document with something
incorrect on it. It is important that every detail is looked at. Getting someone’s name
wrong in an article for ODOT is unacceptable.

2. Explain in detail using examples of how you contributed to your organization.

Once I was settled into The Ohio Department of Transportation, it was

time to get to work. I helped by creating videos for the first ever Safety Day in
District 4. The video was made to bring light to all the members who work for
ODOT in District 4 who have been struck while on the job. I also created videos
on work zone safety.
I also was the main responsibility to handle the phones and take calls
form the public as our other co—worker went to Cleveland for the duration of
my internship because the Public Information Officer there went on maternity
leave for 12 weeks. I helped people through detours, gave them information on
roads and even showed them documents of future project if they requested it.

3. Explain, including examples, how you applied your coursework in communication to

the work you did at your organization.

I was able to apply what I learned at Kent through my Journalism class’s that I
have taken. I used InDesign to create brochures on detours and my classwork taught me
how to create newspapers so it was easy to transition to the brochures. I also used the
skills used in my VCD courses when it came to InDesign documents, trying to make them
as interesting as possible.
6. What did you learn about yourself as an intern that you could not learn in the class room.

I learned how to deal with angry people. This is not taught in the classroom. We
went over theories on what makes people upset, but never what to do when it is
happening in real time. I was able to defuse a lot of situations by just informing people
of what is actually going on. Most people are upset because they do not have all the
information on the issue and are usually satisfied once they get it.

7. How did this practicum prepare you for "the real world?"

This practicum prepared me for the real world by making me realize that
although everyone makes mistakes, it is your job to learn from them and to make sure
you don’t repeat them. Nobody cares why the mistake happened, just that it gets fixed
for the next time. It also gave me a look into what a 9-5 job actually looks like and how
people function inside of an office.