The work environment of the Ronald McDonald house is very laid back. My supervisor is very nice and personable. She is flexible with my schedule and is easy to talk to. My supervisor is a graduate student and also was a undergrad Professional writing and editing student. Everyone at RMHC dresses comfortably. The dress code is jeans and t-shirts. Many of the volunteers are work study students.
Everyone seems to get along well. But, sometimes I feel like I'm in the way because everyone is always busy with other projects and guest who check into the House. I really don't have my own work space and I have to bring my own laptop because the computers at the House doesn't have the software I need to do the work.
On Friday, I went to the House for a few hours. I just recently bought a Mac and I believe that Indesign is much easier to use on the Mac OS. I showed my supervisor the projects that I had been working on and she liked the page designs and offered some constructive criticism on how to improve the designs.
I have completed 2 flyer designs and still working on making edits to the volunteer handbook. For the handbook I am brainstorming designs that will improve the previous design.
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You raised an interesting point in class and here about whether or not it's necessary to be "on site" when completing your internship projects. That can be particularly important when, as you mention, you don't have a set space in which to work at the site and the computer there doesn't have the software you need to perform your work. Although it's probably not the answer you want to here, I encourage you to continue doing your best in finding ways to work at the site; it can help you, I think, to be more in tune with the organizational culture and the organization's specific needs and purposes on particular projects. Indeed, being there on site and being alert to your surroundings there might even lead you to discover some other problems or needs that could be address through PWE-style work.
ReplyDeleteThe laid back style is a trend that I see happening with some companies now-a-days. I chalk it up the ageing, cynical members of Generation X who want to make big money but don’t want to work. When I went to find internships, I would dress in nice slacks with a tucked in collar shirt and a belt. Most of the time I actual felt over dressed. I don’t mind the tone down of professional dress, because the clothes cost money that I don’t have.
ReplyDeleteOn the workspace idea:
ReplyDeleteI have found that being "there," on site, is incredibly beneficial. I am not even really required to be "there," but whenever I am there I learn a whole lot. I have learned a lot of little points of minutia, about what is wanted and needed, as well as about the process of producing printed, more generally. So I would recommend being onsite as much as you can when doing your work. (Though it is awesome to be able to do work whenever and wherever, that is undeniable.)
I feel that it is beneficial to actually be "on-site" because it gives me the opportunity to ask questions without having to e-mail inquires to my supervisor. Don't get me wrong, I love to e-mail and I feel it is a excellent communication tool, but sometimes I need a question answered right away and this cannot happen if I am not at the RMHC.
ReplyDeleteI think talking about the environment of where you work is important when thinking about your projects... if its a laid back atmosphere your documents dont have to be as professional. The ronald Mcdonald House has a lot of kids there too so your fliers can include big fun pictures and big print :0)
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