[Doyi's Blog] Internship Update: Ask and You Shall Receive

Internship Update!

 

So, on my last blog I mentioned that I like my work. My boss and co-workers are easy going, I participate in cool events like the Reeling LGBT International Film Festival, and most of all, I've learned productive professional skills.

However, I also mentioned a lot of the work I do is extra work as well--not really related to my field of interest, art and marketing. Despite its educational value, cutting piles of paper, stamping envelopes, counting hundreds of ballots all day, and doing other basic office work aren't the most challenging tasks, let alone appealing. Even while doing marketing work, I didn't get to integrate my artistic graphic design talents--what I had highly looked forward to before the semester even began. 

 So I asked myself, 

"Do I want to continue folding newsletters for most of the day until it's December? 
What do I really wish to gain or accomplish? 
How can I change the agenda? 
Where do I start?" 

Finally, I figured it out: speak up! No one was going to ask Brenda, my supervisor, for me to do the real fun stuff but myself. What a simple answer to a seemingly difficult question. Accordingly, last week I promised that I will do exactly that--speaking up, self-promoting my digital-artistic skills, and achieving what I've only thought about. To my luck and success, I did.

It happened this past Monday. Like the usual, I started the day with my routine question: "How can I help you today?" Brenda typically doesn't have a strictly set agenda for me, especially in recent weeks after the biggest event of the year (film festival) was over. Plus, I didn't want to scare her by suddenly barging into her space and demanding for interesting jobs. After asking the opening question, she paused and looked over to Josh, the programming director.

"Well, I don't have any work that's marketing-specific. Josh? Do you have anything for her?"

 Josh replied similarly. Right then, I knew that was my queue to bring up the ultimate inquiry of my internship. Half anxious and half excited, I brought up the topic by asking if the spring issue of their schedule was already designed and printed. They said no. 

Immediately I spat out,

"Actually, I have been doing some graphic design as an art major with proficiency in Photoshop..."

 I told them I was willing and (more than) able to create promotional posters and maybe even design their quarterly schedules, if they were interested. Both seemed surprised--maybe even enthusiastic--about the news, asking me to send a copy of my portfolio. In fact, Josh even gave me a huge list of flyers to make by the end of the week! I wasn't expecting such a rapid response of not only what I had actually aimed for (digital marketing work) but also the underlying trust from Brenda and Josh. I was beyond grateful. 

Right away I began with researching for images and sketching out the outline for the membership flyer. I continued my work outside of my internship hours to finish the first project I've proposed by myself. It was a busy two days. As is all work, it was fairly stressful, but in a good way. I usually hate being burdened by loads of to-do lists, but I loved how busy and productive I was with not just any job, but my passion-job, my interest-job, my self-driven job. I have continuously been so overwhelmed yet so zoned in to the flow, that I always forget how much time had passed since I started on a flyer. A few days ago, Brenda referred me to another partner organization for similar tasks that require my graphic design skills. Looking back, I cannot thank my then-self enough; without you (me) and your (my) determination to advance our professional goals, I would not have been here doing the work I do now. Thank you (me)!

When attempting to achieve something we aspire, we ultimately encounter the stage of asking. And sometimes, asking is the hardest part of the process. Whether it's asking for help or asking for what you want directly, the person you're seeking probably holds the shortcut to what would be a long path from a decision to struggle alone. Moreover, I bet that person wants you to ask and speak up. All it takes is a deep breath, a self-promise, and a reminder as to why it's so important for you to ask. That's what I did, and I'm so glad I did it!


-Doyi Lee