The Office of Student Research

Ashley Wells

May 8, 2018

Self-Reflection
1. Now that you have nearly completed your spring practicum, what advice would give to

an incoming student about the organization you interned with?

After completing my internship at the Office of Student Research, the first and most

important advice I would give an incoming student is to always give 110% while working the

job. It can be very difficult to put your best effort into this internship knowing that it doesn’t pay.

However, by giving your all, you show the director(s) your value, creating that trust and loyalty,

building a strong relationship with them. By having a strong relationship, it can definitely help

make connections and open doors for you. Participating in an internship is more than just getting

the credit to graduation, it is the overall experience so take advantage of it. After being a part of

this great department, I was really able to see myself real grow with my skills and work ethic.

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

During my time at the Office of Student Research, I did various tasks and projects that

involved communication, journalism, and graphic design. These tasks and projects were all

focused towards our Undergraduate Symposium on research. This symposium was held on April

5th, which included students, freshman to seniors from any major, to showcase their research

findings. My overall job was to advertise our department and the event by creating various media

displays and sending emails. For the creative portion, I would design posters, postcards, cover

pages and banners that were placed on monitor screens around campus. As for the

communicating and writing portion, I would send out emails to clarify information, remind, and

inform students about the symposium. With whatever feedback I would get back from my

emails, I would report them to my director, Ann. Another contribution is that I would attend

meetings almost every day I went into the office. The meetings ranged from two to six people
and would vary from me just listening in and taking notes to actually being active, giving

feedback and input.

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

work you did at your organization.

Since it is my last semester here at Kent State University, I was able to apply a lot of past

coursework to the work I did at the Office of Student Research. During the time I was in the

internship, I was also taking Organizational Communication. By being a part of these two at the

same time, I was able to correspond the two. In my Organization Communication, we did

journals and practicums that focused on an organization we were a part of and relate it to what

we learned in the book and in lessons. We learned about different leadership styles, diversity,

gender, strengths and challenges, etc. in organizations. With that being said, I was able to apply

what I learned to my internship, looking at things in a totally different perspective from when I

first started working there.

I also used a lot of coursework that I did in my VCD classes to help while I created various

medias for the department. Instead of just throwing something together on Microsoft Word, I

would go into Photoshop or InDesign and really work on the pieces. If I learned anything in my

design courses, it was to always sketch ideas first and that the first design will not be perfect.

There were some days at my internship where I would take a few hours just working on one

design, making it perfect.

4. Provide examples of how your organization was successful and ways they need to

improve.
 We are a subsidiary team of the Office of Research Compliance, that functions well with

only three members. We are a relatively new organization that focuses on communication of

research opportunities to anyone interested. With our formidable team work and communication

within that team, we can produce quality finished products in an efficient time period. For

example, the research symposium that we put on had to be revamped this year. Our team was

responsible for creating a new ecofriendly application process for students, all while taking on

the duty of advertising the event. While we started off slow due to miscommunication issues

with a third-party company, we were able to complete all these duties within the 10-week

process between inception and the date of the symposium.

A challenge that this organization faces has to do with the lack of employees. With 2 of the 3

members of this organization coming in this semester, we don’t know many of the high-end

workings of the organization. Basically, this can be attributed the followership theory. Meaning

that we can follow what the leader says, but due to inexperience, we cannot make critical

decisions without our leader around. While my director was off judging displays, people would

come to me with situations that I did not know how to solve. I was able to map out good

decisions most of the time, but I felt out of place figuring these problems out. However, this is

something the organization should improve.

5. What did you learn about yourself as an intern that you could not learn in the class

room.

After working with Ann at the Office of Student Research, I found out a lot about myself that I

could not just learn in a classroom. I found out that I am capable of more than what I give myself

credit for. In a classroom, I believe all you do is listen and get to show only a small portion of

what you know; while being in this internship, I was able to really show my skills and what I can
do. Two main skills I learned after finishing the semester was being able to take on leadership

and being able to make decisions critically. An example would be when we hosted our research

symposium, there were many judges that didn’t show up, with that being said, my director, Ann,

had to help judge, leaving me by myself. At first, I was only directed to help check students in

and assist with questions about the app. After the symposium begun, problems started to occur.

Since it was only my first time at the symposium, I was unfamiliar with how things went or how

Ann would solve the problems. Since Ann was busy with judging, I had to take it upon myself to

find the best possible solutions within a short period of time. Before this internship, I would have

never thought I would be able to take on a role like how I did at the symposium. I believe in a

classroom, you do not get this experience, you only learn about it. With the internship, I would

learn things as they go, and have hands-on learning, making it more understanding.