To: Dr.

Dana Mitra

From: Christopher Sosnowski

Date: 6/15/2020

Subject: Blog Entry #1 (Expectations and Goals)

Question:

What expectations/goals do you have for this internship and how do you wish to
achieve them?

Response:

My first expectation is that I learn to work within a professional environment. Have I

worked a job before? Yes, but most of my prior work experience has involved casually picking
up shifts at Penn State dining halls or counseling over the summer. Never before have I worked
within an office, and I expect this internship to change that. By the end of this experience, I
want to feel comfortable communicating with others professionally and how best to collaborate
on projects. I want to learn how to apply the memo/brief format learned in EDTHP 394 to real
work that I am assigned.

To accomplish this expectation, I'll need to give myself room to make mistakes. Nothing
has ever been learned without making a couple of them. Instead of holding myself or my work
back out of fear that it isn't professional enough, I'll need to put myself out there and
communicate as much as possible. Sure maybe something I write won't be perfect, or some
research I site ends up being wrong, but I won't know unless I try. Maybe I'll receive some
feedback on a better source I could have used, or a better way of expressing my ideas
professionally, but either way, I'll have learned something. I'll need to remind myself that
making mistakes is what this entire internship experience is all about. Better to learn and grow
now than to enter a field with no understanding of how to function in the first place. If I do all of
these things, I firmly believe that I'll leave this experience with an understanding of office work,
and how to conduct myself professionally.

My second expectation, more of a goal really, is to continue to build out my network.

Building a network is something I grew to appreciate during my time in EDTHP 394. People like
to help each other, it's in there nature, and as someone who can tend to distance himself from
others, I often will forego opportunities to build positive relationships. For this internship
experience, I want to focus on not allowing these moments to slip by and to instead focus on
seizing them. This is particularly important as a young college student looking to enter the field.
I've studied at a university for three years now. I'm talented and have a lot to start giving back, I
just haven't made a name for myself yet. By starting to build a network now, I provide myself
with the opportunity to apply myself more than I otherwise could.

To accomplish this goal, I'll need to push myself to stay focused and accountable.
Positive relationships begin with an understanding of trust and accountability, and as an intern,
it will rest upon my shoulders to prove that I can be reliable. I'll need to put myself out there
and reach out to the other members of the organization. There is always work to be done. By
asking others if there is anything I can help with, I not only prove that I am hardworking, but I
also get the opportunity to build a relationship with someone new. I might even get to try my
hands at new kinds of work, or learn something I otherwise wouldn't have. Most importantly I'll
need to make sure to stay in touch and to follow up on the experience after it ends. This is
something I struggle with, but if I put in good work and build a good relationship with those I
am working with, then it makes sense to continue that relationship into the future.

My third and final expectation is I'll learn a bit about myself by the end of it all. Heading
into my junior year of college, I did not have a firm grasp of what I wanted to do in the future.
Sure I knew I wanted to apply myself to the education field, but as to exactly how? Well, I
wasn't quite sure. Getting the opportunity to work for Talent Search seemed like the perfect
blend of big picture problem solving and a higher mission that I tend to enjoy, but as I work
through the experience, I expect to learn even more about what kind of work I am suited for.

To meet this expectation, I'll have to be honest with myself. If the research or work I end
up doing doesn't necessarily spark the sense of mission within me, maybe I should consider
other kinds of work in the future. Maybe I end up loving the work and want to continue my
work in the future. Either way, it will require me to self reflect. I'll need to keep tabs on what
habits I develop, good or bad, and consider these in the future. I'm still young and a student in
college, and I'll need to understand that now more than ever is my opportunity to discover
what I enjoy doing. If I stick true to these things, by the end of this summer I am sure I will learn
more about myself.