To: Dr.

Dana Mitra

From: Christopher Sosnowski

Date: 7/3/2020

Subject: Blog Entry #4 (Organizational Issues)

Question:

Describe a dilemma/issue that the organization is currently facing. How is the

organization going about addressing this problem?

Response:

Every week, I attend a Monday meeting at 9am with the rest of the Penn State Talent
Search staff. During this meeting, Stephen fills everyone in on the direction of the program, and
opens the floor up to discussion on certain topics. Often the team discusses issues that the
organization faces. It may come as no surprise, but the most pressing of these issues as of late
has been the COVID virus.

COVID has impacted the mission of the Talent Search team in a variety of ways. First
and foremost, the team’s ability to communicate has been seriously restricted. Before the virus,
the organization was able to meet in an office space. Team members could converse with each
other in person, over lunch, and work flow came much more naturally. Nowadays, the team has
to meet strictly online, and while in the beginning there were no obvious issues, as time has
progressed communication has become more and more difficult. To handle this issue, the
subject was brought up at our last weekly meeting. The staff members discussed solutions
such as using a program called Slack more and using community calendars more frequently.

Internal mental health is another issue that the heads of Penn State Talent Search have
worked to address. This is actually one of the issues I found really interesting to follow, and has
taught me that taking care of your team’s mental health is just as important as the mission at
hand. One of the leader’s of the team Melissa addressed this issue during a meeting a few
weeks ago. As the meeting came to an end, she encouraged the team members to air out their
feelings in regards to the virus, being stuck at home, etc. What followed was an incredibly
productive discussion on staying mentally healthy during quarantine. It was definitely a
moment I will remember and take with me to any other positions I fill in the future.

The virus has also had a serious impact on the target areas of Talent Search, and this
provides its own set of specific challenges. For example, the challenge of internet connection.
Lot’s of kids these days will be facing the possibility of remote learning, but many lack access
to a computer or the internet. To address this issue, Penn State Talent Search is looking into
purchasing a set of laptops for the students it serves, but this has been a logistical nightmare.
Beyond the fact that purchasing thousands of laptops costs a lot, the organization has also hd
to face the issue of storage. Currently the organization is planning on storing the laptops in the
Penn State office space, but moving the laptops there will require several drives back and
forth. There’s also the issue of policy. Questions such as how to interact with students online
and what kind of language to use when writing laptops into budgets all need answers, and
Penn State Talent Search has been sending its staff to seminars on these issues to help get
answers.

Obviously I couldn’t cover every single issue facing Penn State Talent Search, but these
are just a couple that stood out to me. It’s been really insightful to watch the team react to
these issues, and work around them by being flexible and communicating often. Stephen and
Melissa have been great leaders to watch work, and I intend on communicating more with
them as my internship continues.