Eye-Opening
Organization Background - San Diego State University is a college based in San Diego County. One of their specifications is based around their study abroad program. A small team at SDSU is in charge of oversight of this program. They assist in arranging for students to study abroad; they help in various ways such as preparing the proper paperwork, and planning the overview of the trip. Project - Dylan’s specific project entailed him creating a short commercial to advertise the study abroad program at SDSU. The video would be posted on their youtube channel and would be used as an aid for future students. The video would be a promotional video to educate future/incoming students what studying abroad entails. Dylan was in charge of all aspects of videography for his commercial, including recording and editing. Personal Experience and Takeaways - Dylan enjoyed his experience while interning at SDSU. He felt that his co-workers were laid back yet diligent, which created an atmosphere where he felt comfortable. He could receive help from his co-workers when needed. He also enjoyed interning at SDSU because he was put in a college environment. Dylan plans to attend college straight out of high school, and found the experience on the college campus valuable. |
Mentor Interview with Marisela
Dylan: Where did you go to college?
Mentor/Marisela: I went to the University of New England in Maine.
Dylan: Why did you choose to go there?
Mentor/Marisela: I had just moved to Maine and gotten married and moved there. And I applied to a couple of different schools and just happened to get into that one. It’s small and private which I really wanted and it was kind of neat because the admissions counselor called and said I was admitted so they were really hands on and personable and offered me a lot of scholarships.
Dylan: Wow. That’s nice.
Mentor/Marisela: Yeah, I think that is what made my decision between that and some other schools in the area.
Dylan: Did they have a specific program that you liked or a certain major that you were interested in?
Mentor/Marisela: Yeah, I was a history major and they had a [pretty good history program although they are more of a research university they still had liberal arts. They are a smaller college but they still had a pretty good program and they had everything that I was looking for.
Dylan: With having a major in history, how did you end up becoming an Internship Advisor at a college?
Mentor/Marisela: So I was a history major with the intent of becoming a teacher and then I started taking some teaching courses because they had a teaching track and then decided no I don't want to become a teacher. I didn't really enjoy the classes as much. So when I got closer to graduating, I had to think about what I was going to do next so I actually went to do a masters through San Jose States and that was a masters in library and information science with the intention of working in the library. I really wanted to be a librarian and work in a college library. That's what I was looking for, doing research and all of that kind of stuff. And so when I graduated, it was during the recession that we had a few years ago and all of the libraries were being cut and there was no jobs. I couldn't get a job, I spend two years looking for a job and I just couldn't get my foot in the door for a library even though I had done multiple internships through my school. I volunteered a lot and still couldn't get a job. In the meantime, I was just looking for something that will give me a paycheck and I happened to get a part time job here assisting two study abroad advisors at that time. Just assisting part time while I continued to look for a library job. The internship advisor was a professor and she was ready to retire and when she retired, they asked me if I just wanted to go ahead and take her position. At the time, they wanted to change it around and do different things and so they kind of let me write my own job description of how I thought the program should be run. So I basically created this job and then I have been here ever since.
Dylan: How long have you worked here as an Internship Advisor?
Mentor/Marisela: So I started here in 2011 and then I overtook the position in 2013. And I never really came back to libraries because I really like working here and I am still at a college which is where I wanted to be if I were to work in the library. And my job has evolved, it has never really stayed the same because I have made suggestions as to how to change certain aspects about my job and they were always well received. I kind of created my own job and it’s flexible at a college so I think I am here to stay at this point.
Dylan: So there is nothing you would like to do differently for an occupation and you wouldn't go back to teaching ot libraries?
Mentor/Marisela: No I don't think so. At this point, the benefits are really good here, the retirement isn't bad. After five years of working at a CSU, you get vested. So just additional money you get at your retirement and so at this point, in the future I might apply to other jobs on campus but I don't think I will leave campus. I think i’m definitely here through retirement. There’s really good people to work with, lots of co-workers across campus. You have a really big network across campus other than the office and I just enjoy now so I don’t think I would go back to apply for a library job at this point because it is kind of a step back career wise.
“You don’t know where you’re going to end up sometimes, it just falls in your lap.”
Dylan: What would you say is the most exciting part about your job?
Mentor/Marisela: I get to travel, so that pretty cool. I am doing internships abroad and I get to develop those programs like where we send students abroad and do internships and I have to visit those sites to make sure we work with the people on ground over there. So i’ve been to Ireland, France, and this year, I went to Chile, Santiago. I do some conferences nationally as well so I have seen a lot of cities, like this year, I will be going to Philadelphia and New Orleans. And I also work with the Case Competition things so I am their advisory which means I get to go to Boston every year. So the travel is definitely pretty fun. It’s cool to see those places and sometimes it’s hard to afford on your own and I not only visit companies in those locations but I also visit our university partners when I’m there. That’s definitely the most fun of the job.
Dylan: What is the most exciting place you have visited from those opportunities?
Mentor/Marisela: I loved Ireland. It’s such an amazing place and the people were so cool. The food there was good which is funny because you never hear things about Ireland and how it’s food is good but yeah, the food was really good. Anytime I’m traveling, I try to take extra time on my own to travel and explore. I was in Ireland for a conference but when I had extra time, my husband and I just drove all around the island with no agenda and we just stopped at different places and explored for a week. It was really cool and in Ireland, the steering wheel is on the right hand side and you drive on the other side of the road there and it was just really cool. It was just really beautiful and I would say that was the best experience I’ve had when traveling.
Dylan: What would you say is the most challenging part about your job?
Mentor/Marisela: The most challenging part would be red tape policies on campus sometimes. Anytime we send a student to do something that’s off site, we have to have a legal agreement about that site and we have to work with our legal department and the contracts office. It’s just a lot of paper work sometimes and it’s a lot of back and forth. It gets a little more complicated when we try to get a company that’s in another country to sign our legal document because they don’t have the same laws as we do so it gets complicated and it just goes back and forth. I had one agreement with France and I think that agreement went back like 20 times before it finally got signed and we can’t send a student until it’s signed. So that’s definitely one of the most tedious part of my job that I really don’t like.
Dylan: All right, I think that is it. Thank you very much
Mentor/Marisela: I went to the University of New England in Maine.
Dylan: Why did you choose to go there?
Mentor/Marisela: I had just moved to Maine and gotten married and moved there. And I applied to a couple of different schools and just happened to get into that one. It’s small and private which I really wanted and it was kind of neat because the admissions counselor called and said I was admitted so they were really hands on and personable and offered me a lot of scholarships.
Dylan: Wow. That’s nice.
Mentor/Marisela: Yeah, I think that is what made my decision between that and some other schools in the area.
Dylan: Did they have a specific program that you liked or a certain major that you were interested in?
Mentor/Marisela: Yeah, I was a history major and they had a [pretty good history program although they are more of a research university they still had liberal arts. They are a smaller college but they still had a pretty good program and they had everything that I was looking for.
Dylan: With having a major in history, how did you end up becoming an Internship Advisor at a college?
Mentor/Marisela: So I was a history major with the intent of becoming a teacher and then I started taking some teaching courses because they had a teaching track and then decided no I don't want to become a teacher. I didn't really enjoy the classes as much. So when I got closer to graduating, I had to think about what I was going to do next so I actually went to do a masters through San Jose States and that was a masters in library and information science with the intention of working in the library. I really wanted to be a librarian and work in a college library. That's what I was looking for, doing research and all of that kind of stuff. And so when I graduated, it was during the recession that we had a few years ago and all of the libraries were being cut and there was no jobs. I couldn't get a job, I spend two years looking for a job and I just couldn't get my foot in the door for a library even though I had done multiple internships through my school. I volunteered a lot and still couldn't get a job. In the meantime, I was just looking for something that will give me a paycheck and I happened to get a part time job here assisting two study abroad advisors at that time. Just assisting part time while I continued to look for a library job. The internship advisor was a professor and she was ready to retire and when she retired, they asked me if I just wanted to go ahead and take her position. At the time, they wanted to change it around and do different things and so they kind of let me write my own job description of how I thought the program should be run. So I basically created this job and then I have been here ever since.
Dylan: How long have you worked here as an Internship Advisor?
Mentor/Marisela: So I started here in 2011 and then I overtook the position in 2013. And I never really came back to libraries because I really like working here and I am still at a college which is where I wanted to be if I were to work in the library. And my job has evolved, it has never really stayed the same because I have made suggestions as to how to change certain aspects about my job and they were always well received. I kind of created my own job and it’s flexible at a college so I think I am here to stay at this point.
Dylan: So there is nothing you would like to do differently for an occupation and you wouldn't go back to teaching ot libraries?
Mentor/Marisela: No I don't think so. At this point, the benefits are really good here, the retirement isn't bad. After five years of working at a CSU, you get vested. So just additional money you get at your retirement and so at this point, in the future I might apply to other jobs on campus but I don't think I will leave campus. I think i’m definitely here through retirement. There’s really good people to work with, lots of co-workers across campus. You have a really big network across campus other than the office and I just enjoy now so I don’t think I would go back to apply for a library job at this point because it is kind of a step back career wise.
“You don’t know where you’re going to end up sometimes, it just falls in your lap.”
Dylan: What would you say is the most exciting part about your job?
Mentor/Marisela: I get to travel, so that pretty cool. I am doing internships abroad and I get to develop those programs like where we send students abroad and do internships and I have to visit those sites to make sure we work with the people on ground over there. So i’ve been to Ireland, France, and this year, I went to Chile, Santiago. I do some conferences nationally as well so I have seen a lot of cities, like this year, I will be going to Philadelphia and New Orleans. And I also work with the Case Competition things so I am their advisory which means I get to go to Boston every year. So the travel is definitely pretty fun. It’s cool to see those places and sometimes it’s hard to afford on your own and I not only visit companies in those locations but I also visit our university partners when I’m there. That’s definitely the most fun of the job.
Dylan: What is the most exciting place you have visited from those opportunities?
Mentor/Marisela: I loved Ireland. It’s such an amazing place and the people were so cool. The food there was good which is funny because you never hear things about Ireland and how it’s food is good but yeah, the food was really good. Anytime I’m traveling, I try to take extra time on my own to travel and explore. I was in Ireland for a conference but when I had extra time, my husband and I just drove all around the island with no agenda and we just stopped at different places and explored for a week. It was really cool and in Ireland, the steering wheel is on the right hand side and you drive on the other side of the road there and it was just really cool. It was just really beautiful and I would say that was the best experience I’ve had when traveling.
Dylan: What would you say is the most challenging part about your job?
Mentor/Marisela: The most challenging part would be red tape policies on campus sometimes. Anytime we send a student to do something that’s off site, we have to have a legal agreement about that site and we have to work with our legal department and the contracts office. It’s just a lot of paper work sometimes and it’s a lot of back and forth. It gets a little more complicated when we try to get a company that’s in another country to sign our legal document because they don’t have the same laws as we do so it gets complicated and it just goes back and forth. I had one agreement with France and I think that agreement went back like 20 times before it finally got signed and we can’t send a student until it’s signed. So that’s definitely one of the most tedious part of my job that I really don’t like.
Dylan: All right, I think that is it. Thank you very much