ARTICLE
2020 has been a year like no other. In January 2020, we had great expectations, even as we headed into a Presidential election year, that this year would be special as we started a new decade. As we all know too well, the COVID— 19 pandemic changed everything from how we communicate (Zoom, Zoom, Zoom) to how we have sheltered-in-place, worrying about the health, safety and well-fare of our community. No one is immune from this dreaded virus. As we write this eNews article, Santa Cruz County has slipped back into the PurpleTier creating more restrictive guidelines than we enjoyed ever so briefly for a short couple weeks. As a leading business association in Santa Cruz County, we rely on a small staff, an all volunteer board of directors, an enthusiastic group of all volunteer ambassadors and we have two or three young, bright and intelligent student interns join us every college quarter or semester. This hands-on internship is an opportunity for interns to gain real life experience and at the same time earn college credit. Accepting an internship can be a life changing event for an intern. Many of our past interns have changed their career path because of their experience. Now, think how our interns have to grapple with managing their college studies remotely and also have a similar remote internship experience that adds to a fruitful experience. So, let’s hear directly from our interns to give you their perspective. Hannah Davis: On March 16, 2020, I was in Paris studying abroad and on March 17, 2020, I started a two week quarantine in Santa Cruz. As someone who has never taken an online class or worked remotely, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered my life along with the rest of the world’s population. Previously, I was out of the house from seven in the morning to seven at night, whether that be working, interning or attending classes. My commute used to have me scrambling to catch the bus and walking an average of ten miles per day and now I wake up twenty minutes before my class and walk downstairs. I now spend the majority of my time in my childhood bedroom or at the dining room table. Earlier in my undergraduate degree I had two in-person internships, so the shift to an online work environment was quite a big change for me. However, as the months go on and we are still sheltering in place, like many other students I am trying to take advantage of the many hours I spend on the computer each day. This includes attending virtual networking events and taking LinkedIn Learning classes. My remote internship at the Chamber has provided me with a unique experience that differs from my previous internships. Although I have never met anyone in the Chamber face to face, we have been in communication and working as a team since August. My remote internship has allowed me to safely forge both professional and personal connections during the COVID-19 crisis. Interning during a pandemic has provided me with valuable skills that have prepared me for my career in the future. My experience at the Chamber has taught me how to overcome outside circumstances in the workplace. Adaptability is something that I will be able to bring to the table in my professional future and I can apply this to a range of issues, such as technical difficulties or learning Zoom culture. In this new normal, the best thing that I can do to make the most out of my undergraduate career is to take advantage of every opportunity I have left as a senior, and the Chamber has allowed me to do this. Besides providing me with professional experience, the Chamber has helped me structure my weeks which is more important than I thought. Balancing online school, my remote internship and my job has given me some sense of normalcy and routine. This is the first time the Chamber is offering a remote internship and it is my first remote internship. I must say that the team has done the best possible job in providing me with a rich and multifaceted experience that has allowed me to further my professional career despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created. Yajee (Sharon) Kwon: My first real internship is completely online due to the global onslaught of COVID-19, it has been, and still is, quite a unique experience. By having a fully remote internship, we lose the experience of working in an office alongside others as well as in-person interactions, meetings, and events that are so important to us. Before starting this position at the company, I was both nervous and excited to see how the Chamber would combat or work around these restraints caused by the virus. Fortunately enough, I have been given the opportunity to work with a team of people who genuinely care about their interns and the value that we get from this job. The team, other interns, and I attend weekly Zoom meetings to discuss projects for the future, announcements, updates, and etc. These calls allow me to feel as if I am networking with coworkers and participating in these meetings, just the same as I would if I were to be working in the office. I feel included and in the loop, and because we all have our cameras on during these meetings, I get a sense of familiarity just as you would meeting and speaking with others in person. In addition to this, I am being assigned projects that require me to put in a good amount of effort, and even though it may be more difficult and time-consuming because I am unable to simply walk into the next office and ask questions, I am still able to easily communicate with my supervisor via email and Zoom. Although I have run into a couple of technological problems throughout my time working at the Chamber, I believe that these issues provided me with more opportunities to show my problem solving skills and work on them a little more. For example, I have had a couple of hiccups regarding Zoom meeting invitations and receiving emails with certain PDFs or attachments. Seeing this and recognizing that this is something that needs to be fixed in order for us to continue to do our jobs efficiently, I had to utilize critical thinking skills and try to work my way around these inevitable technical issues. I highly value the experience I am gaining from this internship and hope to continue to gain more skills and knowledge the further I progress into the position. Regardless of the limitations COVID-19 puts on this internship, the team and I are trying to make the most out of it. Pranav Upadhyaya: When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit California in early march and the whole world shut down, I honestly did not think my entire fall quarter would have to be spent at home. I thought that by the time I would start with my field study internship, that the world would be back to normal. Boy, was I wrong. The coronavirus pandemic is something that has affected everyone in many different ways, but for college students, the biggest consequence was that we had to go back home, many of us living with our parents while we take our classes and do our internships completely online. While there are some people that may prefer online learning and working at home, I am not one of those people. I prefer to interact with people face to face, and have a real conversation. For my classes, I prefer sitting in an actual lecture hall where I am more or less forced to pay attention, rather than on a video call where I can lose my focus much easier. For this internship, I would have preferred to meet and interact with my co-workers on a regular basis. However, the world does not always give us what we want, and we must adapt. Now, there are some silver linings, I guess, from this experience. By working from home, I am able to save a lot of time and energy getting ready in the morning and driving to the office on time. Being at home means that I have the comforts of home, and I get to do my work on my own schedule. Even in the darkest of times for our world, there are some positives. However, I am eager for our world to defeat this virus and get back to normal as soon as possible. I miss my University, my friends and being able to go to large gatherings. I miss indoor dining, going to movies, and watching sports in person. And while this experience has taught me valuable lessons, I hope to be able to continue this internship next quarter except in person this time. To learn more about our interns, visit our Chamber Interns Page - http://www.santacruzchamber.org/interns.html
2020 has been a year like no other. In January 2020, we had great expectations, even as we headed into a Presidential election year, that this year would be special as we started a new decade. As we all know too well, the COVID— 19 pandemic changed everything from how we communicate (Zoom, Zoom, Zoom) to how we have sheltered-in-place, worrying about the health, safety and well-fare of our community. No one is immune from this dreaded virus.
As we write this eNews article, Santa Cruz County has slipped back into the PurpleTier creating more restrictive guidelines than we enjoyed ever so briefly for a short couple weeks. As a leading business association in Santa Cruz County, we rely on a small staff, an all volunteer board of directors, an enthusiastic group of all volunteer ambassadors and we have two or three young, bright and intelligent student interns join us every college quarter or semester. This hands-on internship is an opportunity for interns to gain real life experience and at the same time earn college credit. Accepting an internship can be a life changing event for an intern. Many of our past interns have changed their career path because of their experience. Now, think how our interns have to grapple with managing their college studies remotely and also have a similar remote internship experience that adds to a fruitful experience. So, let’s hear directly from our interns to give you their perspective.
Hannah Davis: On March 16, 2020, I was in Paris studying abroad and on March 17, 2020, I started a two week quarantine in Santa Cruz. As someone who has never taken an online class or worked remotely, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered my life along with the rest of the world’s population. Previously, I was out of the house from seven in the morning to seven at night, whether that be working, interning or attending classes. My commute used to have me scrambling to catch the bus and walking an average of ten miles per day and now I wake up twenty minutes before my class and walk downstairs. I now spend the majority of my time in my childhood bedroom or at the dining room table. Earlier in my undergraduate degree I had two in-person internships, so the shift to an online work environment was quite a big change for me. However, as the months go on and we are still sheltering in place, like many other students I am trying to take advantage of the many hours I spend on the computer each day. This includes attending virtual networking events and taking LinkedIn Learning classes. My remote internship at the Chamber has provided me with a unique experience that differs from my previous internships. Although I have never met anyone in the Chamber face to face, we have been in communication and working as a team since August. My remote internship has allowed me to safely forge both professional and personal connections during the COVID-19 crisis. Interning during a pandemic has provided me with valuable skills that have prepared me for my career in the future. My experience at the Chamber has taught me how to overcome outside circumstances in the workplace. Adaptability is something that I will be able to bring to the table in my professional future and I can apply this to a range of issues, such as technical difficulties or learning Zoom culture. In this new normal, the best thing that I can do to make the most out of my undergraduate career is to take advantage of every opportunity I have left as a senior, and the Chamber has allowed me to do this. Besides providing me with professional experience, the Chamber has helped me structure my weeks which is more important than I thought. Balancing online school, my remote internship and my job has given me some sense of normalcy and routine. This is the first time the Chamber is offering a remote internship and it is my first remote internship. I must say that the team has done the best possible job in providing me with a rich and multifaceted experience that has allowed me to further my professional career despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created.
Yajee (Sharon) Kwon: My first real internship is completely online due to the global onslaught of COVID-19, it has been, and still is, quite a unique experience. By having a fully remote internship, we lose the experience of working in an office alongside others as well as in-person interactions, meetings, and events that are so important to us. Before starting this position at the company, I was both nervous and excited to see how the Chamber would combat or work around these restraints caused by the virus. Fortunately enough, I have been given the opportunity to work with a team of people who genuinely care about their interns and the value that we get from this job.
The team, other interns, and I attend weekly Zoom meetings to discuss projects for the future, announcements, updates, and etc. These calls allow me to feel as if I am networking with coworkers and participating in these meetings, just the same as I would if I were to be working in the office. I feel included and in the loop, and because we all have our cameras on during these meetings, I get a sense of familiarity just as you would meeting and speaking with others in person. In addition to this, I am being assigned projects that require me to put in a good amount of effort, and even though it may be more difficult and time-consuming because I am unable to simply walk into the next office and ask questions, I am still able to easily communicate with my supervisor via email and Zoom.
Although I have run into a couple of technological problems throughout my time working at the Chamber, I believe that these issues provided me with more opportunities to show my problem solving skills and work on them a little more. For example, I have had a couple of hiccups regarding Zoom meeting invitations and receiving emails with certain PDFs or attachments. Seeing this and recognizing that this is something that needs to be fixed in order for us to continue to do our jobs efficiently, I had to utilize critical thinking skills and try to work my way around these inevitable technical issues.
I highly value the experience I am gaining from this internship and hope to continue to gain more skills and knowledge the further I progress into the position. Regardless of the limitations COVID-19 puts on this internship, the team and I are trying to make the most out of it.
Pranav Upadhyaya: When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit California in early march and the whole world shut down, I honestly did not think my entire fall quarter would have to be spent at home. I thought that by the time I would start with my field study internship, that the world would be back to normal. Boy, was I wrong.
The coronavirus pandemic is something that has affected everyone in many different ways, but for college students, the biggest consequence was that we had to go back home, many of us living with our parents while we take our classes and do our internships completely online. While there are some people that may prefer online learning and working at home, I am not one of those people. I prefer to interact with people face to face, and have a real conversation. For my classes, I prefer sitting in an actual lecture hall where I am more or less forced to pay attention, rather than on a video call where I can lose my focus much easier. For this internship, I would have preferred to meet and interact with my co-workers on a regular basis. However, the world does not always give us what we want, and we must adapt.
Now, there are some silver linings, I guess, from this experience. By working from home, I am able to save a lot of time and energy getting ready in the morning and driving to the office on time. Being at home means that I have the comforts of home, and I get to do my work on my own schedule. Even in the darkest of times for our world, there are some positives.
However, I am eager for our world to defeat this virus and get back to normal as soon as possible. I miss my University, my friends and being able to go to large gatherings. I miss indoor dining, going to movies, and watching sports in person. And while this experience has taught me valuable lessons, I hope to be able to continue this internship next quarter except in person this time.
To learn more about our interns, visit our Chamber Interns Page - http://www.santacruzchamber.org/interns.html