INT 1000 Class
During the Fall 2020 semester, I took a class called INT 1000 which was an Internship Professional Development and Reflection class for Residence Education and Development. Campus co-ops such as the RA experience provide an opportunity to gain professional work experience, develop cross-cutting skills, and to engage with professionals to develop workplace etiquette. We are able to apply what we are learning in the classroom to a professional setting to identify elements of the workplace we desire to see in a career.
This course allowed me reflect on the professional skills I was developing through the RA position and discover ways in which I could maximize not only my experience in the position but also how I was contributing to the community I am a part of. This course consisted of professional development modules and assignments reflecting on our learning and growth within the position. We evaluated ourselves professionally, set goals, participated and engaged with peers to gain deeper insights into situations in the workplace to make progress towards our specific career goals. Some specific learning outcomes from this course were:
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Students will begin articulating their aptitudes, strengths, weaknesses, preferences and values as they relate to professional development.
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Students will identify professional behaviors related to oral and written communication and workplace etiquette.
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Students will recognize the importance of cross-cutting skills in the context of the workplace.
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Students will define the importance of diversity and inclusion policies and practices in work environments in the US and globally.
Sample Work Experience
An assignment that I worked on during this course was a discussion board post articulating where we are as a budding professional today and where we are in our career journey. The prompt included questions like the following:
You have been selected as an RA for a reason, what does this mean to you?
Why do you think you are a value-add to UC and to a future employer?
What sort of activities have you done to discover and develop your professional self?
Are you satisfied with your career progress so far?
What do you hope to get out of this course and your RA work experience by the end of the semester?
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The following was my response to this assignment. I chose this assignment as a sample for my work experience as it shows what the course highlights and what type of assignments helped us to excel in our internship roles.
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​Being an RA means being a mentor and primary resource to the residents in the community while also creating a liaison between students and members of university housing. This means being empathetic and developing listening skills to mediate any situation or conflict that may arise. RAs also must be quick thinking to solve problems and to respond to incidents. I think I am a value-add to UC and to future employers because I have had the opportunity during my undergraduate program to be a part of a diverse and inclusive community where I interacted with people from various backgrounds and positions. Some activities that I have done to develop my professional self during my years at UC have been, being an RA, engaging in research opportunities, participating in co-op experiences, and getting involved in a variety of on campus organizations. Having completed a total of five co-op rotations with two companies, I feel pretty satisfied with my career progress as I have been able to immerse myself in the workplace to understand company culture, ethics and etiquette while working on personal professional development. With this course, I hope to be able to learn more about professionalism and hopefully apply those skills to any full-time position I may get post-graduation. I intend to be able to apply what I learn in this class to my role as an RA in terms of leadership and co-operation within our working staff. I also intend to create meaningful connections with not only my residents but also with those that I work with while creating a supportive and safe environment for communication.
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