Katrina's blog
Class of 2009, Communications Major, Graphic Design Minor, from Green Bay, WI

This is the last entry in Katrina’s blog.

With graduation come and gone, I am officially no longer a student at St. Norbert, or an intern in the Office of Communications on campus. Now a proud alumna, it has been difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that my college experience, as well as my internship, has really come to an end. While it was hard to say goodbye to people and places I have come to know well and appreciate throughout the past two years, I am certain that my time in the office will only serve to open new doors for me as I embrace my future as a new college graduate, and transition into the real world of work by looking for a job.

I hope my collection of tips has proven helpful to you, I hope this blog has given you an informative overview of my unique internship experience, and, most importantly, I hope you have enjoyed reading!

This useful little tip was passed on to me by one of my supervisors, who, after seeing the look on my face, quickly explained that it has nothing to do with eating a real frog!

She went on to say that the concept of “eating the frog first” is actually based on an idea she once read about, in which the “frog” is a metaphor for the least appealing task you have to do. So, by “eating the frog first,” you are getting the least appealing task out of your way early on, so you can enjoy the rest of your work without having to worry about what is to come.

There have been many times during my internship experience when I have come in to the office with an overflowing “plate” of things to do, and did not know where to start. That is when I think of the “frog,” and set out to accomplish (or “eat”) that task (or “frog”) first. For me, past “frogs” have included everything from press releases, magazine stories and e-newsletter articles with impending deadlines, to editing assignments, training sessions, and many others. But I have found that every time I take this advice to heart and follow through with my work, I am thankful I got the potentially least appealing part of my day over with right away. It just makes everything else I have to do that much more enjoyable.

NOTE: No actual frogs were harmed during the writing of this blog.

Spring has officially sprung on campus! Birds are chirping, squirrels are frolicking, the sun is shining and it seems like students, faculty and staff can all sense that the semester is coming to a close. Whether you like it or not, change happens…in the seasons and in the workplace. Just within the past year, the Office of Communications has made two dramatic technological changes, in particular, that have had a direct impact on my work.

The first change took place shortly before the end of last semester. It was all very sudden: One day myself, my co-worker and one of my supervisors were writing, distributing, tracking and logging the college’s press releases and media coverage by hand…and the next day (it seems) the majority of this meticulous work was being done by Vocus, some new, high-tech “On-Demand Software for Public Relations Management”! It took me a while to get used to using Vocus, but once I learned the basics, it quickly became my new best friend.

The second change happened more recently. It was not until spring break that I first heard about the college’s plan to adopt a new campus-wide printing system in order to become more “green.” I soon discovered that this meant our current printer and copier would be replaced with some fancy multipurpose device. To prepare myself for the switch, I attended an informative workshop for student workers, faculty and staff. I was glad I did, because I got a sneak peek at which model would be replacing the machines we had in our office.

In both cases, it was hard to say goodbye to processes I knew well. To this day, I still miss manually typing out each individual e-mail address to send a press release, and I still miss the convenience of the old one-click printing process. But as a result of having to deal with these changes, I have also learned an important lesson: Change happens, and it is up to me to learn how to adjust to whatever comes my way, in the working world and beyond.

Several weeks ago, I attended St. Norbert College Career Services’ Seventh Annual Job and Internship Fair. More than fifty employers were present at the event, looking for St. Norbert students and alumni to fill full-time, part-time and internship positions in their companies and organizations.

The environment at the fair was very competitive. You could feel it in the air: hopeful students cueing up at individual booths, waiting anxiously to speak to their representatives…employers seeming able to know at first glance whether or not you would be a good fit with their institutions…

Career Services suggested that jobseekers bring along an ample supply of résumés. I did, and I even handed some out. I received many positive reactions when I mentioned that I am an intern at St. Norbert.

I only stayed for about half the time, but it was enough to get my first taste of a “real world” job market wrought by the frustrations of a sinking United States economy. It soon became apparent that not all employers were actually interested in employing people.

But at the end of the day, I was glad I went. It was unlike any campus event I have ever attended, and I feel it was great preparation for what to expect in the workplace after graduation.

What keeps an office running smoothly, besides the hard work of its dedicated employees and interns?

Supplies!

Memos cannot be written without pens and Post-It notes; wireless keyboards cannot function without batteries; packages cannot be mailed without bubble mailers to put them in; and what would a break room be without cups, paper towels, paper plates, napkins and plastic eating utensils?

As an intern in the Office of Communications, it is just one of my many duties to make sure the office, in addition to our storage and break rooms, is well-stocked with all the supplies any staff member or student worker could ever possibly need.

To ensure this easy access to supplies, I place an order with the college’s primary office supply distributor once a month (because it saves on shipping to combine several small orders into one larger one). But there is more to this process than simply adding a few items to my “shopping cart” and clicking “submit.”

Around the beginning of each month, I send an e-mail to the entire office in which I explain when I am planning on ordering supplies. I also instruct everyone to e-mail me back with any item requests he or she may have.

I usually try to hold off on ordering until I have heard back from each employee and intern, but, after our office director approves the list, I place the order around the middle of each month. Ever since I inherited this task from an intern who graduated last May, I have kept a month-by-month, well-organized file with lists of all the supplies I have ever ordered, as well as their item numbers and copies of the packing slips with which they were shipped. This file method is very convenient and makes it extremely easy to look up the item numbers of supplies that need re-ordering, especially when which person has his or her own personal preferences when it comes to pens, notepads, batteries and other specialty items.

Both our distributor and our campus mail center are generally very efficient in delivering the supplies within twenty-four hours of me placing the order. I prefer to be present in the office when the shipment arrives, since I know where everything goes and I want to make sure everything is put right in its place (this includes making sure each person who ordered something gets precisely what they ordered).

The last step of the ordering process is to send the packing slips to the college’s executive secretary for Enrollment Management and Communications, for budget purposes. Then the whole process starts over again, once the beginning of the next month rolls around…