Saturday, November 23, 2013

To high school and beyond!

Pick ONE class you have had at any point in high school and be specific on how that class has helped you while you have been at your mentorship.  This can be an academic class or an elective class.  Only choose one class however and write another well developed paragraph, with details, on how that class has helped prepare you for what you are doing now.

          The class that has helped me the most for my mentorship is AP US Government. I didn't realize that the information, vocabulary and all, is actually used in the daily lives of the Hall County Government Administration. In the first part of my mentorship i was with Katie Crumley, the Public Relations Admin. On Tuesdays I would often help her prepare for a "Work Session" where the heads of each department would gather in a court-room-like setting and would inform the Board what was going on in their department, whether there were changes, problems, fixes, or if everything was running smoothly. At this meeting, although i cant remember specifics, I was surprised that I heard vocabulary from the simple vocab quizzes I took in AP Gov, and understood what was being discussed at the Work Sessions at my mentorship because of it. It also greatly helped me get a jump in the Elections office. I already knew how voting was supposed to work and also knew much of the terminology, which pleasantly surprised them. That knowledge better helped me communicate more efficiently with the people who came in to vote. Even if I didn't realize it at the time, what I learned in AP US Government truly and greatly assisted me in understanding what was happening throughout the offices of my mentorship, which helped me impress my coworkers. 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

About My Mentorship

Please write a reflection on your mentorship, things that have happened in the last month.  Make sure you are writing a reflection that is through and gives the reader a glimpse into what you are doing for your mentor. This should be at least a well developed paragraph.

          In the past month, I have moved around a bit within my mentorship at the Hall County Government. I started with my mentor, Katie Crumley, who is very lovely and always had a project or task for me to work on. These projects and tasks were not trifle things (at least not to me), but things that i enjoyed doing and learned from. When Katie would ask me to do something, she would describe the general idea and then let my creative freedom fill in the gaps. For example, I had the opportunity to recreate the annual payroll donation packet, which included a new logo image, multiple old and new agencies to give to, and the donation form. When I started this, Katie told me that she wanted to revamp the old, boring packet in hopes of getting more employees to donate. She gave me a list of agencies, and I went at it. In doing this I had the opportunity to use my creative and analytical skills to make the new packet attractive, informative, and clear. This is just one example of what I did in the Administrations office.
          In the beginning-near-middle of October I was moved to the Elections office, since it was time for the mayoral elections (this year was special because it was the first time the city of Gainesville could vote for mayor). In the Administrations office I loved the official feel of everything, but I also enjoyed the somewhat more relaxed feel of Elections. Here I would prepare absentee ballots to be sent out, file address/name changes, and assist people who would come to vote. To prepare for this job, I became a registered Elections Poll Worker, and, since I was doing a "job", I was paid for the hours I was there, which I liked. Assisting voters is what I spent the most time doing, and what I enjoyed the most. I was able to meet all sorts of interesting people as well as learn about the voting process, which I believe is important in the duties of a US citizen. My supervisors were all very lovely and helpful. Perhaps something I would have liked better was more work to do, but I think my opportunity in the office was the best it could have been. The workers there had gotten most of the busywork done early because they were expecting a large crowd of people to vote. We were all left with less work than expected, I believe.
          About a week and a half ago I was moved to the Tax Commissioners Office. Here I process misaddressed mail by checking the balance of the bill and then trying to locate the new address of the person. This task is somewhat interesting to me because it is like a mystery or puzzle to find the new address of the person. (also, whenever I see that a bill has a $0.00 balance, I do a little mental "hooray" for the person :P). In the Tax Commissioners office, it seems like I was given tasks to do just to keep me busy. The mail I sort through, I guess that it is a job that must be done, but there are two other college interns there that are paid, and with me there, the place seems a little overstaffed. Of all three areas I have mentored in, working in Administrations was my favorite, followed by Elections, and Tax Commissioners in last.