Week 3/24

1.  On you blog this week, discuss how each of the following tasks are on-going at your mentorship.  Answer each of the questions posed below:

Career Path:  If you wanted to follow in the career path of someone at your internship site, what would you need to do to make this happen?  (Tip – ask the person for advice and use this in your response.)
My mentor went to college, so I would probably go to an accredited college and major in business and ecology, biology, environmental science, or something of that sort. Since Elachee is a non profit, I would need knowledge of how to run non profit organization and how to manage money inflow and outflow, as well as field experience of taking care of nature. 

Workload:  How does the organization distribute the level of work among the staff?  How equitable do you believe the distribution is?
Each person at Elachee has specific jobs to do, however, those jobs can overlap. The level of work at Elachee is evenly distributed amongst the different workers, even if it is not one specifically tasked job. 

Tasks:  What types of tasks are you discovering that you enjoy or excel at completing?  Which ones are less attractive or fulfilling?
Most time when i work in the office, I do minor tasks like envelope stuffing, and when I am in the animal room, I help renew the animals' food and water. Most of the jobs I do are simple and routine, so that is what I am good at right now. If I was given the task of leading trails (if i had the time), I would love to excel at that. It really just depends on what they want me to do. 

Week 3/17

1.  On you blog this week, discuss how each of the following interpersonal skills are on-going at your mentorship.  Answer each of the questions posed below:

Culture/Collegiality:  How would you describe the culture within your organization (ways in which co-workers interact or don’t interact) and how does this fit with your “ideal” employer?

The culture at Elachee is very comfortable, like we are family. Most of the people working there have been there for a long time, so most everyone knows each other. I like this style of working very much, because everyone respects, understands, and is comfortable with one another. 

Collaboration:  Describe the way in which the organization collaborates with other groups in the area.

Elachee Nature Center is all about interacting and collaborating with other groups in the area, whether it be human or not. They provide many goods and services to the environment and animals inhabiting the area to keep visitors interested. They collaborate with many people and groups for donations of money or time. Since Elachee is a non profit, many companies will donate for publicity or for tax reductions. Elachee also is a very popular spot for elementary school field trips from schools all around Hall County.  

Mentoring:  In what ways have you experienced or witnessed either informal or formal mentoring taking place within the organization, other than the mentoring you are experiencing?

With Rob Stewart as the new manager of Elachee as of last October, a couple minor changes have taken place. I have witnessed new employees being trained to take care of animals in the Animal Room, or trained to tour people on trails. Personally, I sometimes come in on weekends to get a different experience in my mentorship. This coming sunday, I will be helping with the annual Trillium Trek Trail Run, to get a different experience in at Elachee, especially with fundraising. 

Student Project Plan

Student Project Plan

Name: __________Alexis Gerdts_________________________________

School: ______Flowery Branch High School______________________________________

Mentor: _______J. Killingsworth___________________________________

Area of Interest: _____Business and ecology_____________________________

Essential Question: _________It what ways does a non profit such as Elachee Nature Science Center function and what role does it play in the local culture?_____________________________________

What research questions do you have about this topic? What do you need to find out about this topic area? Please list a minimum of three questions. Refer to your interview questions and annotated bibliographies to guide you if needed.

Questions to my mentor:

1. What are the major sources of income at this time?

2. Are there financial cycles of ups and downs that you know of or is the money in a consistent, even flow?

3. What kind of things go on behind the scenes that save money at Elachee?

You will create a website to present at the community presentation night the data you have collected and evidence of the additional materials listed below.  Please map out an outline of what you have in mind for your website, including links and the free website generator you plan on using.

 I do not know of any free website generators to use yet, but for my website i intend to have many visuals to keep the website interesting, including a map of Elachee and photos of the various different events and services it offers. As for information, I will have charts, examples, and other things that assist in analyzing my essential question. 

Keep a running account of any and all resources that will be used as you pursue the planning, research and product development phase of your project. The material resources listed below will ultimately serve as your bibliography. Each student will be required to post a works cited page with a minimum of five sources (your annotated bibliographies and interviews can, and should, be included).

 Rob Stewart - Elachee

 Gremberg, Allen, "Renewables: A charge in Colo. economy." Northern Colorado Business Report. 2/22/2013, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p38-39.

 Social Media in the Business World: Annotated bibliography, Maria, Jess M. "The Social CIO." Public CIO Summer 2012: 12-16. Print.

List some possible intended audiences for you to present your research to: (Name and address of contact persons in organized groups-faculty, student class, Board of Education, public, community groups, and special interest groups):

I believe that the public would be interested in this, as well as local non - profits that struggle to make financial ends meet. I do not think that a person around my age would be extremely interested in this topic unless it related to them personally. 

How will you communicate the results of your research to an appropriate audience?  This can be a PowerPoint presentation, a video, a Prezi, etc…

 A powerpoint presentation would be most appropriate, one that stays simple, to the point, and attractive to an audience (with pictures and short facts, for example)

What is your goal with this research project?

 To inform people about successful non profit organizations that are right in their backyard, as well as spread the idea of greener living. 

What is your personal connection with this topic?

I personally intern at Elachee Nature Center, but that is not all. I intend to major in business and minor in ecology and explore different uses of green energy. I do not understand much of a non profit versus for profit, so i intend to learn more about that as I do this project, all the while spreading the idea of greener living. 

Annotated Bibliography 2, 2/24

Alexis Gerdts

J. Killingsworth

Honors Mentorship Program

24 February 2014

Gremberg, Allen, "Renewables: A charge in Colo. economy." Northern Colorado Business Report. 2/22/2013, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p38-39.

This source, which contains two articles from a Colorado newspaper, addresses the use of renewable energy in both the private and public sector. It states multiple statistics and info about how renewable energy such as solar and wind energy are used very little, but it is “an industry in its infancy and, with large political support, could develop into a common source of energy” (Gremberg pg 38). The articles advocate for the continued and growing use of efficient energy, they explain their claim, and then propose ideas as to how it could be done.

Some quotes I have derived from this article that would be useful are “The United States is the second largest energy consumer in the world (China is the first), and our demand only continues to grow.” on page 38; “The federal government is the nation's No. 1 energy consumer, so it's a good place to start looking for efficiencies” on page 38; “In 2011, President Obama urged federal department and agency heads to enter into significantly more contracts by the end of 2013 and while we commend the president for this initial step, the progress on this goal is not as far along as it could be.” on page 38; "Solar is the fastest growing and most affordable, accessible and reliable clean energy technology available today.” on page 39; “America's solar industry now employs more than 119,000 workers at 5,600 companies - most of which are small businesses spread across every state in the union.” on page 39; “The goal: to generate enough solar energy to power 1 million Colorado homes and businesses by 2030. Get- ting there will require installing about 10 times as much solar equipment as now exists in the state.” on page 39; “Though it's been around for decades, solar is still very much in its infancy. Panel prices have been plunging but they're still too high for many, and the return on investment still takes too long for some” on page 39; and “Ending the tax breaks that Exxon Mobil, BP and other Big Oil companies enjoy would put $24 billion in the federal government's accounts over the next decade.” on page 39.

This source is credible because it gives numerical statistics, quotes important and generally trusted people as sources, and mentions specific companies in the energy industry that would support the article's claim. The newspaper this is from is not a national newspaper, which means that it it is somewhat biased to the region it covers, but the article stays very factual.

This article hits very close to what my paper will be about. I am analyzing the use of green energy and energy efficiency in both the public and private sectors, and this article supports my views. This will greatly assist me in outlining how my ideas should flow when writing my paper and also will help me in identifying specific topics I will address.

February monthly assignment

Renewable Energy, January Assignment

For some really interesting data on renewable energy, go to:

Sources:

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/07/renewable-energy-charts-renewable-energy-facts/

http://www.justgreencommunity.com/10-amazing-facts-about-renewable-energy/

Graphic Organizer, 2/17

Source #____ Bibliography (MLA or APA) 4pts	Gremberg, Allen, "Renewables: A charge in Colo. economy." Northern      -        Colorado Business Report. 2/22/2013, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p38-39.
Annotation: (Describe ALL info. that might be important for your paper. Explain to the reader and/or summarize what might be found in this source) 4pts	This consists of two articles from a Colorado newspaper. The articles address the use of renewable energy in both the private and public sector. It states multiple quotes and statistics about how renewable energy such as solar and wind energy are used very little, but it is an industry in its infancy and, with large political support, could develop into a common source of energy. The articles advocate for the continued and growing use of efficient energy, they explain their claim, and then propose ideas as to how it could be done.
Potential Quotes: (Are there any significant quotes you can use or paraphrase from this source?) 4pts	The United States is the second- largest energy consumer in the world (China is the first), and our demand only continues to grow. The federal government is the nation's No. 1 energy consumer, so it's a good place to start looking for efficiencies. In 2011, President Obama urged federal department and agency heads to enter into significantly more contracts by the end of 2013 and while we commend the president for this initial step, the progress on this goal is not as far along as it could be.   "Solar is the fastest-growing and most affordable, accessible and reli- able clean energy technology avail- able today. America's solar industry now employs more than 119,000 workers at 5,600 companies - most of which are small businesses spread across every state in the union.  The goal: to generate enough solar energy to power 1 million Colorado homes and businesses by 2030. Get- ting there will require installing about 10 times as much solar equipment as now exists in the state. Though it's been around for decades, solar is still very much in its infancy. Panel prices have been plunging but they're still too high for many, and the return on investment still takes too long for some Ending the tax breaks that Exxon Mobil, BP and other Big Oil companies enjoy would put $24 billion in the federal government's accounts over the next decade.
Assessment: (Analyze and explain why this source is credible)  4pts	This source is credible because it gives numerical statistics, quotes important and generally trusted people as sources, and mentions specific companies in the energy industry that would support the article's claim.
Reflection: (How will you use it?  In which section of your paper will this source be useful?) 4pts	This article hits very close to what my paper will be about. I am analyzing the use of green energy and energy efficiency in both the public and private sectors, and this article supports my views. This will greatly assist me in outlining how my ideas should flow when writing my paper and also will help me in identifying specific topics I will address.