Ally Dorsey Human Services / International Affairs

Transcription

1 + Ally Dorsey Human Services / International Affairs Pine Street Inn, icater Administrative Assistant January-June 2017 Boston, MA

2 + What was your position and the organization you worked for on co-op? I worked for icater, a social enterprise of Pine Street Inn. It was located in the South End. I was an Administrative Assistant. The COOL description was 100% accurate in explaining the role and its responsibilities, although I gained more responsibility as time went on. I worked 40 a week and the position was paid. The position was not experiential or international. I did not need to receive any funding or scholarships. I found the position on COOL.

3 + How did you spend the majority of your time in co-op? Doing what? With whom? Doing what? Everyday followed a similar routine: 8:30- Arrive 8:30-9:30- Various administrative duties, answering s, data input, reading social media blogs 9: Depends on the day- working on various projects, meetings 12:00-12:30- Lunch 12:30-4:00- Depends on the day- coordinating various workshops 4:00-5:00- Finishing up projects, meeting with boss A few of my responsibilities were consistent day-to-day, but it was more likely that I had weekly responsibilities with team meetings occurring every Tuesday at 11am and weekly 1-1s with my boss at 3pm. My responsibilities grew throughout the months- I was able to assist my boss with more important projects. I took on roles beyond my title, such as becoming a sort of unofficial social media manager. Myself and the Sales Manager attended a Social Media Conference in April and took it on ourselves to implement some of the strategies we learned there.

4 + How did you spend the majority of your time in co-op? Doing what? With whom? With whom? I worked on a small team that was part of a larger team and that team too was part of the larger organization. Just about every week, I had a meeting with my boss where we reviewed my main upcoming projects. She would hand off new responsibilities every so often. She would always inquire if I had any questions or concerns. These meetings would come to be a reliable part of my week.

5 + My team Pine Street Inn within a team within a team icater within a team. Food Services That s us! Food Services Management Team

6 + Head of icater Executive Chef Business Operations Manager That s me! Sous Chef Sales Manager icater Intern Director of Purchasing My close-knit team

7 + What did you hope to learn on this coop? (office skills, employer policies, field experience, etc.?) I went into this coop with just a few expectations. I was hoping to learn, on a societal level, about homelessness and its causes. I certainly did just that but in a capacity greater than I could imagine. Seeing the issue on a personal level (working many homeless men and women) taught me so much more about it than I could learn in a classroom. Other than the above, I was did not have expectations or hopes to learn office skills or other hard skills while on this coop. Unexpectedly and happily however, I did walk away with a few new proficiencies that I can add to my resume.

8 + Did anything surprise you about your co-op? Why? Most of all, I was surprised how much I enjoyed working with this population. I am walking away with many new ideas for potential careers. I did not expect to enjoy working with the trainees as much as I did. I especially liked working with the men and women on job readiness in the form of resume building and strengthening interview skills.

9 + Discuss what you learned about yourself and your work/learning style on your coop? I definitely learned a lot about myself during this six month coop. I learned how appreciated my calm and welcoming demeanor is. After this coop and my previous one, I now view this trait as one of my greatest strengths in the workforce. I bring a calming and easygoing nature to most situations which is especially helpful in tense and conflict-driven environments like that of a preschool or homeless shelter. I plan to speak to this asset in future interviews and to continue to use it to my advantage in the workforce.

10 + Please describe the most exciting, meaningful, or interesting job, task, activity, etc. that you did during your co-op. Why was it exciting, meaningful, or interesting? My favorite part of this coop was working with and getting to know the men and women at the shelter. I was able to help them with resumes, apply for jobs, and other workforce preparations. My favorite and most meaningful moments are those when a student found success, be it small or large. Two examples stand out above the rest: 1) I worked with one man almost weekly to find a job. He came in every Friday with a new list of jobs to apply for. We worked on this for a few months and then he stopped coming. I thought about him every so often but at the shelter, people come and go. I heard, a few weeks later, that Ken had found himself a job. It made me so incredibly happy! 2) In the last month of my coop, I worked with one trainee to apply for a scholarship for a culinary school. We worked tirelessly on her application and she ended up winning it! She ended up being the speaker at our annual graduation and ended up winning a second scholarship through Pine Street. These two moments were incredibly powerful, rewarding, and inspiring.

11 + How was the preparation (resumes, etc.) and interviewing process (before this co-op) for you? The preparation process was nothing out of the ordinary. I interviewed with the business operations director. I was actually offered the job on the spot after my interview which was interesting and a first for me. I still took the time to think the decision over but it ended up being an easy choice.

12 + Did this co-op help you decide what you want to do next (in terms of career or work)? Any plans? This co-op definitely helped me narrow down what I want to do after graduation. While I am still not completely set in my career plan, I have a better idea. I am split between two options.

13 + Reflection Question- Personal Perspective How did your co-op experience/s change your view of our society, other societies, your sense of self, etc.? I learned a lot about society and the homeless population. I knew that I aligned more with liberal opinions prior to my start here but I still agreed with a few of the misconceptions regarding homeless men and women. Working with these individuals in a personal level allowed me to see that homeless truly could happen to anyone. I worked with people who simply had a back injury or were unfortunately raised in a poor family with little emphasis on certain morals and ethics.

14 + Reflection Question- Personal Perspective How did your co-op experience/s change your view of our society, other societies, your sense of self, etc.? I know understand how homelessness can occur so easily. While shelters are a great emergency response and respite, there is a lot more that needs to be done in order to be more proactive. Job training programs such as that at Pine Street are extremely effective in this respect. A far-fledged dream would be to continue to working with this population in regards to job training on an even wider scale.

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