My internship journey has finally come to an end at the Professional Development Center. The past two weeks leading up to it gave me the opportunity to attend another Dining Etiquette luncheon and a “Lunch with a Leader” luncheon, hosted by the PDC at the school’s own dining hall, Leffler Dining Hall.
I learnt so much when it comes to etiquette — how our eating utensils came in to play; which fork and spoons you should use based on what you’re eating; how you should check to see if a bottle of wine is good, and also how to drink wine from a wine glass. It really prepared you to eat at a five star restaurant or in a professional setting. I walked out of that luncheon with more knowledge on etiquette rules than what I thought I already knew. Not to mention, the food which was prepared by the school’s culinary students was delicious (desserts and cappuccino pictured below).
The “Lunch with a Leader” (which is a 3-course meal with a prominent leader) was also another great event I got the opportunity to attend. The featured speaker was Fernando Ramirez – a prominent New York lawyer who provides transaction legal services for clients in the music, film, television and book publishing industries. He spoke about the fact that he had to work twice as hard as his white counterparts because he was a man of color. He also spoke on the importance of a mentor and how that is part of the reason he became as successful as he is — all because he had a mentor to help guide him on the path. He told us about his life’s struggles growing up and how his original plan was to study some type of environmental science – he didn’t even know he liked law. However, it was an encounter with one of the hip hop artists Slim C that made him realize he might actually enjoy law and that’s probably would he should pursue instead.
He worked very hard especially when he started his own law firm. He said there were so many days in the beginning when the only phone calla he’d get were from telemarketers. He had a small office and only a handful of clients and had no help. However, he persisted and not long after, he got more clients, was able to hire some employees and move to a new space. He was definitely an inspiration to me especially being a person of color and wanting to be an entrepreneur someday.
These weren’t only the highlights of my internship however. I was able to network and form relationships with people I would not have otherwise. Also, I was able to hone in on my design skills and come up with new ideas based on the assignments given to me — in other words, it pushed me to come out of my comfort zone. As a result of this internship, I am also more familiar with this particular department in the school, know exactly what they do, and the lovely people that work there. We did not always have busy days, and on those down days, we were allowed to work on any school projects/homework we had which was also awesome. Overall, it was a wonderful experience interning here and I am grateful that Mr. Bradley Burford gave me that opportunity.
Link to internship presentation:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsrVNIs5mbjcBXZQfJBKAg-WHM5CD5cV/view?usp=sharing
