Author: Ka Sin Cheung

Before starting a position I went through training, orientations, and one on one meetings. Within all of these prepping processes that I did with Tk and Edwin. I know that we have a lot of freedom in our job. We can have flexible schedules and a wide dressing code. In the dressing code, tank tops, flip flops, or pajamas aren’t allowed. “And of course, no one would wear flip flops or tank tops during winter, LOL !” said Edwin. Edwin was the program manager who loves to joke around, stay positive and he’s a problem solver. I have emailed him and texted him every time I have a problem. Problems such as scheduling, setting up emails, documents, and ID, he helped me with everything. Moreover, he always has positive feedback and he replies to emails very very fast. 

 

Even though I’m working hybrid, I have never been to the office yet. It’s because due to covid the yard was being half-closed. I will be in the office in the middle of March, then I will know how’s the office looks like; Is it an open work area; What is next to the yard; How’s the food inside the yard…etc. 

 

I’m currently working on a flexible schedule. I mix my schedule with class and work together. So I work for the Brooklyn Navy for around 4 hours every weekday. (Maybe 5 or 6 hours sometimes.) However, the time is different every day. Maybe I work during the morning on Monday, then I might work in the afternoon on Thursday. My supervisor Tk gives me a lot of freedom. She doesn’t care a lot about the schedule. Since she believes in me that I could work individually without supervision. Eventually, we send her an update of what we did, what problem we have or faced…etc. If I have a problem, I will send her a text or an email. So I would say that we have good communication going on. 

Before enrolling in the internship class, I have talked to people who recently graduated from City Tech. From the talk that we had, I noticed that we are supposed to have an internship before the class starts. So I was looking on OpenLab, Linkedin, Indeed, and all those sites that are for job openings. I have applied from many sites. However, I applied for most of the jobs through Linkedin and Indeed. For the jobs that I applied for, I usually got the result within a week by email and phone calls.

The jobs that I got accepted are Calling All Graphic, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Service Corp, and Charter School. Based on the position, schedule and wages. I picked the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The interview that I had with the Brooklyn Navy Yard was a group interview. The interview is about 5 to 6 people (I’m not sure but around that, because I notice that there’s someone who didn’t attend the interview). The interview was a virtual interview on Zoom, it’s a relaxing and fun interview. All of us are introducing ourselves by sharing what are we interested in, what our major is, what school we came from and I made friends after this interview. So I would say everything was smooth and soft.

After I landed my internship, my supervisor found me for a one-to-one meeting./ Her name is Tokunbo Anifalaje. We used to call her “TK” and I asked her why she called “TK” when I first had a one on one meeting with her.  She told me that is because  her name is long and it’s hard for people to pronounce. So she shorten her name as “TK” and most of her friends call her that way as well. From our one on one meeting, I found out that she is the supervisor for the business department. I was being placed on the program Moving Past A Million, which is a female business program. Where I have to do flyers, business cards, and brochures.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard

The company that I have my internship with is the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a non-profit organization that is in development. It’s located at 141 Flushing Ave Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a great piece of land, it has 225 acres. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was founded in 1801. The yard was first built to support the U.S navy. The yard serves as a military installation for the U.S Navy. The yard was first producing wooden ships during World War II. Later on, the yard produced steel ships for the American Civil War. After the Civil War ended, the Brooklyn Navy Yard served a commercial purpose. The BNY started to develop a small city inside the yard. They developed hospitals, youth, and elder services, parks, offices, supermarkets, restaurants, education, and houses. They also develop shuttle buses inside the yard to travel from building to building.

Two news articles that I have read are “Brooklyn Navy Yard CEO David Ehrenberg Stepping Down” from Commercial Observer and “This New York Artist and Designer Is Pushing the Limits of woodworking”

The first article is about David Ehrenberg stepping down from his CEO position at Brooklyn Navy Yard. He shared how much he loved this job. He said he views BNY as his second home. Every time he goes to work, he feels like he’s going home. He said he’s intimate with his office like a room in his house. He also talks about how treats his people. When David is sharing his experience in the BNY article and the little speech that he gave at the Zoom meeting, it reminds me of what Simon Sinek said in his speech about love and leadership. Maybe it’s not because of how strong your abilities are or how much education you took. It’s about how you treat people to make you a strong leader. Maybe it’s the moment you spend time listening or getting to know others that make people want to follow you and have the same goal as you. I would say that both Simon Sinek and David Ehrenberg are inspiring.

The second article I have read is “This New York Artist and Designer Is Pushing the Limits of woodworking.” It’s also an article from the BNY. Aaron Pontz is a New York artist who had a studio inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard and he’s working with the New Lab in BNY. Pontz created a woodshop that used timber hunks to create sculptures, furniture, and ornaments. Where the pieces are inseparable. Every wooden piece that Pontz made had the peculiarity of having an abstract human part. For example a hand gesture mirror. I think what Aaron Pontz did was very interesting. Pontz wanted to bring back the idea of ancient and original materials, which I think is a really good point. We have many materials that exist in the world, for example, plastic, metals, steel…etc. It’s because of the varieties that we don’t see much wooden furniture. It looks like we have forgotten the traditional one. But that doesn’t mean that the traditional one is bad, it’s just we have more choices. So I would say Pontz got a good point.

Work Cited:

https://commercialobserver.com/2022/02/brooklyn-navy-yard-ceo-david-ehrenberg-stepping-down/

https://brooklynnavyyard.org/meet-the-staff/david-ehrenberg

https://www.yahoo.com/video/york-artist-designer-pushing-limits-130000542.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIxNSXzsC7WXK_lfYObdE3SF-TTlghdwx5JbHl4IefXy3cNKwPQPwhHaKM_Bu1D2loLyi7Lb2XYTFPTDcRlK8VVXXGyH05bSjBx4mP0QVfOVvkrwoxlT10nrK6id5-Ma1BsYpbjd1US3Ht9jvvLtXFUH5X-Oa7gfO-RC190WSILG