As I dove into the world of professional experience, I want to reflect on the valuable knowledge I have gained. I was excited to finally receive the opportunity to test myself in a real-world setting. The thought of gaining hands-on experience in this field provides me with the desire to put all my effort into it. Through the duration of this internship, I have learned many important lessons I can apply in a real-world work environment. I learned to tackle situations with calmness and a problem-solving mindset. Furthermore, the time and dedication it takes to output work while effectively managing time and multiple tasks is something that will stick with me.
With that being said, of course, there were challenges I faced as the internship continued. Like everyone else who also faces obstacles, no matter how experienced they are, I persevered through with the help of the team and the supervisors. At every team meeting, I felt like I’d gained something new. The friendly atmosphere made it easy for me to share my work and receive feedback. Through teamwork, the challenges I faced were solved in a way that was a learning experience.
As for my internship project, I did in-depth research on student e-portfolios in various departments. It included understanding how students utilize the e-portfolio and finding what templates and themes they use the most. How they prefer to structure their sites along with figuring out what students will benefit from. Following this process led me to the next process of the project, which was to redesign a template through WordPress that provides functionality and user-friendliness. The template was aimed at new users of OpenLab. Additionally, I lay out instructional text within the template so when new users use it they can easily figure out what each section of the template is for. Furthermore, I created a template tutorial for the new template for users to follow if they are stuck. Each of these elements was essential in shaping my learning experience, allowing me to cultivate a wide range of skills and acquire invaluable knowledge in the field I am most excited about. OpenLab was an experience from start to finish.
