At Clarkstech, I am a remote intern, this means that I do not have to dress in a professional way most of the time. When meetings are conducted our cameras are not necessary, and It is completely up to the individual if they want to show their face. I often choose to not show my face since I am often insecure about the professionals of my background, as I cannot use the zoom backgrounds since my computer does not have the necessary software to use it without a green screen.
In my small apartment, I do not have a designated office space or desk. But once I was interviewing and procured my internship, I quickly realized that the amount of work I was doing was not comfortable to do at my kitchen table, my lounge chair, my couch, or my bed. I quickly got a table for free from my parents and a kitchen chair to use as my desk, along with a secondary table that is a rolling magazine rack that I use to house all my currently relevant sketchbooks and notebooks. I find that the table can fit my laptop and even big sketchbooks. This is really great for my workflow, which often shifts around between a notebook and the computer.
My apartment walls are cluttered with photos, drawings, paintings, posters, mirrors, shelves, and many other miscellaneous knick-knacks. For interviews, I would sit on my lounge chair in my living room because the background is the clearest and looks symmetrical and brighter than other spots. Especially when compared to the background in my kitchen, as well as the glare from the sun making my face look pure white. Ideally, zoom backgrounds would take care of that, but since this was not possible for me I soon found myself with a dilemma. I considered many areas of my home for my background but decided that my black flatscreen TV was the cleanest looking, thus the most professional. The large TV also blocked the sun so my face’s detail are not lost. I almost NEVER use this TV when I am home alone, which is most of the time.
I considered draping a blank cloth or bed sheet over it to give myself a different background to provide more contrast for my dark hair.
I find myself more comfortable sitting for long periods of time like this as well as more productive. This is the best I could do on short notice and for free. When necessary I also have a small desk-standing ring light that I use to light my face since the lighting in my apartment differs in color and intensity (as you can see from the selfie above). Now I feel ready to take meetings whenever needed.
Often as I work my cat is my companion and sleeps in his bed on the floor near my workstation or on the couch right next to me, giving me moral support and reprieve from the stress of the workday by gracing me with his beauty and fluff. 
He isn’t a lap cat so he does not bother me often for attention. He mostly just tolerates my pets, but he loves scratches under his chin and jowls. When he is relaxing or sleeping, often I will put my face in his fluffy tummy and stay there to help me feel better whenever I feel tired, stressed, overworked, or overwhelmed. I can’t say an office would have emotional support cats, but honestly, if they did, I could DEFINITELY be on board for that. This act helps me focus more than one might assume. He also makes me feel better so I can get my work done when I am not in the best of spirits.
After all this setup, it was easier to get started on work. Since everything was now in one place, I did not have to move anything around as I did before, or at the very least, not as often. I create better work and as a result and feel more confident in it.
I can’t say I know the culture of the workplace mostly because, in the meetings, I am usually only speaking to my internship supervisor. As of right now, I have not met the other designers on the team and I find this to be to my detriment. One thing I find hard to deal with is how I am given assignments. My supervisor tells me everything we are working on but is not very clear about the time frame, even when I ask for clarity. He tells me what is the top priority and what isn’t, which helps, but still is not enough for me to feel confident in the work I’m doing. This makes me feel I man not getting enough work done because I don’t know what date it needs to be done by.
I am part of a slack group but the only person I can communicate with is my supervisor, I am in talks with him to extend my communications with his team. This is something I am trying to deal with in a professional manner as to not sound like I am being insubordinate when I question my supervisor and grill him for more details with an assignment. This kind of miscommunication I find difficult to manage but I have no other way to deal with it other than organizing myself better when meeting with and texting him about critical assignments.
My supervisor is more available on the weekends, that is when we touch base as well as work throughout the day. The amount of work I am given might be too much for a part-time intern, or at least in this kind of work environment. I do not have enough time in the day to do the amount of work he is asking of me, and I have been working long hours on my workdays due to this. I found that when I thought I had clarity, I somehow misunderstood. Another time it should have been apparent to my supervisor that I was not focusing on the assignment they asked of me, due to this miscommunication, and he did not correct me. I found this very distressing and disheartening. I am still figuring this out with him and I find that have to make up for this to some degree because I am unsure if my discussions and suggestions will be considered. It is a challenge and in the future, I would prefer to be in person or at least in a more collaborative and communicative work environment. I do not think this is a reflection of Clarkstech itself, I hope the situation will improve and I will no longer feel this way as I get used to working remotely.
