It's just an [intern] phase!

Throughout the semester with ASUU I journeyed through the many internship phases....

The Anticipation Stage

I was the first Grad Intern hosted by the Associated Students of the University of Utah so I had no idea what to anticipate! My open and communication dense relationship with my site supervisor guided me quickly, and with little anxiety, passed this phase.

The Disillusionment Stage

The stages of an internship are not lateral; this I know because of the disillusionment stage. There were a number of instances throughout my internship that I was disillusioned from the second week to the final month. Each of these 'wait, what?' moments presented an opportunity for me to reflect on my learning and realign my expectations with reality.

The Confrontation Stage

Overcoming the Confrontation Stage was made easy by the chapter's 8 steps to change. When I came across challenges i often utilized these steps: naming the problem, expanding my thinking, identifying strategies, among others.

The Competency Stage
I spent a lot of time in the Competency Stage. Because of my experience with student government, and reflective nature, once I got a feeling for ASUU I felt completely competent spending time in the office, being a part of meetings and helping with programs.

The Culmination Stage
The internship ending is 3 parts bitter and 1 part sweet. I really enjoy the people I've gotten to know in ASUU, the work done by student leaders in student government gives me energy and it's been empowering, being successful somewhere other than Westminster. I am, however, glad that these additional hours won't get in the way of the integrative paper I just began writing.