Journal #2

During my first few weeks with the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department, I have learned so much! One of the biggest things I’ve seen is how people in the office, and people in the Public Relations field in general, constantly roll with the punches and are very flexible at all times. Events have not gone to plan a few times and Jennifer and Brian have been able to adjust and continue accomplishing the task at hand. For example, Brian and I went to an assisted living community to talk about fire safety when using medical oxygen. It turned out that the facility forgot that we were coming, and their staff and residents weren’t prepared to attend the meeting. People constantly strolled into the meeting room, and Brian had to keep repeating himself so everyone could hear the safety tips. However, that did not deter him, and he kept a positive demeanor throughout the event. Keeping your composure is such an important part of working anywhere, but I definitely saw it firsthand here. I have also become more familiar with programs such as Excel and Publisher since I started working, and I’ve been able to complete a few spreadsheets and brochures using them.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced since beginning my internship is taking the initiative to learn things on my own. Before this internship, I was not very familiar with Excel and I had no idea what Publisher was, so being asked to use these programs during my first week was challenging. Instead of having Jennifer walk me through every step of the process, I tried to take it upon myself to navigate the programs. It may have taken a little longer to teach myself how to use them, but I felt more accomplished after I had done it knowing that I worked hard and succeeded at my task. Another challenge I’ve had while working is trying to keep myself busy and find something productive to do when I’m not given a task. There are some times during the day that are slower than others, and it has been a bit difficult to find things to do since there haven’t been any fires while I’m in the office, but I’ve tried to come up with ideas for more marketing materials or anything else that could be useful.

I think that all of these experiences can help me when I think about looking at future career options. Being able to persevere and keep going no matter what comes my way will be very useful in a communications field, and continuing to learn about new technology will be a huge part in my work experiences in the future. As I continue working, I hope to be more creative with tasks to help me stay busy.