Week 13: Task Wrap Up

This week has been mainly dedicated to wrapping up any last-minute tasks for the semester. I split my time by attempting to chip away at more of the DeBary spreadsheet, as there was too much to complete within one semester, and many cells had to start from scratch. I truly wish there was more time in the day to accomplish a few more cells, but some categories require more time to gather content than others. Undoubtedly, one of the most time-consuming aspects of this process was revisiting the previous work in its entirety and double-checking that the information was accurate in the first place. As an example of why this was an essential step in the editing process, I had a few instances where the spreadsheet changed years if it was not formatted correctly the first time, automatically inputting 1905, when that would not have been the case. Another category that prompted me to change my pace from the original Apopka spreadsheet was GeoChrons, ensuring that the correct locations were identified and that all relevant information was included in the coverage to facilitate smooth translation. While those aspects slowed me down a little, I tried to keep moving forward with the process regardless.

spreadsheet titles, subjects, and keywords

Another part of my week was organizing the presentation for the internship showcase. With the other tasks and coursework, it still requires some work, and that will be the primary focus of next week. I am not as nervous this time about presenting, as the setup will be somewhat familiar; however, I am incredibly anxious about answering questions. During the summer, my team lead did an outstanding job answering the difficult questions we were asked. I had only sat there and wished I could’ve chimed in with a good answer, but they were not specific to the tasks we had completed, and I was caught a little off guard. I have been trying to anticipate any questions that could go beyond the direct tasks and consider their importance in the larger scheme of things.

Numbering System for Final Evaluation

This past week, I also completed the final evaluation for my intern. That was one of the most challenging tasks I faced this semester, but a takeaway I learned from this leadership role is to gain more confidence in sharing constructive feedback. Every so often, through emails or messages, I provided points of feedback, so it’s not really that I’m incapable of giving constructive feedback; however, I didn't want to appear harsh with the numbering system on the form. While filling out the evaluation, I asked for advice on how to write up feedback. I learned not to use certain words or phrases, but to structure my comments in a way that points out some of the criticism while framing it as points of improvement and sandwiching it with parts where they had done well. This was an interesting place to start my leadership role; I’m more than grateful to have had the chance to expand my skills, especially in areas such as building patience, team building, and communication, as these will stay in my back pocket and be very useful in future roles.