Overcoming Obstacles

One of the big parts of my internship is organizing Heroes Hurrah, the finish line celebration for the Wish-A-Mile Bike Tour at the end of July. This is one of Make-A-Wish Michigan's largest annual fundraisers so it is very important. One of my recent tasks was to contact various massage therapists to see if they would be willing to donate services at the finish line for the bikers as they come in. After riding 300 miles in 3 days, they will be very sore! This was the first time my supervisor gave me the responsibility of contacting outside organizations directly, so I was a little nervous. I was also afraid that most massage therapists wouldn't be willing to drive all the way out to Michigan International Speedway on a Sunday to donate services without even getting paid. I thought for sure I would stumble over my words on the phone and my supervisor would think I was completely incompetent. After calling the first few therapists on the list and getting turned down, I was discouraged. But I finally got in contact with a place that was willing to send out 10 therapists on the day of Heroes Hurrah! I was pleasantly surprised with how I handled the task and my supervisor said I sounded very professional on the phone. If I had to do the task again, I would probably start with calling places that are closest to the event space because they will probably be a lot more willing to come out than massage therapists that are located over an hour away.

Another challenge I have had is my supervisor either having way too much for me to do, or nothing at all. Some days she gets so wrapped up in projects that she is working on that she doesn't give me any instruction. On these days, I try to emphasize to her that I am more than happy to help her with whatever she is working on, but she seems hesitant like she would rather just do it herself. Other days, she keeps putting things on my desk and asking me to start different projects before I have finished something she asked me to do before. This leaves me feeling a little overwhelmed, but I am usually able to complete it all before the day ends and it is getting easier and I recognize that it is just the nature of the job.

When asked what I am doing well with and what I can improve on, my supervisor said that I have been working very hard and that I am a team player for doing jobs for other people in the office besides just her. However, she said I should communicate to her more what kind of projects I would like to work on and to let her know when I am feeling over or underwhelmed. Better communication is something I am going to work on for the remainder of my internship!