Professional Skills pt.2

Over the past few years, I have had four internships with each one teaching me even more than the last. It has given me a set of professional skills that has made all the difference in being able to apply and obtain new opportunities. The skills themselves I have learned since high school, participating in internships gave me the opportunity to practice and refine them.

Speaking to the public:

One of those skills is Speaking to the public, I work for the Intercultural Resource Center at George Fox University. Through this internship, I have learned how to better communicate to a large crowd of people, effectively getting my point across and the public being responsive in a positive manner. It has been of great benefit to me being able to practice this skill, each internship I’ve had has required me to present to a big group of people regarding my work.

Relating to the public:

What helps that skill is another that I have which is Relating to the public. One of my positions was outreach, it entailed being hyper-aware of communities and being able to read people. It is helpful to have knowledge on these topics as it helps me relate to those around me. What adds to this skill is the intersectionality of my own identity. I am a person of color who grew up in the city of Portland, my past internships had me working in Portland. I was equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to relate to the public of where I worked. This is best shown with my work with constituents, as part of my outreach work I would go into Portland to speak with community members regarding different issues.

Knowledge of community/government affairs

Two skills that go hand in hand for me are: Knowledge of community/government affairs and Writing reports. Over the summer I worked for Multnomah County in Portland, I worked on matters regarding public policy and informing the public on those matters. My job was to go to meetings with government entities and take notes of what happened in order to report back to constituents. In the end, I had to write reports for my supervisors and other people who needed to be informed. My knowledge of these systems became invaluable in helping others with matters, I am well informed on who to talk to or where to go when I need information or resources to better serve the community.