Week Four

The final week of internship began with mixed feelings, I was excited to be with the people I was working with, but I was sad it was my last week. I did have things to look forward to, Carole planned a lunchtime photography lesson and I planned lunch with the lab at the Chinese restaurant for Wednesday. This week seemed so easy compared to the others. I can finally work fluidly on my own, so it lets me have conversations while still completing all my work. I feel like I have known my co-workers for so long, and in a way I have known them for a very long time. On Wednesday, Jim assigned me to specialize in Neuroptera, an order consisting of snake flies, lacewings and antlions. I had to separate vials of neuroptera into their specific types and I had to record the data. Then at lunch Pamela, Peter, Jenna, Kris and I went to eat at the restaurant. It was fun to eat good food and have conversations with everyone. On my last day I realized it wouldn't be my last day. The people I was working with are great friends, and the department could really use my help. I met a guy named Anthony, it turns out he's a singer for a local band. He gave me a CD of his album and I really like it. I'm trying to help him expand his music into the Chula Vista area. Before I left, I finished my task of sorting the neuroptera and Jim was very happy to have an order completed. I'm going to return to work the 24th, my internships days wont be over for a while.

Week Three

Week three of internship was my week of finally understanding what it was to work in the entomology department. I understood what I had to do, and I was capable of performing it well. The week began with a small change, our tools were now in a very organized tool box. This confused many volunteers who had been at the lab for so long. This week I realized that I could manage my time myself, and I was actually using it effectively.I scheduled my interview with Jim Berrian. It was a very insightful (and very funny) conversation, and I'm glad I had the chance to do it. Ayako, a volunteer in the lab, is working on an order and creating a guide for others to be able to work on it as well. The guide is amazing, she has detailed drawing she drew and pictures she took as well. After seeing this I realized how much volunteers make a difference here at the museum. I wish there was a way that I could get more students to be involved in helping the lab finish the Navy contract. I also learned how knowing someone in the workplace makes so much of a difference. Lunch was completely different when I was with the other HTHCV interns from when I was alone. On one occasion I thought no one would show up, but Quincy came and invited me to eat with his family. Working in the lab helped me work on my people skills. I was able to make friends quickly and able to gain information on topics I knew the volunteers were aware of. The college volunteers help so much, giving me advice about choosing majors and on how to get jobs. There is still so much more I have to learn.

Week Two

The second week of internship began better then most weeks ever do. When I walked into the lab on Monday, Carole was there with something on the counter. She told me to go over and look at what she had. There were two camera bags and a plastic bag. Altogether they contained two 35mm SLR cameras, 3 lenses, a macro converter, two flash systems, film, batteries and a photography book. I was completely and utterly at a loss for words. I couldn't thank her I how I wished I could, but I tried. When Ms. Morris came for the site visit, she was overwhelmed to hear that Carole wanted to donate her cameras to the school.Monday gave me so much motivation I was working faster then normal the next few days. Breezing through many vials of sorting. Jim taught me the basics of how to use my cameras. Jenna and Kris helped me look for jobs on craigslist. My parents came in this week to see what I was working on. I gave them a tour of collections, the lab and an exhibit. Jim spoke to them about the projects. It felt great to arrive to work and take pictures in Balboa Park before going in. Carole gave me even more on Thursday and gave me the donations for the school. The week began and ended in the same way, amazingly.

Internship Week One

On Monday, May 17th I began my internship in the entomology department of the San Diego Natural History Museum. I arrived at the museum at 9:30 AM to meet my mentor, Jim Berrian. He spoke to me about what I would be doing, then gave me a tour of the different departments of the museum. We went through collections, which was amazing because there are so many insects I have never seen before. We also went to herpetology, which is also called "the dungeon", all the way down the museum stairs. There they have jars and jars of specimens they are preserving. When we returned to the labs I met the other volunteers. Jim showed me how I was to perform my task of separating insects from miscellaneous, into their specific order. This is what I did the rest of Monday and Tuesday until another applicant entered the lab. A student wanted to learn what he would be able to do during the summer, but Jim was busy. That left me in charge of showing the student the project. This was fun and easy to do because I had just gotten the same thing the day before. I taught him how to perform my task and I even let him try it out. After he knew what to do, I showed him some collections the other volunteers were working on. One of the collections was of beetles that are shiny. It's amazing because there are so many colors and the atlas beetle is something you really wouldn't want to mess with. The third day of work was more of sorting the insects, but I am finally getting used to it. Things were beginning to move more smoothly, and I'm building stronger relationships with the other volunteers and employees. Lunch was fun because I met up with several other HTHCV students. My fourth day on the job, I got a taste of something else. The entomology department was getting prepared for Bio Blitz, an annual mass collection in the San Diego area. Since entomology would be collection many specimens, they needed many vials to store them in. That's where I came in. I prepared 461 vials by filling trays with the vials, filling the vials with alcohol, placing a label in each vial (which I had someone help me with), and capping them all. The task took roughly two hours to complete, it felt so good to have it all done. After this task I got back to my work from the previous three days. I'm gaining so much work experience and knowledge from the volunteers, employees and the exhibits. Just have to wait for next week.