Friday, February 28, 2014

Seventh Week

This week I assumed the role of training assistant for the Center for Conflict Resolution while the current training assistant was on vacation. During this time I acted as the central nervous system of sorts for the Center for Conflict Resolution, greeting mediation trainees, mediators, and parties arriving for mediation while also consolidating rsvp's from sponsors and guests for the Center's 35th Anniversary Gala. During this time I have further honed my ability to multi-task working on several different projects at once while also doing my best to support the rest of the staff with their duties and daily tasks. While in this new position for the Center for Conflict Resolution, I have achieved a more substantial understanding of the organizational scheme for the Center as a whole as acting as the central hub of the center. Furthermore I have become extremely interested in mediation after speaking with several mediators conducting a training exercise after seeing the varying careers and backgrounds of individuals and also speaking with them regarding the career paths available to one with a mediation background. One of the most fascinating is an individual that used his experience in mediation to get into contracting work in which he offered mediation services between Afghans and the US Military in Afghanistan. In discovering this my decision to establish the foundation of my mediation skills and training with small scale domestic conflict resolution has been assured and will undoubtedly create a strong base before for me to build upon in the future. 

Friday, February 21, 2014

Sixth Week

This week was my first week without direct supervision. My direct supervisor had a week long vacation planned prior to my hiring as an intern. So while he was enjoying a tropical beach I was braving the blistering winds and continuing my work. With that in mind, I spent the early portion of the week preparing thank you letters for donors to our 35th annual gala's silent auction as well as updating all the documentation in order to maintain accountability of said gifts and confirm the gracious responses were issued to the parties concerned. For the remainder of the week I continued my quest for organizational supremacy in which I began screening the Center's training simulation videos published on YouTube in order to provide applicable titles and descriptive statements so as to further provide casual viewers, mediators and trainers the proper context for each simulation. Hopefully my supervisor is impressed with my initiative in his absence and the continued progress on the organization and consolidation of the Center's volunteer database as well as their gala records from the last ten years. Until next week...

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Fifth Week

In the last week my work has focused upon the administrative requirements of planning a gala like the 35th annual gala the Center for Conflict Resolution is throwing on the 13th of March. During this time I have been focused upon the etiquette and procedure involved with thanking sponsors for gifts for our silent auction as well as creating and preparing formal invitations for more than 100 guests. In doing this surprising amount of clerical work in support of the gala I have learned a number of things. The first being the wide and elaborate world of etiquette especially that focused upon formal invitations to an event. Shockingly there is an order in which invitations, brochures, leaflets and return envelopes are to be placed within an envelope.  Second I have been enlightened to the staggering amount of accountability surrounding each and every gift for the silent auction from its arrival to its cataloging to its valuation and then storage before the event. Over the coming weeks the preparations for the gala are expected to heighten even more as the day looms closer, I look forward to each new challenge that presents itself in the coming weeks. 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Third/ Fourth Week

After the absurdly cold arctic temperatures shortened my work week last week, I decided to consolidate last week with this week. Though the icy grip of winter has not let up at all work must continue in preparation for the 35th Annual Gala. Over the last week and a half I began to tackle the Center's digitization project in which I am transferring a host of VHS tapes and DVDs containing training videos and aids used for mediation training into digital format and published via YouTube. In doing this the Center for Conflict Resolution will be able to not only consolidate the bulk of its training videos but also provide universal access to the material to all of its mediators regardless of time or place. Additionally I have put my archival experience into practice as I have been reorganizing the filing system for each of CCR's volunteer mediators past and present. This smaller project is more or less merely a re-consolidation and a reassessment of the organizational schematic used by the Center for Conflict Resolution and will in theory make the organization of volunteer mediators  and their personal information more efficiently stored as well as accessible. In the coming weeks, I hope to continue my digitization process while at the same time creating detailed synopses of the training aids already posted on YouTube.