Internship Journal

Internship Seminar Section I

Nicolas Vener
10/4 -12/2/2015

Journal I
10/4/15

Goals

One of my ambitions for my fall internship is to become comfortable within the working
environment of my internship. I would also like to become confident with international
journalism and reporting while working at Transitions Online. Some other goals for my
internship include learning about the various roles in working at a popular online news
publication. I choose Transitions Online because it was a media publication unlike ones I have
seen before and I also found the content on their website interesting and complex.
As an Editorial Intern, some of the tasks that I will be working on include searching for relevant
news articles to highlight on their website. Other responsibilities include increasing followers on
social media and providing background research on editorial articles.
The culture of my internship is different from previous experiences I have had in the past.
Transitions Online is a small nonprofit organization that does not have a large office. In order to
be successful at my internship, I will need to be diligent with multitasking responsibilities and
ensuring each task is completed. Managements biggest concern is that work is done quickly and
accordingly. I feel that as long as I maintain a strong work ethic and stay organized; all work will
be finished successfully.
Some cultural differences that I noticed while working at Transitions Online relate to the office
environment. The office is much smaller than my past internship and coworkers interact much
less frequently than what I am used to. The mentality is much more focused on finishing work
rather than discussing strategies or plans. Overall I feel that I will need to adjust to the office
culture more than I anticipated. I think that adapting will help make my working experience
more broad and diversified.

Internship Journal II
10/8/15
Body Language
I notice gestures and non-verbal cues that they employees use while working at my internship.
One common non-verbal sign that almost everyone at Transitions Online has in common is
solitude body language. They mostly remain at their desks and do not speak to one another very
often. I would assume this may imply that they do not wish to be disrupted so they can finish
their work as fast and accurately as possible. The one exception to this would be my mentor. He
seems to be the only employee that makes an effort to communicate and interact with other
employees.
At my internship in the United States, I noticed that the body language in the office was much
different. People were much more open with the work environment and eager to communicate. I
feel the subject matter also plays a role in how people use body language. At my internship over
the past summer, most of the content was company related. At Transitions Online, the content is
very news-oriented which makes the work environment different. The news, especially in
surrounding countries, is much more serious than the mentality of the work I had at my other
internship. This may be why the body language is different.
I think that in order to fit into the work environment at Transitions Online I could adapt to the
body language that the other employees use. Instead of talking and interacting the way I did over
the summer, I could be quieter and have a more engrossed approach to my tasks. I feel that when
I first began my internship, the other employees in the office could easily tell that I am American

and have never worked at a publication in the Czech Republic. Although I felt a bit out of place,
I think that once I adapt to the work environment I will be able to fit in more comfortably.

Internship Journal III

10/26/15
Guest Speaker: Rob Cameron
On Monday, October 12, Rob Cameron spoke to our class about his career. Rob Cameron is the
BBC correspondent for the Czech Republic covering politics, human interest stories, arts and
other issues. As a foreign correspondent, Rob's stories are shown on camera and broadcasted on
the radio.
Apart from working as a foreign correspondent for BBC, Rob also does freelance writing for
other news publications. One thing that I found interesting was his work schedule. BBC would
ask him for a story at a certain time, and then Rob would not hear from BBC for weeks on end. I
found it rather surprising that BBC would only allow him to cover certain topics rather than
correspond on all topics related to the Czech Republic. In order to keep making money, Rob
writes freelance articles then pitch them to news sources. I was also surprised that he had to sell
his work to the publications. I assumed that freelance work involved the news publications
contacting him to write. He said the most valuable skill to have in journalism is the ability to sell,
because journalists constantly sell themselves and their ideas.
During the presentation, we watched a short video of a man armed with a replica pistol firing at
Czech President, Vaclav Klaus. I found this video very strange. President Klaus's bodyguards did
not protect him in any way. The act was done to make a statement. I could see a similar situation

happening in the United States. Many people with an extreme opinion will take actions to ensure
people are listening to them. The second video we watched took place at a conference for
dentists. This video was very comical. One politician hit his opponent during his speech making
for an interesting scene. It suggested that the idea of dominance may seem most respected when
persuading an audience, however punching the opponent looked more foolish than respected.
My internship is still going well. I have adjusted to the tasks that my mentor needs and feel that I
am becoming more helpful and useful for the office. So far most tasks are repetitive but I am still
learning about different aspects of the news each day.
Internship Journal IV
11/2/15
Problem Solving
At my internship with Transitions Online, I have been doing many of the same tasks for the past
couple weeks. I have become proficient with designing templates for articles on their websites
that now some days my supervisor allows us to work remotely. I have been completing other
unrelated tasks for the Communications Officer in the office which mostly relates to tweeting
articles and events for promotion. I also have been writing short advertisements to promote
upcoming courses in international corresponding that Transitions Online is offering. Most of the
tasks we have are communicated directly however sometimes they are very vague. The
Communications Officer does not work from the office in Prague therefore, we communicate
through email. There are times where we need to ask our supervisor for clarification or email her
back and ask for specifics. Based on the fact that most people in the office are very busy, it
becomes easy not to include all details on the work for interns.

So far the other interns and I have not had any major problems while at work. Whenever we need
clarification on a project our supervisor is very helpful with providing us with the necessary
information. The Communications Officer does not work in the office so interacting with her can
be rather difficult. Another indirect form of communication at the workplace relates to my
supervisor and the Communications Officer. My supervisor is an editorial assistant therefore, he
works on different content. So sometimes their communication is not always smooth. There can
be confusing threads of messages such as her emailing him, to inform us. When this happens
sometimes details can become easily confused such as which tasks should be completed first.
Besides these small problems all other communication is smooth.
My supervisor said that we have become proficient with designing templates and will start
asking us to create content for the website in terms of articles or stories.
Internship Journal V
11/16/15
Networking
My internship has not sponsored any events so far. Most of the events that they sponsor are
courses in foreign corresponding held later in the year. I have promoted each of their foreign
corresponding classes on Twitter and Facebook as well as their conferences. I have managed to
establish a new relationship with the communications officer who assigns us PR-related tasks
alongside our editorial work. She is a useful contact because her title relates more to my major
than my mentor's title. My mentor is also a useful contact based on the amount of coworkers he
interacts with although he is an editorial assistant.
My five strengths in networking would be personality, listening, attention, engagement, and
being personable. I would say my weaknesses when networking would be choosing who to

network with. My second weakness with networking would be keeping in contact with the
people I meet; and how to follow up. Sometimes when I network with a professional, I do not
know the appropriate way to maintain the relationship without appearing too eager or losing the
relationship completely. I need to strengthen my interaction with individuals after the networking
event has taken place to ensure I can maximize the capability of each person.
There are many competencies that I have gained from my internship that I will add to my
resume. One of which includes website design using the program called Campus. I have been
creating templates for the articles that journalists write so they appear correctly on the website. I
also have created infographics for articles as well as research relevant information to display on
the front page of the website. I can also add international public relations for the social media
accounts that we help manage. Under the "skills" section on my resume, I will add website
design to showcase what I have learned in designing templates for the website.
Internship Journal VI
12/2/15
Final Journal Entry
As my internship experience comes to a close, I have developed new attitudes, values and
perceptions from my time abroad. Having experienced working in at a Czech company, I have
developed an understanding of how work environments vary from different cultures. I have also
learned how values play a role in the work we accomplish. Working at Transitions Online, I
gained an appreciation for how small tasks, such as tweeting news to soundings countries; holds
an impact on the viewers and writers based on the content. I also realized that news is much
broader than relating to one country and that it can be interconnected across Europe much more
often than I expected.

After my internship in Prague, I see the United States a bit differently. I understand the culture of
the Czech Republic is different from the United States. I am more adaptive to working in
different environments now that I have experienced both. Transitions Online is a much quieter
more focused workspace which I was not used to in comparison to my internship in the United
States. I learned to work in the environment that the other people in the office worked; such as
communicating very little. At Transitions Online, I learned how to web design templates and
promote events in different countries. I tweeted news articles to countries with a variety of time
zones. Among other smaller tasks, I learned to design website templates through practice and
with the guidance of my mentor. What also was extremely helpful with learning to web design
was working with the other interns. Both other interns were learning the software as well which
made it possible to collaborate and assist each other. Learning in these ways will help to market
my skills to future employers. These skills are beneficial because they show that I am an adaptive
learner and can communicate effectively in a wide range of situations.
One goal that I will set in accordance with what I have learned during my semester in Prague
would be to keep an open mind. When I was tasked with website design, I was very skeptical
because it was nothing like I have done before. Now that I have practiced and understand the
basics, I am able to add it to my list of skills. I have also learned about myself as an individual
this semester. Before living in Prague, I was skeptical about relying on myself to live in a
country where I did not speak the language or know directions. Now I am more experienced and
I feel confident in my directional skills, adaptive skills, and working skills.