Though there are many positive comments I can make about my experience this summer at Indium Corporation as the Marketing Communications intern, what truly set these ten weeks apart for me was the opportunity to be involved and create an impact beyond my job responsibilities. The culture at Indium Corporation promotes meaningful engagement with the local community, and this is by no means taken lightly. During the internship, in addition to working on projects and connecting with fellow peers and other Indium employees, we as interns were encouraged to attend a volunteer event at Proctor Park, a local park in Utica, N.Y. Being new to the area, I was particularly looking forward to this event as a unique opportunity to explore the local community.
工作之外的成长机会
志愿者清扫活动对我来说并不陌生：在我目前攻读广告和公共关系学位的联合国大学教堂山分校，我所在的联谊会 Alpha Kappa Delta Phi 每学期都会组织一次志愿者活动，清扫校园附近的高速公路。不过，让我感到新奇的是，我有机会在实习项目中体验这项活动。在我以前的大多数实习经历中，除了本职工作之外，我几乎不需要参与其他活动，因此发现令我兴奋的新事物的机会非常有限。
This volunteer event was one of many activities we participated in as part of our weekly lunch and learns. Lunch and learns are special lunch breaks scheduled every Wednesday throughout the course of the ten week internship program for interns to connect with each other while learning from folks across many different departments at Indium Corporation. The agenda for each lunch and learn varies—for example, during the first week, we had an internal networking event with the interns from previous years and heard about why so many of them chose to return to Indium Corporation full-time after the conclusion of their internships. In other lunch and learns, we were given opportunities to gain key insights and knowledge about the company and the industries we serve, as well as the chance to work toward professional development by practicing essential soft skills, such as personal branding and public speaking/presentation.
在普罗克特公园做志愿者
志愿者活动发生在我们实习的第二周。在实际清理活动之前，我们聚集在一起，听取了大尤蒂卡地区奥姆斯特德城公司总裁菲利普-比恩（Philip Bean）关于公园和正在进行的翻新工作的介绍。随后，我们会见了公园的志愿者埃里克-希恩（Erik Sheehan）。他们向我们展示了如何将表土装入车轮桶，然后用来覆盖树木周围的杂草、捡拾公园周围的垃圾，甚至种植一棵新树。起初看起来工作量很大，但随着我们一起工作和聊天，很快就进入了状态。我首先和技术销售部的实习生 Thuy 一起承担了捡垃圾的任务，我们在公园里散步和探险，玩得非常开心。回到大队后，我们帮助其他实习生将地膜装入轮桶，并覆盖杂草。
整个活动充满了欢声笑语。气氛非常轻松愉快。老实说，我发现通过这次活动与其他实习生建立联系要比在通常的正式场合容易得多。即使在结束工作时，我们中的许多人还没有准备好离开。听到我们所做的工作为在那里工作的人们节省了大量时间，以及翻新后的公园将如何成为当地许多社区居民的娱乐和休闲场所，这让我们受益匪浅。他们还为我们提供了许多零食，让我们带回去工作，这绝对是一个惊喜！
我的反思
我觉得清理和翻新活动特别有意义，因为我从当地社区及其基础设施中获益良多（尤其是因为我暑假住在纽约州立大学理工学院的一个宿舍里），但却无法以实际方式回馈。因为我不是本地人，所以这是一个很好的机会，可以在一定程度上做出贡献。
Through this volunteer event, I became convinced that Indium Corporation not only talks the talk about making impacts on the surrounding community, but also walks the walk. As an intern, it was exciting to be a part of this process and explore how I can personally contribute to the company’s community involvement. I have also enjoyed taking part in different activities as part of this internship program instead of only sticking to what I am expected to do as the Marketing Communications Intern, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the program has to offer!
