WLE Blog #10: The End

My final thoughts of my WLE are that it really did teach me a lot and helped me grow as a person. One of the many things I learned here at my WLE was that my goal of going to college is powered by my motivation to support my family and my self in the future and that I should not lose sight of that. I also learned that I have to find my passion in life and that is what I should do for a career in order to make myself happy. It helped me grow as a person because I learned to talk to other people I haven't known for very long which took me out of my comfort zone. This helped though because in the future, it will help me get settled in to a new workplace faster. In the end, I have to say that may WLE has been a wonderful experience and if I could do it again, I would. Now though, I have to look for new WLE's for next year so that I won't have to be searching like crazy next year. I don't want to be without one so I'll look hard and ask around because this experience has taught me to look for a WLE ahead of time so that I won't be behind on my hours. Another thing that this experinece has taught me is to find am interesting WLE because that will make the experience much better and more memorable. I also have to look for an internship closer to home so that I won't have any trouble with transportation like I did this year. Hopefully, next year's WLE will be an amazing experience as this one was.

WLE Blog #9: Life at my WLE

Today, I presented my WLE presentation to my mentor and my advisor. I was nervous at first but I practiced before I presented so I was okay. I then went on to work on my project so that I could finish by today, but I needed to make more changes so that it would be easier to understand. I had to make the analogy of a dinner party to financial planning with a presentation that included visuals and special effects. I also had to scan more files so that my mentor could go paperless and mark the already scanned files so that he could shred them. I think i have significantly improved as an intern. At first I was really lost when trying to do a task but then as time went on, I got better at knowing the workplace and knowing what to do before even being asked. I also do more work than when I started. I used to scan just a few files a day if I got lucky but now I do at least 15 a day to make sure I can do most of them before I leave my WLE. I also have improved because I have learned about my mentor Samson's profession and can use apply skills that he has taught me in the real world. Another reason I improved is that I am not as shy when talking to new people because my co-workers were very friendly and taught me some stuff. There are many great things about my WLE. As mentioned before, the people here are really friendly and are willing to help others. Also, I always have something to do so I'm never bored like today i had to work on my video and also play a game relating to financial planners. There really is not anything that is terrible about my workplace and I have really enjoyed my 75 hours, as of today, at my WLE.

WLE Blog #8: Professionalism

I remember the day first month of school when we were rushed to find our internships. It was terrible for I was not hired anywhere immediately and and had to stay at school that first Tuesday. I remember what it was that we had to do in order to get hired though I did all the steps right. I had to make a cover letter and resume so that I could look professional but that did not help when people from Cal State East Bay rejected me a position as an intern there. I also had to make calls to many different places and talk in professional manner but that did not help either when I didn't get an internship at a book shop and tutoring center. But wait! It doesn't end there. None of those things helped me when I tried to get an internship at a library and a school. The only actual way to get an internship is to make sure you are polite and that you go somewhere where they just need anyone for help. The most effective way to get an internship is to ask your friends and family because they will hook you up easier than you hunting by yourself with just a letter and your wits and manners. Hopefully I can find an internship where things like a cover letter and resume matter because if not those things were just for nothing. Also, once again, finding a place that does not require a lot of work or is close to home is an efficient way to find an internship because those are at least the easiest to get. A good way of getting hired is by making a good impression and sucking up, which thankfully I did not have to stoop to. You can also get hired by just getting recommend by someone else like me who asked a friend of mine and I got an internship in five minutes. Anyways, as a result of my WLE I learned that being a professional means to dress the part and do your job well in order to help others. Being a responsible adult means to do what you have to at work and life and also to do something that will make you happy without inactivity. My mentor taught me that if there isn't anything to do at work or if you aren't happy, go find something that satisfies you.

WLE Blog #7: Reflection

I have learned from my WLE that I would not mind working in business or in an office space as long as there is something to do. A challenge that I faced was to getting to work on time and I addressed that by looking for others to take me to my job. I have learned a lot of valuable lessons here like how am I going to save up in case something happens, categorizing people into different personality types and using that to my advantage, how a business works and things like that. I do not think used creativity as much as I could at my job until I brainstormed for the project. My WLE has affected me by teaching me about something that I was unaware of before and then exhibiting how to explain it to others. I now believe that it is never too late to save up for life's precautions and dangers and also that having better knowledge on a subject can open more doors that you had before. I learned how to make people return to my business, how to grab people's attention through the use of interesting topics and speech, and how to consult others when I am in need in help. I would say what I did at my WLE was important because it helped me grow as a person and taught me things that I could use later in life. It will help me to learn to make my money work for me so that my net income will be more that what I would have it if I would not save.

WLE Blog #6: Leadership Skills

The leadership skills I am using the most at my WLE are Communicating Powerfully and Completing Projects Effectively. I am using them well because I set up goals for myself each day I go to my workplace and I also have to talk with my mentor and other co-workers in order to get clarification when I am confused at the office. I also try to complete tasks at a certain time in order to finish what I need to during the day. I could improve in communicating a little more because I sometimes think that I do know what I am doing but I get confused a few minutes later. I would have to ask for more help and also learn how to finish these blogs on time even though I know they are due Friday. I would have to dedicate some time at work to do these or at least draft. These skills help me do my work more efficiently and in turn give me more time to work on other things for my WLE like my project. My mentor uses communicating powerfully the most because he has to talk with his clients in order to tell them how their portfolios are doing and just checking in to see how they are doing.

WLE Blog #5: Progress

Today at my WLE I talked to my mentor about what I should do to start my project. He told me to develop questions to ask people in order to get information on what people know about financial advisors. I then had to interview people (adults) in my community to see what they already known about what a financial advisor does by giving them a quick survey. At work I had to ask questions that were similar to the survey to get my co-workers' point of view about the business of a financial advisor. I had to synthesize all the information that I received in order to create a way that the questions will be answered to the audience. I then create a storyboard for the video in order to map out how it would go for each question.

WLE Blog #4: Project Brainstorm

For my project I am planning to do a video with my mentor about what a financial advisor does and how they can be of use to anybody. My mentor and I came up with the idea a week or two ago when I told him how people really do not know well what a financial advisor does. We then looked at some videos that caught our attention and though if we could do something like those videos. I am excited to do this project because it will be a manifestation and synthesis of everything I learned at my WLE. For the next few weeks I will start creating a draft of a storyboard that will detail the video in different time frames. Then, we will start recording voice-overs for the video and figuring out if we want anything more to be included in the project. I would want the project to be finished ideally by the 29th of November, a week before my presentation,

WLE Blog #3: My Role

My main responsibility at my internship is to help Samson with a variety of tasks such as filing papers, scanning them, and helping him with other necessary office work. These tasks are important because they are vital to his work since the files are all about his clients and is they re lost forever then it is on my head. I guess my official title would be "Intern!" as that is what I am or "Assistant!" Some other tasks that I have to do each week would be to use the lessons my mentor taught me such as people's personality categorization or how to sell a product. In the morning, Samson teaches me a  skill that he has learned that he uses in his work and tells me how I could use it in real life. I then go on to help him with filing and organizing or he lets me sit in during one of his meetings. During one of his meetings, he was discussing with a colleague about a financial plan for a doctor. In another meeting, he discussed with partner about a program that would help teens learn about how to handle finances and how the education system is flawed. Around the afternoon I head out to lunch and walk around for a bit. I come back to help Samson once again or if he is not there, I can facilitate for myself and do the work he left for me such as working on some blogs or scanning and filing more. In two hours or so, I get my time sheet signed and go home.

WLE Blog #2: My Mentor

My mentor's name is Samson Chan and he is an independent financial adviser at David White & Associates. His typical day at work is a very busy but active one and by this I mean he meets with many clients and helps them out with their financial needs. This means he may be doing a lot but it is better  than not doing anything which is what he loathes at work. He would rather be doing something or meeting some people than be stuck at his desk all day. He looks forward to doing something in his day as it is what makes his job worthwhile. He meets up with his clients to review that person's financial plan and how they can improve to get what they want. Samson also helps clients with managing their money and reviewing the process they need to go through in order to achieve the goal they set. My mentor became interested in this field of work when he was in college at UC Berkeley and wanted the freedom of being his own boss instead of going through the monotony of other jobs such as banking or accounting. He knew he needed to major in business and was determined to make his dream come true. He got his bachelor's degree and then went on to get his licenses to become a certified financial planner.

WLE Blog#1: My Workplace

My workplace is David White & Associates and it is a financial planning firm. It is an independent business in San Ramon and it is an office but the inside hub is an outside area. On average, my workplace has about 10-15 people there a day (at least when I go there). My workplace employs people that have college degree in something that is related to financial advising, economics, or business. Most of the people there do have college degrees so they are very skilled in what they do. My workplace serves anyone that needs help with their finances or want to get advice on money management. The strength of my workplace is that the people there are friendly and they are easy to communicate with but the only weakness is transportation to get there.