On Day 2 of my work experience at Linton Architects, I was able to go to two different locations and help Mr. Linton and other architects at the firm with local projects. In the morning, we drove all the way to Chapel Hill and visited the construction site for an upcoming house Mr. Linton is working on. We spent an hour going over the construction plan and layout changes for the large house. After lunch, everyone in the firm visited a new project site, a daycare center in Durham. Before designing and renovating is done to a building, a survey is taken place. A survey is basically when you take/find all the information on that specific building. We had to get the measurements of every corner of the building and take pictures of every single detail inside and out. I was able to help draw the rooms of the building and write down the the building measurements. It was very strenuous especially with little kids around. After, we went back to the office and I was able to sit in a meeting with a current client. From this meeting, I learned about the rules and regulations that go into reconstructing a home on historic land.
Category: Z WEP Archives
Day 2- Sales
Today, Thuc and I learned all about sales. We learned how SAS goes through their process with selling to different companies, and strategies that go along with it. My favorite part about the day was the tour of the campus, for Thuc and I got to hold a meteorite, one part of the many that Dr. Goodnight has. Our host Kristen was only 23 and was already doing very well in SAS, so we got a young perspective on SAS, and how great the company is for their employees. Today was very informing and there was not one boring part! Cannot wait for tomorrow!
Day Two Hullabaloo!
Wow. What a day! Most of today was devoted to diving headfirst into all that Chapel Hill had to offer. I spent a combined 5 hours between the law library and main campus library with a quick stop for Chinese food on Franklin Street in between. I have learned more about insanity, criminal defense, and its ties to mental illness in one day than probably anyone ever. Today, the most fascinating connection I made was in regards to the 1996 movie Primal Fear which I screened last night. SPOILER ALERT: Primal Fear is about a young alter boy accused of murder who faked multiple personality disorder to get cleared of a crime through insanity. Today, while researching statistics and reviews, I discovered an eerily similar case in 2000 where a woman killed her husband and claimed to have the same “amnesia” that the main character in Primal Fear had. She got committed to a mental institution and revealed multiple different personalities to the doctors there. Eventually, it leaks from her cellmate that she had been faking these personalities to remove guilt from her crime. These connections were fascinating to observe and I am sure there are many more to come! I can’t wait to see what Day 3 has in store.
Day 2: Cupcakes and Questions
Teacher: *picks up clump of hair from the floor* “do you have scissors in your pocket?”
Kid 1: “No!”
T: “Are you cutting your hair at home?”
1: “I’m not cutting it!”
T: “Then why does it keep falling out?”
Kid 2: “Maybe it’s tired!”
This morning’s craziness began in Mrs. Bacchus’ classroom as Mrs. Cohen had another regular volunteer come in. Students hadn’t even arrived yet, and I already felt overwhelmed by the immensity of the tasks of the day. The tasks included the usual aiding of tasks, soothing their scared souls when they see a beetle (although, to be fair, I was and still am terrified of bugs too), and making copies of papers on the machine (which I fixed yesterday when it jammed), but I faced two new challenges today: birthdays and story-time.
Many teachers, particularly those who work with young students, will agree that birthdays, while fun, are stressful because when there’s a birthday, you’re sure to find kids hyped up on sugar-filled, brightly-colored, annoyingly massive cupcakes. One student was one bite into his chocolate cupcake when he suddenly remembered that he hates chocolate. Another knocked his cupcake to the floor and cried when it came back lacking in icing while the hot pink glob sat staining the tile floor. Another was prepared to wipe her sticky, blue fingers all down her white shirt had I not stepped in. Many of them got more cupcake on their faces and fingers than in their mouths. To every teacher that had to deal with me bringing in cupcakes, I am so sorry.
Story-time taught me one of the most valuable teaching lessons: don’t ask kids rhetorical questions. I learned this while reading Officer Buckle and Gloria to them. As it was the end of the day, many of the kids sat fidgeting and began making a scene. Silly me mistakenly asked them, “do you want me to keep reading or no?” While many of the kids responded with an enthusiastic “YES!”, one of the students bluntly said “no.” Mrs. Cohen was less impressed, but I sat there laughing my butt off before continuing the story.
Overall, today was just as exhausting and exciting as yesterday, and I am still thrilled to be returning tomorrow. They haven’t scared me off… yet.
Note about photos: since I am working with children, there is an issue regarding parental consent; therefore, the photos I am able to publish will most likely not include any of the students to avoid any liability issues. This also means some of my posts may not include photos if it’s not possible to get any without the kids.
SAS Work Experience Day 2 – Web Development
To start off Day 2, I went to building U where I was greeted by Gray Heffner. Gray Heffner is the manager of the web design for SAS, and she told me all about the different branches of the marketing department and how the different divisions all come together. For example, she told me about how when creating a page you have to take into account the coding behind it, the template, the design, the writing/copy, and user interaction. She really opened my eyes to how many different job possibilities there are in the marketing industry, and I was also able to see all of these different jobs interacting in a meeting that morning. During the meeting Gray Heffner set up, the whole design team met in a conference room, and told me about their individual jobs and backgrounds. It was really interesting to hear how people’s career paths changed along the way, and how many different experiences each person had. The staff also kindly answered all of my questions, and gave me lots of beneficial advice for both my academic and career future!
Day 2 at ILS
Today we begun a series of stability tests. These tests are conducted to see if the pH of the samples affects the stability and consistency of the results. This will benefit ILS because less reruns will have to be completed if a pattern is found in the results that could change how they test their samples. This could simplify the process that they follow and make it more consistent if an answer is found in the data. This series of tests consists of one at normal pH, one at pH 3 and one at pH 9. Today we ran the test for normal pH and found the correct ratio of sample to NH4OH stock solution to make the pH 9 solution that will be tested tomorrow. After the standard samples were run through the LCMS, the data was reviewed and some of the bell curves of the retention times were re-integrated to make the data more precise. I’m excited to see if the results of this series will help ILS with their operations!
Day 2
Day 2Today was my second day at SAS as a part of the Cary Academy Work Experience Program, and I ventured into the world of Human Resources in Building Q. I started to day chatting to Bethany LeClair, the Associate University Recruiting Specialist for SAS, and she was able to explain to me the different departments within HR and their functions. After that, I met with Laura Allen, a HR Business Partner, and many of her associates – all of whom had many interesting and wacky stories from their time in HR. One of the funniest stories they shared was of a groundskeeper who asked if he could wear a kilt whilst he worked. HR agreed that he could wear one if he wanted; however, soon the department was inundated with complaints of a groundskeeper who had been inadvertently exposing himself. Indeed, it was the man who had requested to wear a kilt. Soon after, HR informed the worker that indeed, he was required to wear underpants with his kilt. If there’s anything I take away from my visit to HR, it’s that there’s never a dull moment!
SAS Work Experience Day 1 – IT Department
Today was my first day at SAS and I had a really great time shadowing multiple SAS managers and executives. When I arrived at the work site, I was greeted by Susan Tweed, who is the manager of applications and integrations. She spent the morning telling me about technology and her background, and gave me a general overview of the department and its different divisions. After meeting with her, I spent the rest of the morning shadowing Jason Reece and sitting in on different meetings. I was able to get an inside perspective on how meetings run and what it is like to collaborate on such a large scale. After lunch, I visited another building, building R, and was able to meet with three different IT employees, Johnathan Hairr (executive support), Jon Smith (client technology services), and Brian Wilson (IT security and compliance). Visiting with each was person was very interesting and insightful, but I particularly enjoyed shadowing with Johnathan Hairr because I was able to go up into the building with the offices of the executives and see Dr. Goodnight’s office! I was able to see both his conference room and his extremely impressive, extensive rock collection (pictured below). Overall, it was a great day and I already feel like I learned a lot from this experience. 
French West Vaughan Day 2 !!
Today was super busy at the office – we were in meetings all morning. It was really interesting to see such a strong group dynamic as people worked through different topics. We learned that one of the employees had a grilling accident that burnt off his eyebrows, but he also has contacts at Rolling Stone and Esquire. While learning more about the people at FWV, we also learned more about the agency, in that it does more than just PR work – it also produces logos and graphics, videos, and snapchat filters. At the end of the day, we were given a little time to brainstorm our own ideas for a campaign to celebrate Wilmington, NC’s facebook page reaching 100k likes, which we will hopefully continue to work on tomorrow!
Day 1- Communication!
Today marked the advent of my experience at SAS. I was assigned to the internal and external departments of corporate communications. I started the day in internal communications. There I discussed with a team member the ins and outs of SAS as an organization. She explained to me the typical things that she does on a daily basis, and how imperative it is that companies such as SAS have good intra-organizational communication to ensure all of the employees understand the vision behind all of the purposeful actions taken. We then attended a department meeting. In the meeting, I watched as the employees discussed how they could make their direct communication with the rest of the organization’s employees more accessible, and how they could improve their reception to the rest of the organizations’ thoughts and concerns. It was very interesting to hear and begin to understand how the organization works in this fashion. After the meeting, I moved to another building and ate an excellent lunch.
Following lunch, I was taken to the top floor of one of the primary buildings on SAS campus. I walked by Dr. Goodnight’s office, and into the office of SAS’ Director of External Communications. She explained to me the extent to which the organization really has a diverse set of needs and explicated upon the types of sub-departments within the general external communication department that work together. I learned a lot about the public relations team, and how external communications works a lot with internal communications to ensure that the message remains consistent across the plethora of programming platforms in use by SAS. I watched how one of the employees dealt with a problem, where the internal and external communications were not conveying the same message. She dealt with it swiftly by directly communicating with members of the internal communications part of the company, and the issue was resolved smoothly. Overall, my first day was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about SAS’ organization communication!