A few days ago a large order of monogrammed hats was placed at Halie’s and the lead associate was quick to accept it, without realizing the complications that come with it. The woman who was in charge of monogramming stared at Devra wide-eyed as she told her the order that they were to complete by Friday. The monogrammer had never worked with hats, and is still getting equipped with the new machinery. She attempted for several hours to get the angle of the hat in the small spaced monogramming machine, eventually damaging the product. She tried countless times, and I could hear each new attempt as it was accompanied by “again??” or profane words that should not be repeated. Unfortunately, the loss to the company was greater than what the order was worth, so Halie’s had to cancel the order and explain to the customer that it was impossible to fulfill the order within such a short deadline. This was such a great learning experience because it showed the dedication and hard work that goes into each product that we so often take for granted. Today I learned that perseverance is key, and even if it doesn’t work in the end, it is worth the journey!
Category: Z WEP Archives
Day 2
Though most tell of the horrific first day travel dilemmas, I experienced mine today. I found out the hard way that when you type in a Durham address, you might not get to the correct place… or even an actual place. My address took me to a lovely stop sign. Don’t get me wrong there were numerous work experience opportunities to be held at this stop sign! I struggled to find an actual address to type in but could not manage to find the FHI360 address through the maps app. However, I somehow managed to find my way via landmarks.
Today was a nice and busy day. We were given several tasks. Our jobs include creating a game for girls to use that helps them select the contraception method best suited for them, sorting through 100 names each and labeling their association with FHI360, helping script and design a new video for FHI360, and creating new and updated presentations.
Wednesday, May 31st – Research, Research, and more Research
As I walked to my desk today, and opened my laptop I was greeted with a long email full of task. Most of my day was spent researching, and learning more about North Carolina. I took away from today that there is a lot going on around me, and I learned about St. Augustine Universities track and field team, and the advancement of STEM. The main takeaway I got from the research is how to write. Often this year we wrote analytically, so it was different to write as a journalist. With the assistance of Mrs. Holt-Noel she communicated the importance of consist writing especially on social media. Next, I learned more about the business side of the job. I got to understand the logistics of organizing rerun shows, and when they air. There is so much more to learn, so that means a lot more research!
-Kennedy Byrd
Day 2: Dog Training Camp
Today, Adrienne and I got to work with another dog training organization called Dog Training Camp, USA. It was pretty different from Teamworks Dog Training in that they didn’t always do their training at their location and they also didn’t emphasize positive reinforcement as much. Today we took the dogs they were boarding/training on a walk in Waverly. We walked the dogs in circles in order to get them prepared for the walk we took and also to calm them down a little bit. What I noticed that was different from Teamworks was the fact that this camp taught their dogs to walk with them and sit by tugging at the collar around their necks. This was quite different from the positive reinforcement we saw at the other location. Although I wasn’t that keen on tugging on the collars, I admired how the dogs knew exactly what to do when their owner did that action. They instantaneously sat down or stopped walking. My favorite pup there was a beagle named Chance who was very lovable and was always opening to cuddling with Adrienne and I. He was absolutely adorable! The walk was really calming and the dogs seemed pretty worn out by the end, but it was pretty cool to be able to compare the two different types of training methods.
Prep Day
Today we got to stay home and prepare for working at Epic Games tomorrow, as well as Lucid Dream VR and Mighty Rabbit later in the Discovery Term. I met with Chandler at Starbucks at 10 am to research the companies together, so that was awesome. I found a secret menu to Starbucks that allows you to order Butterbeer at Starbucks! We got to experiment with Unreal Engine – the game design software that Epic Games makes. After that, I did additional homework for Epic Games – playing Paragon! It was the best homework I’ve ever done! Funny story: my first time playing I chose Greystone as my hero and won without dying once. However, I was so confused because my ultimate said it was ready, but it never worked when I tried using it. When I joined a match with real people, I realized what my ultimate attack was after dying many times: rebirth! After I died, I turned to stone and then my spirit came down from above back into my body, exploding everything else and bringing myself back to life with 50% health. It was so cool! I’m so excited to go to Epic Games tomorrow! 
Day 2
I had a very eventful 2nd day with the promo team. I was once again working a game, but today I was more involved rather than just observing. Today the Bulls hosted Bark in the Park, an event where dozens of fans brought their dogs to the game and walked them through the field before the game started. Luckily, I got to hang out on the field and guide the pet owners during the walk so I got to pet some really adorable dogs. My favorite part of today was taking part in one of the races. The team was short handed so they asked me to step in as Annie, a giant, top-heavy, cartoon mascot costume. Not only did Annie give me about 4 feet in height, she was extremely difficult to walk in. I, however, still ran the boundary of the field alongside two other “Bulls’ Racers” in a competitive race to capture a bone. Although I lost the race due to the awkwardness of the costume and my inability to run with it on, the crowd still cheered for me and applauded my 3rd place victory. Following the race, I got to walk through the stands, still dressed as Annie, and take pictures with kids. I really enjoyed my time today and even though it was not easy, I really enjoyed playing Annie for a little while.
Day 2
Today I had to arrive a little early to get a seat at the Appropriations Committee meeting where they would be going over the budget for this year and the potential one for next year. I stayed for the Education and Health and Human Services section, which took 2 hours before I admittedly got bored and left. At 11:30 there was a free lunch provided by The North Carolina Optometric Society and the lobbying firm that was representing them. Apparently, like with the architect and the interior designers, optometrists and ophthalmologists have been at odds, in a “scope of practice” dispute and have been lobbying the General Assembly for a few years. After lunch, I spoke with Rep. Martin for a bit and went over what happened at the Appropriations meeting, and I got the chance to ask questions. He took me to the press corps to meet some of the reporters. He introduced me to Rose Hoban, a writer for North Carolina Health News. I followed back out to the lunch, which was still going on. I watched her take pictures of it for her article as she described the “scope of practice” disputes and how they’ve effected the medical industry. She also talked about the “giant river of money that flows under the General Assembly” and how lobbyists work to influence lawmakers. She stopped and talked to one of the lobbyists working at the lunch. She was very critical of his work, but they were pretty friendly. She was super interesting to talk to and I’m glad I got to meet her. After, she spoke with Rep. Martin and his Legislative Assistants and I about the situation in Washington. Soon, it was time for Appropriations to meet again to discuss amendments that had to be in by noon that day. This was far more entertaining than that morning as there was more debate and discussion. Reps tried to “steal’ money away from programs for their benefit, to the outrage of others. The meeting would go on far past when I was supposed to go home, so at 4 I called it a day. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and what the budget ended up looking like!
Day 2
Today, I shadowed someone from the sales and presales division. My host took us to meet with different people in the division to see what they did, since there are multiple facets of this division. When we met with her manager, her manager found out that I played cello. Apparently, cello is her favorite instrument, and we started talking about music and how one time when she was at a concert, she saw a bassist pass out. When I told her that I was doing a music camp in New York during the summer, she asked me to send her a video of me playing. I was surprised because this was request was a little random, so I wasn’t really ready for it. My surprised face must have looked very disinterested because she thought that I was not too happy about that idea. She must’ve really wanted to hear me play because she then said, “I don’t care. I don’t have a business card, but here is my email, and just send me a video. Don’t lose it” as she handed me a sticky note. It was really awkward afterwards since both my host and Max kept making fun of me on how disinterested a looked even though that wasn’t the look I was going for. I learned a lot of things about the process of sales, and an important thing as I move forward: don’t show my surprised face if I want to look interested in something.
(No idea why images are sideways)
Day 2 – Corporate Creative & Film
My second day at SAS was a lot more creative and artistically based then the first. For the first half of my day I got to shadow some really cool graphic designers and saw how they work with the marketing managers to make SAS appeal to multiple costumers. The coolest part about the first half of my day was that I got to sit-in in a very heated or “spirited” (as my host described it) meeting where people constructively agreed and disagreed with each other to reach the best possible outcome.
The second half of my day was primarily getting to know what the Film Team does at SAS and also how they work with other departments to advertise the company. Ed (my host) demonstrated and showed me some cool animations that he creates for shows or presentations that his colleague from other departments do at SAS. Finally the coolest part of the day was that I got to see a live interview take place at SAS’s filming studios! 
Day 2
Shortly after the beginning of my second day at Forthright Engineering, we were visited by an executive from a much larger engineering company whose headquarters is in Raleigh. They met with Steve Worm, the head of Forthright. Later in the day, I sat in on a call between Steve and another engineer at Forthright and people from other companies who were working on project with them. These two events highlight an aspect of engineering that, while not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of engineering, is still vitally important – communication. There were five individuals in the conference call, each with their own ideas, worries, and questions. During the call, they had to discuss new information, decide how to move further with the project, allay concerns, and discuss the best course of action. Though it may not always be easy, it’s essential for these engineers to be able to effectively communicate with others, especially when there are timelines they need to adhere to. The importance of communication is also seen amongst the engineers at Forthright through the teamwork they display: teamwork that they need to get projects done. There are only four engineers at the company, so I’ve been able to observe how they need to work as a team on projects to ensure both efficiency and quality for the customer.