If you’ve called our office since last fall, you’ve probably had the pleasure of speaking with our intern, Sarah. Sadly, today is the last day of her internship here at Gunn/Jerkens. Sarah came to us from a program called “Hire a Youth” which helps people find a job and prepare them for the skills they would need to be successful in the workplace. She did such a great job that after her tenure was over, we asked her to stay on board as our intern. Before she leaves, we asked her to share some stories about her time here at G/J.

What’s your favorite memory from your time at G/J?

I have two. One was Halloween when Casey dressed up as David Bowie… or was it Billy Idol? Either way it was such a fun time seeing all the clever costumes. I remember Lauren was the person on the front of the Wheaties box and she was wearing a big orange box for a costume. I do not think she could even sit down in it but she stuck it out. I think she even won the best costume contest.

And the second was for Easter when we had the office egg hunt. It was funny because I had found my two eggs within a minute, but there were a few people who could not find any! Eventually the whole office started helping those people find their eggs. It was a fun day. Linda said she was “the master of hiding eggs!”

Any good stories from random weird people who came through the door or called the office?
Every time [one of our clients] John calls, he always answers a different name when I ask him “who is speaking?” (Just to mess with me I guess).

For example, one day he said his name was Hansel. The sad thing is, I actually did not know his real name. I would tell Linda that “Hansel is calling” or “Jim Morrison is on park 1 for you.” She would start laughing every time and she would ask “Oh really?” All I could say was “Yea it’s him” with a big smile, hoping she did not ask me who is really calling. Finally, I was so embarrassed about not knowing what his name was that I asked Amanda “Who is this guy??” and she told me. Now I think the joke is funny, but I became so nervous every time I would see John’s number pop up on the caller ID.

Any plans for the summer?
I would like to focus on reading. I have not read a book for fun since I was in junior high. I am surprised I still know how to read….

Also, I want to learn to meditate and I’d like to start exercising more. I want to run a marathon eventually. Maybe not a triathlon like Jen Fidelman but definitely more running. Finally, I am planning on taking another trip to San Francisco before I go back to school. I love it there.

What’s something you learned from your time here that you might use for a future job?
I learned to be more professional and manage my time more efficiently. Before this internship I had never worked in an office so the environment was definitely different for me. I learned to take my work more seriously because it is a direct reflection of me, and so I tried to make sure my work was well done. Amanda always gave me pointers along the way to keep me on track.

I was also able to work for Linda Gunn, the most generous boss I have ever had and I was able to work with an amazingly creative team. Not exaggerating.

****

With Sarah leaving, it got me thinking back to my internship in college. I asked some of the G/J team to share their own memories of internships or first jobs; here are a few:

• Katie was a PA for a local TV station. She had a “unique” director that she worked for who declared herself a channel through which God was able to speak. One day, they were at a bagel shop together and the director threw a bagel at her! When asked why, the woman laughed hysterically then paused – “God told me I should. He said it would be funny.”
• As one of the few people here with kids, Ken gets nostalgic for when he had his first job as a groundskeeper at an orphanage. At the time, he thought the phrase “I have to go to work today” would sound so cool to his friends. Now, his 15 year-old son came to him wanting to get a job and the excitement in his voice brought Ken back 30 years.
• Amanda interned at a hospital. Her favorite memories are from sharing a cube with a 95 year-old volunteer, Mary, and talking to her about Sex & the City.
• At his summer job at a mini golf course, Kevin had to use a leaf blower to clean around the course. One vivid memory is from when he was in one of the caves and he found “doo-doo” in the hole. (Gross!)
• I interned at Virgin Records so the best memory has to be on our final day when the other interns and I got to raid the CD closet. Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Harper, UB40 are all still on my iPod but I even took some clunkers that day (‘Glitter’ Soundtrack?!).

Bye, Sarah – we’re going to miss you!

Tags: Gunn/Jerkens, Internship

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 11:18 am and is filed under Around the Office, General Blogginess. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.