Kimberly Branham's Digital Portfolio
Internship
At the Dayton Regional STEM School, every senior is required to do a 72 hour minimum internship before they graduate. To complete this assignment, we began by researching a career field we were interested in. We then created a career exploration report, which you can see below, with different information for both, including average salary, job outlook, and possible internships to prepare or give insight to what that field demands. My report is about social work, but I took a little bit of a different turn with my internship, which you can learn more about further down this page.
In this report, two potential careers were researched and two possible internships were researched for each career. Research was conducted regarding the two potential careers, social work and child social work. Sources include the bureau of Labor Statistic’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, Careers in Psychology, MSWGuide, and National Center for O*NET Development. This research resulted in information on the two potential careers and the four total internship options. The preferred internship is at United Rehabilitation Services of Greater Dayton (URS), as it would provide experience with children and children/adults with disabilities. Next steps include securing an internship or volunteering hours at URS or finding related options to complete an internship at or volunteer.
day one
On day one, I learned about different tools, what they are used for, and how to use them. I saw trowels, measuring tapes, saws, and various other materials. (7 hours)
day two
On day two, I mixed mortar in a wheelbarrow using a hoe to then spread on walls with a trowel. We waterproofed and sealed a basement with mortar and waterproof sealer. (7 hours)
day three
On day three, I continued spreading mortar in the basement and using the waterproof sealant. I probably could have finished the day before but I took many (many) breaks. (7 hours)
day four
On day four, I first practiced and learned safety to use a chop saw. Then I used a measuring tape to measure lengths of flooring to be cut and then cut them with the chop saw. (7 hours)
day five
Most jobs only last around a week and end up being pretty repetitive, so on day five it was more waterproofing any areas I missed in the basement and cutting more pieces of flooring. (7 hours)
day six
Day six was spent mainly cleaning up the basement of any dust and looking for anything that was missed. This was the last day for this job! (7 hours)
day seven
Since the job was complete, I spent day 7 cleaning and organizing tools. Mainly I spent time playing with the cutest kid ever, Xander. There's always tomorrow to clean. (7 hours)
day eight
On day eight, I actually ended up cleaning the tools. I did still see my new best friend, Xander, who wears Christmas pajamas in the summer. (7 hours)
days nine and ten
On days nine and ten, instead of starting a new job, we spent the time continuing to clean all of the tolls and talking. We talked about what it is like for her doing it and how people think it is weird since she is a girl. We also talked about how she does it now that she has a baby. (both days - 8 hours)
Due to risks concerning safety, privacy, and property damage, I was unable to take pictures on sight. We were also on sight of peoples home and was not allowed to take pictures. Instead, I have found and chosen images I believe accurately reflect or represent something for that specific workday.
Internship reflection
For my internship, I decided to do one that is completely unrelated to my intended career field of nursing. I did this because I know, and have seen, a lot about nursing and medical fields. I have heard all the stories and volunteered in assisted living nursing homes. I have family in various medical fields, but I have little experience and knowledge of other fields, especially masonry. I would not have even been able to say anything about it before doing the internship. I wanted to get a feel for other options that I could have, especially as anything like masonry or construction where you are using tools like that is “a man’s job”. Even my family would tell me it is not a girl’s job to do, so it has never really been an option or thought. This also made it seem like it was almost “off limits” to me, making me want to do it even more. I had a little experience doing it before and I enjoyed it so I thought that I would use this opportunity to explore it.
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During my internship, I learned about things like waterproofing a basement, how to mix and use mortar, and even how to use basic tools like a level. I used tape measures, levelers, mortar, trowels, and other things. This was partially a refresher since I had done it before, but I learned again how everything is used. Learning how to use these things will be beneficial when I am an adult in my own home. I will be able to fix some things on my own instead of having to call someone. I hope to continue to learn things that you would normally call a company for, or things that normally a guy would do. I think this was also part of my biggest challenge, was getting out of the mindset that this was a job for a guy. It is definitely a male dominated field, but that does not mean it is not possible for me to also do it and there is no good reason for me not to. It was also a challenge because I like things that have a clear right or wrong answer. This has the potential to be a creative field, so not having a right or wrong way to design something would trip me up often. I think that this is something that I would want to do more in my life, even if I do still continue to pursue nursing. I want to be able to learn more about how I can redo my own sidewalk, or finish my own basement. I could even do it for other people while still being a nurse in a hospital.
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This experience really opened up the idea of going into a field that is not as heard of for a girl, and also one that does not require you to go to college. No one in my family has ever gone to college or gotten a degree, so it has kind of fallen on me to set the trend of going to college. This has always made me think that it is 100% necessary for me to go to college, get a fancy degree, and get a really good job, but that is not the case. There are other options and routes I could follow. Becoming a professional in a trade would be one of those other routes; it would also set a different expectation for the younger girls in my family that they do not need to go to college to get a big degree.