Mission Graduates Spring 2015

Introduction

Hi, my name is Priscilla Campos and I am currently a first year business administration major here at the University of San Francisco. I am 18 years old and from Los Angeles, California. While at USF, my goal is to graduate with a business degree and attend graduate school. Before becoming a PSIP intern, I volunteered around my local community, so this internship has allowed me to now help the San Francisco community.

Currently, I am working with Mission Graduates, a non-profit organization that prepares K-12 students to be college ready. In particular, I work with the Parent Partner Program, which helps inform parents about ways to support their children through school. The programs aim is to have parents teach and inform their children about college and the benefits it can offer. My role at Mission Graduates is to help my supervisor, Eric Cuentos, with anything he needs. Specifically, I am helping with March to College, an event where numerous of schools from the Mission district come together and proclaim their commitment to attend college and build a better future for themselves. This event will be held on May 15, 2015, and the schools participating will march their way through the streets, eventually coming to a meeting location where there will be educational booths and food set up for the children. As an intern, I am helping Mission Graduates plan this large-scale event. I help the team with anything they need; one of my tasks this past week was to create a march route, so the schools can be more organized and know which way to go during the march.

Apart from helping the Mission Graduates team coordinate March to College and also helping around the office, I am also a mentor to a parent through the Technology Mentorship Project. I teach my mentee, Elena Angeles, about the internet and how to manage her computer. The goal of this Parent Partner Program is to make sure parents who are involved and work with Mission Graduates are able to effectively use social media and Google docs, while also feeling comfortable with navigating their own computers and phones. Although I have only met with my mentee once, it has definitely been an experience for me. I look forward to meeting with Elena again, so I can assist her with anything she needs.

So far, I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Mission Graduates. I look forward to becoming a mentor to more parents and helping them become more informed about technology, so they are able to help their children with school projects, etc. I am also excited to continue planning March to College and participating in the march itself mid-May. Being a PSIP intern has provided me with a new opportunity to help the community while also being able to learn about the business world and how to act professional in certain situations.

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Blog Post 1

I have really been enjoying my time at Mission Graduates, and I am learning so much. I am continuing to mentor parents that work with the Parent Partner Program at Mission Graduates, and am enjoying helping them learn how to navigate their own computer. Apart from being a mentor to parents, I am also helping plan March to College, a march where various schools from the Mission district join together and show their commitment to attend college and further their education. So far the group in charge of March to College has met once, and we have discussed various things regarding the event. One specific thing we discussed at the meeting was to confirm whether or not the march route I had previously created would fit every specific schools needs. We also discussed ways to setup the event space, and what restaurants we could contact to help sponsor the food for the event. Although there is a lot that goes into planning the event, it is exciting to slowly see everything fall into place.

Apart from helping plan March to College and mentoring parents, I have also helped find college to attend Parent University, being held March 26, 2015. The event is being held at Everett Middle School, and there will be various workshops offered for parents to help them learn about how to make sure their child is college ready. There will also be college booths to answer any questions parents might have. My job was to contact USF and ask them if they would like to participate in Parent University. USF was able to send two representatives to help at the event, which will take place this Thursday.

In addition, I also participated in the college week Everett Middle School held for their students. The event i participated in took place at their lunch, and I, along with two other volunteers, were set up at a table where students came and asked us questions regarding college and financial aid. The students were given a College Bingo, and they could ask us based on the ones they were given. It was a really great event, and I had a lot of fun talking to the children.

The Parent Partner Program at Mission Graduates also held a workshop for the Parent leaders. At the workshop, a representative talked about the Smarter Balance test, and how to prepare their children for this new change. After the presentation, a group from the Parent Partner Program helped the parents set up a Khan Academy account for them and their children. I also aided the parents with setting up the account, and it was a nice opportunity to meet all the different moms who are parent leaders with the program.

Now a few weeks into my internship, I have learned a lot about how to plan and manage an event. I have used some of my business/management skills, as I am helping promote and plan March to College. I am also learning to properly and effectively use excel sheets, something I have previously used in my Business Statistics class. I think it’s great that I can use the skills I have learned in my class at my internship, as it is helping me prepare for my future job. Apart from using my business skills, I have also just gained more experience in talking to people and writing professional emails.

As I continue with my internship at Mission Graduates, I am excited to see how events like Parent University and March to College turn out. I look forward to mentoring more parents and being able to see them be comfortable using their own computers at home, while also learning about different online learning programs they can use with their children.

Pictures from the College week event I participated in at Everett Middle School

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Blog Post 2

The past few weeks I have spent with Mission Graduates have been enjoyable, and I have learned a lot through my internship. I have continued to help plan the March to College event, which takes place in about a month. We recently held our second group meeting, where we discussed specific details regarding the event, as well activities that can be organized for the children at the event. At the meeting, they also discussed what the setup at the event space would be, and one of my responsibilities was creating a template for the event setup.

One of my other responsibilities was to create a schedule and map that could be presented to the police station when staff from Mission Graduates went to ask for police aid on the day of the march. I created a police checkpoint schedule and also a map route of the event so the officers would be able to clearly see what kind of security they could offer at the event. In addition, I have continued to meet with my mentee, Elena,  and help her progress her computer skills. I have seen her learn how to use a Mac computer more efficiently and she has further developed her computer skills. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent mentoring Elena.

Some of the other tasks I have completed at my internship have been to help my supervisors in anything they need, and to complete smaller tasks at the office. But most of my responsibilities have been in regard to March to College, and just helping with any little thing I can with the event. Although I have not extensively used my business skills, I have further developed my excel skills. I use my knowledge of the program to create charts and spreadsheets for Mission Graduates. I have also learned how to write more clear and concise emails, and overall have improved my writing skills.

The school year is quickly coming to an end, and my internship at Mission Graduates is almost at a close, but while I am still here I am excited to further help plan March to College and see it all come together. This internship has taught me a lot and I am looking forward to the time I have left at Mission Graduates.

Pictures from Parent University, an event I helped with, and which USF also participated in.

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Blog Post 3

My time as an intern at Mission Graduates is quickly coming to an end, but although I only have a few more weeks at my organization, I am grateful for the time I have been able to be an intern with them.

March to College, the major event I have helped organize since February, is on May 15 and it has been a lot of fun planning the march. I am excited to see how the event unfolds after all the planning we have done. Throughout these past couple of weeks, I have mostly been in charge of little tasks to help prepare for March to College. We have had March to College planning meetings where we discuss tasks we still need to complete, and also take care of any last minute things. I have helped create spreadsheets to better organize data and make it more accessible to everyone in the office. I have also been in charge of contacting all the schools participating in the march and finding out their availability, so the Parent Partner Program from Mission Graduates could go to each school and organize an activity for the after school program, so they can make college pennants to display during the march. As each activity needs to be run by a representative from the Parent Partner Program, I am in charge of organizing my own activity for the children at the after-school program. I will supervise the children while they make their college pennants, and will help organize all the supplies they may need.

Apart from creating these spreadsheets and organizing activities for the children, I am also in charge of doing any other little tasks that need to be completed. As the event is quickly approaching, there are a lot of smaller tasks that need to be completed in the office, and I have been able to continue to utilize my business skills at Mission Graduates. I create all types of spreadsheets, I have learned how to write more professional, clear and concise emails, and most importantly, have been exposed to what it is like working in an office and interacting with different people everyday. Working at mission Graduates has allowed me to practice and expand my writing and communication skills, allowing me to become more familiar with what my career will be like when I enter the business world.

As I continue to help with any last minute details for March to College, I am excited to see how the event will turn out. Working at Mission Graduates has been a pleasure, and I am grateful for all the opportunities they have provided me with.

 

Flyer for the March to College event, being held on May 15

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Conclusion

Today was my last day at Mission Graduates. It was also March to College event, the special event I have been planning with my team since my first day on the job. It was really a great experience, and I enjoyed being a part of the team. I arrived to the main Mission Graduates office at 11:30 am and helped to load the cars with all of the stuff we would need for the day, and after that was finished, we walked over to Buena Vista Horace Mann to help prepare the area. At the space, I helped prepare the food serving area, tape the areas where each specific school would be seated during the event, and decorate the overall area.

In general, I was in charge of doing anything to help prepare for the march. From the beginning to the end, I made sure everything ran smoothly and helped setup all of the different booths and table areas. Although it was a long and stressful day, it was totally worth it. It was awesome to see all of the kids participate in such a successful event that promotes children to go to college and helps them excel in their academics. It gives kids a chance to learn about the college process, as well as have an early exposure to what college is like, so they are prepared for the future.

At the beginning of the event, the official march took place. Nine schools participated in the march, and together they marched through the streets of the Mission and also through San Francisco City College, proclaiming their commitment to a brighter future. After all of the schools joined together, they made their way to the site where the event was being held, Buena Vista Horace Mann. Once all of the schools were there, there was a welcome ceremony as well as an MC Keynote speaker, Gabriella Bellan, TV news-reporter for Telemundo. She gave a short speech about her college experience, and her words were both impactful in that it gave the kids present a new insight and allowed them to see that college is a possibility for them.

After the speeches, principals from each of the nine schools came on stage and declared all of the students who were reclassified for the 2014-2015 school year. This year, there were over 200 students who were reclassified. It was great to see all of the students recognized for their hard work.

After these presentations, students were released to get food and talk to the different college booths that were present. There was also a graffiti wall where children could decorate college slogans, a photo booth, and also a dance party for the middle schools. There were a bunch of activities going on, and it was really a great experience.

My time at Mission Graduates has been well enjoyed, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given. I have learned a lot these past few months, and all of the skills I have learned I will take with me once I enter the professional business world. My team partners have all been helpful, and they were all a pleasure to work with. Although at times planning March to College was stressful and it was a lot to have to plan, but the end result made it worth it. The children all had such positive energy, and you could tell by the look on their faces that they were excited to attend this event. They have been exposed to the college event, and they know that for them, college is the expectation. I thank Mission Graduates and USF for giving me the opportunity to internship here this semester.

March to College photos

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