The End: Tuesday Dec 13th

One big final thought on this experience through my WLE is that I felt that it was a great experience to get out of the classroom and have that feeling of getting out in the world and do work as a "professional." This is a great lesson in life leading up how to balance things out with school and work life. I know that in college I will have to be focused on my academics, but maybe also have to be focused on work too because I need to pay off possible bills. With that I have to learn how to balance all my academics with my work and with this experience of not going to school one day and then going to school the next is a great way for me to practice my balancing of work and school. Next year I hope to use the skills I used this year into next year. And one more big thing I want to do next year is search way ahead of time when finding and internship.

Life at my WLE: Tuesday Dec 6th

Today as I was working on my project, a man who was from Cal Pine Pipeline came in because his company was interested in buying the product that I was building. When he came in, he wasn't just interested in the product itself, he was interested in what I was actually doing. I had to explain that our school had an internship program so that it helps us get out into the real world and see what it feels like to be part of a professional atmosphere. Anyways, I had to also explain about the product we were build and how it will make their lives easier when doing gas leak surveys. It make it easier for them because they won't be walking every time they do surveys on the road. Rather it will hook up onto the truck and all they have to do is drive until they find a serious leak. So pretty much that day, I was advertising what I had built and he will most likely be a potential buyer. I feel like I've grown in maturity and responsibility because now that I am getting older I had to take bigger roles in my life and with that I have to be more mature and more responsible. Things that make my workplace great is that it's not too chaotic in the office and one thing that isn't so great is that its fairly quiet and there's not too many people to interact with. 

_Professionalism: Tuesday Nov 29th

_In order to find my WLE and get hired I had to talk to multiple just to even get one. Before I had the internship that I have right now, it was pretty difficult just looking for anyone. I was actually denied a couple times because many other businesses don't accept high school interns. Either that or because I'm only 16, they would only hire 17+ year old's. At the point where I was about to just give up, my mom told me about some at church who has their own business. My mom said I can do that or just go to my old school, but I wanted something new and not do a school like majority of everyone else. I knew I was just in luck because I couldn't really find one at first, but now I got one. I believe the most effective way of looking for a job and getting hired is to have the mindset and mentality of not giving up. If you give up then you pretty much have no where to run to, but if you continue to keep searching then eventually someone will pick you up. As a result of my WLE, I believe being a professional or a responsible adult in the work world means to be committed to be working in high standards in performing your duties. To be responsible means that I am willing to accept any consequences that happens at work and what I do affects me and the world around me.

What I learned, Reflection: Tuesday Nov 22nd

I've learned that I can take more responsibility for myself because on one day when there was no one at the office I called my adviser and told him that no one was in the office and then later on called the office and said that I will be coming in later since no one was there in the morning. I haven't really encountered any challenges during my WLE but find an internship was more challenging. To overcome this, I had to keep pushing and don't ever give up.

_Leadership Skills: Tuesday Nov 15th

The leadership skills I am using at my WLE Collaborating Productively and  Communicating Powerfully. Collaborating Productively means that you work hard and efficiently with limited distractions. Whenever my mentor(s) ask me to do some copying papers and file them after I have to work hard because sometimes they let me go on the computer and I would get a little distracted. When my mentor was teaching me how to calibrate machines, I had to pay very close attention to every detail so whenever my mentor needs help I can help him. I can improve on this leadership skill by being less distracted when I do my work because I know in the real world if getting distracted becomes a problem then I would never get any work done. Communicating Powerfully means that you are able to communicate with whoever to complete any task/goal. I communicate with my mentor(s) if I ever need help with anything or whenever I just need a quick answer from then when I ask questions. We communicate with each other to keep the workplace organized. I feel like communication is key in order to complete work but also just to have that connection with yourself and your boss/mentor. Without communication there will be that sense of feeling unorganized  in the workplace. Communication is key. I feel like my mentor uses Communicating Powerfully because she has to organize all the surveys that the men have to do, she does all the billing, and she has to communicate with PG&E pretty often. With all that she has to do plus other things on a personal note, she completes all that work by herself by communicating with others.

_Progress on my WLE Project: Tuesday Nov 8th

A couple of my mentors were actually on a gas leak survey so I was just in the office organizing papers in the office while they were away. However, I was able to talk to Penny who was also in the office with me and during then we just discussed more planning. We discussed about the parts that we ordered and when will they will come in so we can be able to build. She said that we will be going to buy aluminum bars from vendors around the neighborhood so that was a good thing. 

_Project Brainstorm: Tuesday Nov 1st

I will be building a device that will be hooked up to a truck to do mobile gas leak surveys on busy roads. My mentor came up with the idea first because he wanted to build more devices so that he can sell more to other companies such as PG&E and make a little more money from it. My mentor has built some in the past, but he told me that he wanted to build more fresh ones so that other companies will be interested and in the future be potential buyers. I'm pretty excited because I really like the hands on skills that will be involved in this project. For the next couple of weeks me and my mentor will be calling vendors that will be supplying us with supplies in order for the build. If we cannot get parts in time, we might just resort to going to regular hardware stores and finding things there. Hopefully, the parts we ordered will be coming in on time.

My Role: Tuesday Oct 25th

My main responsibility at my workplace would probably filing papers, copying papers, and organizing the office. I copy and file papers that have records of gas leaks that were found during the day of the gas leak surveys. When I copy them and file them, the stacks of papers are really thick and it really surprises me because I never thought that there would be that many leaks in just one area on the same day. My mentor's father who owns the company was suppose to show me how to disassemble and rebuild one of the machines that sucks up gas. However, he's been very busy doing surveys in Palo Alto and recently just left to Los Angeles to do a couple of surveys down there. Most of the days are basically just filing and copying until my mentor's father comes back home. They tell me to do some research on what the difference is between the machines they use now (Flame Ionization Detection) to more recent technology (lasers) that PG&E starts to use. Since mother nature and natural gas has not changed JJ tells me that the Flame Ionization Detection packs are better than lasers because it will suck up the gas rather than to just point and shoot to find. The gas will come to you. A regular day most of the time is pretty slow, unless there is a gas leak survey to be done. Last week on Oct. 18, 2011, I went to Mare Island to do a gas leak survey. I always thought that surveys would take a quick look but actually to cover a couple of blocks of houses took at least an hour. That day we actually found 2 leaks, on minor and one kind of major. That day I was out in the field with my mentor for at least 10 hours doing surveys in a semi small neighborhood.

My Mentor: Tuesday Oct. 18th

1.What is my mentor’s name and job? (If I had more than 1, describe them both.)
My mentors name is JJ Mansalay and my other mentor, if JJ is not available, is Penny Mansalay who is JJ's mother. JJ does gas leak surveys in the field while Penny does filing in the office.

2.What is their typical day (or week) like?
A typical work week is usually planned ahead of time. Unless there is an emergency then they have to be ready.

3.How did they become interested in this field and what skills/education background did they need?
JJ's dad use to work for the company before he bought the company and taught JJ how to do gas leak surveys. Now the company is ran by family and friends.

My Workplace: Friday Oct. 14th

1.What is my workplace called, and what does it do?
My workplace is called Manesco Corporation and they do gas leak surveys.

2.Is it a small business, a medium sized business, or a large corporation?
It is a small corporation.

3.Where is my workplace located and what does it look like?
My workplace is located on Industrial Blvd. Hayward, CA. It is a small suite.

4.How many people work there? 
4 people work in the company. 3 in the field and 1 in the office.

5.What sorts of people does my workplace employ?
My workplace would employ people who are qualified to do gas leak surveys.

6.Do most of the people there have a 4-year college degree, 2-year college degree, or technical certificate?
You just have to be good at what you do.

7.Who does my workplace serve?
My workplace serves mainly Palo Alto.

8.What are the strengths of my workplace?
The strengths of my workplace is that I get to know new things.

9.What are the weaknesses of my workplace?
The weakness of my workplace is that sometimes its a really slow day.