Jepson Internship
Solving Problems/Improving LeadershipTheories in Action

Week 2: Relieving Stress

Aaron D'Oleo

During this week at my internship there were a ton of challenges that I anticipated before I accepted this position. While applying for my internship there was a ton of new faculty that was added to the program due to unavoidable circumstances. Having seen the highs and lows of the program I knew that there were going to be times where I would have to “think on the fly” and rely on instinct. With all this in mind one may come across a lot of stress throughout their time in an internship. The program I work with understands this and seeks to make the environment as less stressful for the faculty. One of the missions of the administration involves allowing the faculty–specifically the teaching assistants(who are college students)–to get some down time through yoga. Having the ability to practice yoga once a week for a hour and a half allows for the workday to be more peaceful. I see this opportunity as a transactional experience. Throughout the week things are intense and often stressful, but we are rewarded a stress free zone once the end of the week roles around. Cannot wait for FRI-YAY.

Aaron D'Oleo

Throughout my upbringing I often experienced let down due to our powerless financial situations. After a slight transition I was able to use my faith and family to determine my perseverance in education and throughout life's hurdles. As a first generation college student I have sought to actively maintain my passions of community engagement and change. I use all the knowledge gained from the arduous moments in my life and that of the classroom to engage socially in the community. The goal is to bring about change in all my endeavors and in the live's of the people I come in contact with.

One thought on “Week 2: Relieving Stress”

  • I can only imagine how challenging it is for college students to serve as teachers for the program, let alone for you to manage those peers; teaching is a challenging activity. I’m glad to hear that the program has built in a way for you and your peers to recenter/destress/relax. It does sound like contingent reward (an element of transactional leadership). Again, as I said with your organizational culture reflection – I do encourage you to reflect on elements of the solving problem/improving leadership prompt (e.g. insights about teamwork and collaboration that could positively impact the environment and work product at your site; ways in which you as an intern, who is majoring in leadership studies, might identify issues and share concepts and strategies with supervisors and colleagues that could address the issues; etc.) as you continue with the internship as such reflections will be helpful when you complete the academic assignments this fall. Seems your ‘theory into action’ reflection you included this week is the same as the one you included the first week); see comments on that with your organizational culture reflection.

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