A Summer Unlike Any Other
By Sarah Renee Garner on August 25, 2014
This summer was unlike any other summer. This summer I was able to embark on the most amazing journey that has ever taken place in my life, and that journey was interning at TEDxSMU for 10 weeks. Interning at TEDxSMU has truthfully been one of the greatest experiences that I have ever had. Instead of wasting two and half months of my life away, I was doing something resourceful for such an amazing organization, and having fun while doing it.
Not only was I apart of TEDxSMU, I also was a part of the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering- which is amazing because I am strongly considering majoring in biomedical engineering. During the time in the engineering school, Erin (the other amazing intern) and I helped make sure that all of the Lyle Engineering Summer Camps were running smoothly. We made name tags, we served lunch, we took pictures, and we basically made sure that everything behind the scenes was running smoothly so that Heather and Christie didn’t have as much stuff to worry about.
Overall, when I first started TEDxSMU, I came in as a 15 year old girl who didn’t know the first thing about putting on a huge conference or camp. I didn’t know that it was appropriate to provide speakers with some sort of gift to thank them for participating. I also didn’t know that as soon as one conference is over, it was time to start planning for the next one. I also didn’t know that getting feedback from camps was important, and I also didn’t know that you counted inventory before and after. Those are all physical things that I have learned. However, I wasn’t mentally prepared for not automatically knowing how to do something, and having to research it. I wasn’t mentally prepared for doing something wrong. The amount of “I’m sorry’s” that I gave Heather and Christie probably made them want to pull their hair out. All in all I just wasn’t prepared to fail. However, I learned from the wise words of Greg Needel, that “this may not work”, but that’s ok! There is always room for growth and improvement.
Therefore, I have learned saying “I’m sorry” or being upset about a problem doesn’t fix the problem. Actually fixing the problem, fixes the problem.
Side-note: I would just like to thank Heather Hankamer, and Christie Pearson, for giving me such a wonderful opportunity. I will always remember it, and I will carry it with me throughout my entire life. Y’all are truly the best bosses that anyone could ever ask for.
