My first day on the job was quite nerve racking but as I look back, it was all in my head. As I arrived to 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, I have learned that the NW or SW portion of an address is important due to that fact you could end up on the completely wrong side of DC. I am not speaking from experience, if you are wondering I am speaking strictly from observation. Anyways, as I arrived at my place of internship I cautiously rode the elevator to the third floor and stepped out to see glass doors illuminating the words “National Cattleman’s Beef Association.” I had successfully arrived and was ready to take on my intern tasks. The first day consisted of meeting all of the office staff with Kristina’s excellent guidance and firmly beginning the introduction with a handshake. Once I made my rounds, Kristina showed me to my desk and I began checking my already 79 emails, which were mostly deleted because I took Kristina’s advise. The rest of the day I met with the communications team, that consists of Mike and Mary. As a team we discussed the first steps that must be taken to start redeveloping the NCBA website, beefusa.org. In our discussion I was assigned to meet with all the departments and get recommendations on the website. Specifically, I would let the person know what was currently on the website and then they would say what needed to be updated or completely removed.
My second day on the job consisted of meetings, meetings and more meetings. I had four meetings to discuss the website and rapidly took notes while we discussed the redevelopment. After concluding the website meetings I was asked to sit in on my first “all staff” teleconference meeting with the corporate office in Denver. I finished the day by typing up my notes from the morning meetings.
My third day began with Mary, the associate director of communications, teaching me how to create and distribute the NCBA “Daily News Watch” email. After receiving instructions, I developed my first daily news email. My last task for the morning was making copies of the summer internship applications. My afternoon consisted of conducting more website meetings and editing the weekly “Beltway Beef” newsletter.
Yesterday, my fourth day, I had my last website meeting and finalized my outline of notes and distributed them to Mike and Mary. They will be utilizing the notes at their website meeting with corporate on Monday, February 28. I also developed my second “Daily News Watch” email. The most exciting part of my day was writing my first blog post for “Beltway Beef” blog. My topic focused on the international trade meeting that was hosted in Austin, where our Texas affiliates were in attendance. I ended my day through discussing possible summer interns and reviewing applications.