![]() Hence, my summer trip to Vancouver was more midnight website editing, and less magical frolicking. So you need to be sitting in more than one chair at the same time when the music stops. No matter what, working in a non-profit will never be boring, because it’s a game of musical chairs where there’s never enough people playing. ![]() I felt like we were in an episode of Lost!īorder control questions, like can I bring a minor across the border with a letter, mix with currency exchanges, press releases and public relations, spokesperson duties, and dabbling in fundraising, website design and logo creation. This is considered extreme blaspheme by Vancouver Islanders – but build an effing bridge! Or at least have more than three times per day you can get to the island. Travel logistics gain an added dimension of awesome when you add an island to the mix – only reachable by ferries and float planes. Running a conference you become a de facto ‘expert’ on all sorts of things – meaning taking WAGs (wild-ass guesses) at any and every answer, trying to make sure you’re not wrong… But after being on the edge of North America with no cell phone makes it hard to keep up, and it was easier to just lose contact. When I headed to Vancouver Island for a seven-week placement, I planned to blog weekly (or more!) and stay in touch with people. I fell off the map during my internship this summer, figuratively and (almost) literally. I also built two websites, for Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op and the Collective Biofuels Conference, managed conference advertising, attendee communication, registration and oversaw the graphic design department (we had some great SWAG!) I did outreach and communications work for two alternative energy companies, which included writing press releases, being interviewed for newspaper and television stories, and organizing an international conference on community-scale sustainable biofuels with a film premiere and a weekend of workshops. Then you come back to school and sum up what you did in the most impressive, professional with world-traveling bohemian spirit way possible. Doing a seven-week work placement is like moving to a new place on fast-forward – you have to learn the job, the people, the politics, the town, and feel like you’ve seen the sights and accomplished something before you leave, all too soon.
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