As an intern for Vagabond Cruise, I am required to work on a variety of different tours and excursions. However, I am also dooly responsible for answering phone calls and setting reservations in our ticketing booth. On one particular day, I came into our ticket booth to work a typical shift. When I came in, the phone rang and I was quick to answer it. Thinking that I was going to set a reservation, it came to my surprise when I heard a woman’s voice livid with anger. I quickly recognized that this was not your so-called “typical phone call.” Thereafter, I began inquiring as to why this woman was so frustrated. The woman told me that she had recently taken one of our cruises and after she got off the boat and was talking off the pier, she tripped over a mat, which resulted in her falling over and rolling her ankle. As I continued to listen to this woman’s story, she soon became very aggressive as she began to blame our company for her fall and was responsible for her injury. 

Upon the conclusion of this phone call, I did my best to express my condolences for her injury. However, I told the woman that since she was on the pier and not on our vessel, we were not responsible for her injury and as such were not going to give her any compensation. As one can expect, this feedback did not go well with the woman. Rather, her intensity raised and her anger then was geared to me directly. She began to criticize me by telling me how poorly I am at customer service. Seeing that she was starting to take her frustration out on me, I told the woman to stay on hold while I get a manager to discuss options available for her. I then called my manager and asked what I should do about this woman’s sad circumstance. My manager told me to write down the woman’s story in an incident report and tell her that we would get back in touch with her. Upon these directions, I quickly did as I was instructed by writing down the woman’s story and telling her that someone from our management would be in touch with her soon. 

In reflection, I believe I did everything I could have to solve the woman’s incident quickly and effectively. Similarly, I believe I was very professional and courteous to the woman by not reacting to her attacks on my character or dismissing her claim. After submitting the incident report, my manager called me and congratulated me for holding my composure. He also told me that I handled the situation very well and was both personable and professional. Therefore, I really feel there was nothing more I could have done to improve this situation. Overall, this experience was very challenging, required a good deal of patience, and gave me an opportunity to apply my skills and abilities in working with customers in difficult situations.

Brief description of the past two-week’s duties

After completing another two weeks, I have performed the typical duties expected of me for my internship. In other words, I have continued to act as a food and beverage representative by preparing and serving food on our dinner cruises. Moreover, I have maintained my success as a salesperson by selling vagabond cruises to customers visiting our ticket booth. Even though my duties have not differed, I have been able to implore my duties in way to better my expertise and success with Vagabond Cruise.

How are you experiencing a relevant and challenging use of your skills?

It comes by no surprise to me nor to those, in whom do I affiliate, that I am experiencing a relevant and fruitful internship, one that is allowing me to use both my talents and abilities. To prove this notion, I have been able to use my strong sense of organizational structure towards organizing the ticketing booth and our wine inventories. Additionally, I have been able to use my keen understanding of social media outlets towards promoting the Vagabond Cruise Facebook page. These two tasks have allowed me to control the social marketing directions of Vagabond Cruise and ensure that we were logistically sound and well structured.

What did you learn from your experiences?

Over the last two weeks, I have learned that balancing both work and leisure is very important to a person’s attitude and success. Initially when I started my internship, I frequently worked many hours each week. As the weeks progressed, this procedure prohibited me from having any personal time or leeway to plan my own activities. Consequently, I became very tired and started noticing that my performance at work was dropping. However, over the last two weeks, I have made it a priority of mine to work less and play more. Thus, as I designated time for my leisure activities, I have found that my workload was lighter and my attitude towards work was easier. All and all, I have learned and can attest to the notion that life is about finding the right balance between our work and personal agendas.

What worked well?

The last two weeks have actually been the easiest weeks in terms of workload and scheduling. I have found more time to relax and enjoy the moment. Hence, over the last two weeks, what has worked well for me has been spending quality time with each of the interns. For example, over this last weekend, a few of the interns and myself went on a road trip to visit Charleston, South Carolina. Spending time in this historic city was wonderful but what made it more memorable and personable was that I was able to visit with Rachel Irick and Sara Comp. As we visited historic sites around Charleston, we were all able to learn more about each other. Since our trip, I can personally say that my relationships with both of these women have been strengthened. Ultimately, this in return has helped our chemistry in working with each other. 

What would you change next time?

An element of my internship that I would change in the upcoming two weeks would be to prepare for the inevitable. As a water-based tourism operation, Vagabond Cruise is susceptible to poor weather conditions and the elements. However, this is not all; Vagabond Cruise is vulnerable to festivals within our pier, harbor reconstruction projects, and coast guard statutes. During these times of change, I at times did not embrace the fluidity and alterations of what was going on. Consequently, this limited my ability to think on my toes and be prompt in responding to changes in our times, dates, and/or cruises. Therefore, over the next two weeks I want to make it a personal goal of mine to cognitively prepare myself for the inevitable. In other words, I want to envision change and prepare myself for anything so that when situations may arise, I will have been mentally trained to handle each situation smoothly and accurately.

Please describe the supervision you are receiving.

Let me first start out by saying that I love my supervisors. Danny Pegg and Christian Matthews are great leaders and I have been much appreciative of their assistance and supervision. Over the last two weeks, I have had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with both of them and talk in retrospect about their lives and on the other hand my performance as an intern for Vagabond Cruise. Furthermore, I personally like how both Danny and Christian are bold and direct when giving criticism or instruction, as this is the type of feedback that I embrace. Overall, I know that my superiors have the upmost confidence in my abilities. Thus, even though I enjoy the company of these men, in all reality, I have received little supervision from either Christian Matthews or Danny Pegg. 

Since I have completed nearly two-thirds of my internship, it seems fitting for me to take this time to reflect on my experiences and assess how I am doing in regards to completing the goals and objectives outlined prior to the start of my internship. In order to do this, I have included the goals and objectives with corresponding captions for each goal in the space below.

Goal 1: Increase professional networks.

a.       Objective: Broaden my professional network by expanding my LinkedIn account from 1,900 connections to over 2,500 connections over the next four months.

b.      Objective: Visit and personally introduce myself to at least 30 professionals who work for Vagabond Cruise and/or in other tourism operations throughout Hilton Head Island. This shall be achieved by recording the names and emails of each professional.

Caption
At this point, I have almost completed this internship goal. In detail, I have already met and recorded at least 30 professionals and I have connected with over 300 professionals via my LinkedIn account. However, as indicated in my first objective, I am not sure if I will connect with over 2,500 professionals through LinkedIn. Nevertheless, I am very proud of my progress to connect with many professionals through both media outlets and personal interaction.

Goal 2: Gain experiences in the selling procedures and evaluation processes of Vagabond Cruise tours.

a.       Objective: Sell Vagabond Cruise tours and increase passenger attendance by 3% over the next four months, comparative to 2012 records and figures.

b.      Objective: Collect input and monitor customer evaluations on Trip Advisor regarding their experiences on our tours.

Caption
I am proud to announce that this goal is in fact fulfilled. Working as a food and beverage representative intern for Vagabond Cruise during the fall season, I am proud to announce that our company has increased passenger revenue by 4% and have increased our Tripadvisor reviews 13% percent. This has been accomplished through building positive rapport with customers and helping them experience a wonderful time aboard our vessels. Furthermore, I have been prompt to remind customers to visit our Facebook and Tripadvisor pages to leave feedback on their experiences. Therefore, being personal and hasty is what has helped me accomplish this amazing feat.

Goal 3: Become skilled in tourism management and leadership.

a.       Objective: Individually lead and/or manage the Vagabond Crew in at least three tours over the next four months.

b.      Objective: Attend management meetings and collect documents over the next four months.

Caption
Working under Vagabond Cruise management has been a great experience. More importantly, I have relished opportunities to lead and manage various cruises. As such, I acted as the food and beverage manager for our Sunset Dinner Cruises during the first week of October. This opportunity helped me refine my managerial skills and provided me with viable leadership experiences within the tourism industry. Furthermore, I have attended every possible management meeting of which is typically held at 2:30pm on every Wednesday.

Goal 4: Promote Vagabond Cruise tours through social media outlets.

a.       Objective: Act as an administrator for the Vagabond Cruise Facebook Page by regularly postings pictures, promotions, and relevant information about Vagabond Cruise.

b.      Objective: Create a Weebly blog about Vagabond Cruise and use it as an online marketing tool.

Caption
Finally, this goal and objectives are complete as well. I have acted as the primary administrator for the Vagabond Cruise Facebook Page and have consistently made posts relative to our special events and tours. Similarly, I have created a Vagabond Cruise Weebly blog and I have used it to market not only our products and tours but moreover have used it to market to future students interested in interning with Vagabond Cruise. 

Brief description of the past two-week’s duties

I have performed many duties over the last few weeks. In addition, I have continued to innovate and find new avenues for furthering my roles and responsibilities in order to better my skills and abilities. My first duty and primary role as a food and beverage representative is to help serve food and drinks to passengers on our sunset dinner cruises. Fulfilling this responsibility continues to be an enjoyable experience. Another duty that I have performed over the last two weeks has been placing reservations for Vagabond Cruise tours.

One such cruise that I placed an emphasis on selling and upselling has been our Wine and Cheese sail. In short, this cruise boards our 42-foot catamaran sail boat and offers complimentary house wines and cheese platters. With a maximum capacity of 24 passengers, I made it a personal goal of mine to sell this cruise to ensure that it would indeed sail. As such, through my efforts I am proud to announce that the Wine and Cheese sold out each week. Beyond these duties, I have continued to market through social media outlets as well as monitor inventories levels and place purchase orders for supplies and materials. 

How are you experiencing a relevant and challenging use of your skills?

The last two weeks have significantly induced a demand of my time and furthermore has challenged the use of my skills. The biggest challenge I faced, involved dealing with frustrated customers after their cruise was canceled due to poor weather. On October 26, 2013, our Sunset Sail tour was canceled after a strong rainstorm hit Hilton Head Island. Being the only employee in our ticketing booth at the time, I was solely responsible for overcoming objections and likewise accountable for refunding every customer’s tickets. This scenario was very challenging and required me to instill patience, as I had to refund 100 passengers in a quick and efficient manner.

Furthermore, this scenario required me to embody positive interpersonal communication skills in talking with customers as well I comforted them and reassured them of our company regret and apology for their canceled tour. Even though this experience was challenging, in hindsight I am glad that I had to overcome this situation because it refined my customer service skills and helped me better work under strenuous circumstances.

What did you learn from your experiences?

There is one distinct concept, which I have learned over the last two weeks from my experiences with Vagabond Cruise. The first principle that I learned is how important timeshare presentations are to bringing success to tourism operations. Over the last two weeks, I had the opportunity to work with our Marketing Director in working with timeshare salespeople. These experiences helped me realize just how self-reliant Vagabond Cruise is on the many resorts located throughout Hilton Head Island. Similarly, this has also helped me realize that strong business partnerships are critical to establishing long lasting success to a company and organization. 

What worked well?

Over the last two weeks, I made it a personal initiative to give positive feedback not only to my fellow interns but to also all those in whom I work with. This was extremely beneficial as it helped to strengthen our chemistry at work. On the same note, I started to notice that the more I complimented others, the more people reciprocated the action by recognizing my efforts and complimenting my strong suits. Ultimately, this strategy has helped me strengthen my relationships with my colleagues and has helped each member on our team feel valued both as individuals and as a collective unit.

What would you change next time?

On a general statement, the last two weeks have transitioned very smoothly with very little to no disruptions or setbacks. However, as I reflect on these last two weeks there is one moment that I wish I had dealt better with. In short, on October 22, 2013 I was scheduled to work the pm shift in our ticketing booth. It is important to note, that the pm shift is by far the busier shift and can be quite demanding especially since we have six different cruises departing simultaneously during the evening. Anyways, on this day I came into work and have a few hours before the rush of our customers came. Seeing this two-hour window, I left the ticket booth so I could take an important phone call of which I intended to be very short. Unfortunately, the phone call took much longer than expected and regrettably meant I left Danny alone in our ticketing booth. By the time I came back in our ticketing booth, Danny had been very tied down resolving customer inquiries and was in dire need of my assistance. As such, I quickly jumped in, took care of the rest of the customers at our booth, and talked with all the customer phone calls on hold.

Overall, I wish I had not walked out our ticketing booth on this day so that I could have been available to help Danny. In my defense, I left the office at a dead time but regardless I wish I had just rescheduled my phone call so that I could have given my every attention and effort to helping the customers at our booth. Even though we resolved the situation, my actions on this day are the only measure over the last weeks, which I would have changed.

Please describe the supervision you are receiving.

Frequently working with my supervisors is a great experience because it allows me to have one on one conversation with them and allows me to receive feedback on my performance. In other words, I work with my managers and thus I technically receive constant supervision. However, after working here for over ten weeks, beyond the times I work with my supervisors, I receive very little supervision. In fact, my owner and our management team has told all the fall interns, such as myself, that they are confident in our abilities to run the bulk of our operations. Similarly, we as interns feel very compatible to this belief because we all feel very competent in our abilities after having several weeks of experience under our belts. Thus, in this sense I receive very little supervision beyond the few times I work with my superiors each week. 

In my opinion, Vagabond Cruise is a wonderful company to work for and to this point; I am very satisfied with the experiences that I have gained. However, it is important to note that my accomplishments as a student is the single greatest reason as to why I have experienced success as an intern. Indeed the principles and concepts that I learned throughout my schooling have directly influenced my traits and abilities in my career. With that being said, I have outlined two of the most important skills that I acquired while attending the University of Utah, which undoubtedly has helped me throughout my internship with Vagabond Cruise. 

The first skill set that I learned from my schooling that has directly aided me in my internship is public speaking. When I think back on the two and half years while at the University of Utah, I frequently recall many times where my professors had us work on projects after which we were required to give presentations in front of our colleagues. At the time, I gave these presentations, I gave little thought to how talking in front of class could be beneficial to my career. However, as I reflect upon those memories, I realize now just how valuable those presentations were to installing me with public speaking skills and helping me effectively argue a point in an objective and professional manner. This skill set has been of great use to me throughout my internship, as I have had to attend timeshare seminars in which I am solely responsible for presenting Vagabond Cruise and selling its products and services.  

The second skill set from my education that as ascertained myself as an asset to Vagabond Cruise is learning about marketing. In my opinion, the Parks, Recreation, & Tourism department did an excellent job at incorporating business and marketing classes into its core curriculum. In my particular situation, even though my specialization was in Sustainable Tourism, I took three different marketing courses. Learning about marketing and how to effectively target specific audiences have been very applicable to my internship. Throughout my internship, I have acted as the Facebook administrator for Vagabond Cruise’s Facebook Page. More importantly, I have published the itineraries and events in many of our printed materials. Therefore, I can definitively say that learning about marketing and advertising has greatly helped me to competitively market Vagabond Cruise.

Brief description of the past two-week’s duties

Let me first start by saying that time certainly does fly. It is hard to fathom that another two weeks have flown by. Over the last two weeks, I have continued to work as a food and beverage representative for Vagabond Cruise, and I could not ask for a more fulfilling experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed every opportunity to help tourists register and take part in the various cruises offered by our operation.

Moreover, over the last few weeks I have also had the opportunity to work a few private special events, all of which have been great experiences as well. As case in point, a special event, which I was able to work, included a private dinner cruise for 35 of the top executives for McDonalds Corporation. Even though my job duties were the same as our typical dinner cruises, it was enjoyable to serve executives for a very reputable company.

How are you experiencing a relevant and challenging use of your skills?

I certainly attest to the notion that I am experiencing a relevant and challenging use of my skills. For example, I recently had the opportunity to conduct an a Skype interview video call with a few college students, all of whom were in the process of applying for an internship with Vagabond Cruise for next season. I really enjoyed this experience, as it required me to use my communication skills to inform these students about Vagabond Cruise and likewise answer their questions regarding an internship with our company.

Similarly, another experience that helped to challenge my skills and abilities included attending a meeting in which we learned about wines and more importantly how to serve wines. Unlike the other interns in whom I work with, this meeting significantly challenged my abilities because I had never before tasted wine nor served wine. Hence, after learning about the varieties of wines I learned how to properly open a wine bottle and the etiquette in serving wine. Overall, these experiences denote as to why the last two weeks have certainly been a relevant experience and have helped me further my understanding as a food and beverage representative for Vagabond Cruise. 

What did you learn from your experiences?

Over the last fourteen days, I have learned a key principle from my internship. This principle, which I have learned over the last two weeks, is that there are different definitions and strategies to providing customer service. As case in point, on our dinner cruises I have observed the different ways in how interns work and serve our guests. Furthermore, I have had some interns’ mention that great customer service is serving quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, I heard other interns argue that the best customer service is when on takes his or her time and is very personable with their guests. This debate has helped me realize that there is no one set way on how to provide the best customer service and similarly that one method is neither better than other. Rather I have learned from my own experiences that providing exceptional customer service can vary and that there are many different ways to ensuring our guests have a great experience on our cruises.

What worked well?

In reflection, there are two distinct tactics that I felt helped me work at a more optimal level throughout my internship. The first was recording notes of pertinent information that could help me better succeed in my internship. In other words, writing down my thoughts and impressions during learning experiences has greatly helped me retain relevant information and better perform. A second tactic that has helped me perform my internship has been maintaining a calm resolution no matter how stressful the situation. During stressful times, I have a tendency to get overwhelmed and react more than act, which regrettably hinders my ability to work efficiently. However, over the last two weeks I have been very good at staying calm in these times of distress. My ability to remove myself, breath, and stay relaxed during stressful times has helped me be able to resolve very difficult situations. This in and of itself, has been an acquired attribute that I take great pride in myself because I know it will help me in similar experiences throughout my career.

What would you change next time?

Seeing that this internship requires routine tasks and is repetitive, I am getting to that point where I am able to work very efficiently and accurately. In fact, there is nothing that I can think of which I would change or suggest to better improve my performance. After nine weeks of setting reservations, acting as a server on dinner cruises, and helping maintain our fleet, I am becoming very skilled in understanding the processes and logistics of this company.

Please describe the supervision you are receiving.

Either working in the ticketing booth or upon the boats, as a passenger services representative for Vagabond Cruise, I am fortunate in having the opportunity to work directly with my supervisors every day. With a more personalized interaction, I have been able to develop positive rapport with my superiors. More importantly, my supervisors and I have clearly established an open-door policy; one in which we both express our concerns, desires, frustrations and excitements.

Throughout the last two weeks, I have received immediate feedback from my supervisors regarding my work ethic and understanding in or implementation of our company policies and procedures. In addition, I have received support and positive affirmation from external parties such as our captains, vendors, and partners. All in all the supervision I am receiving has been superb and it has been beneficial for me, as I have learned to adapt to both a new culture and workplace.

Working in the tourism industry is such a fun and exciting field of work, one that too often offers many rewarding opportunities and experiences. Whether traveling the world or learning about various cultures, the tourism industry is booming and expanding. However, just like every other industry, the tourism industry has its ethical dilemmas. A few dilemmas, which face the tourism industry today, include drug trafficking, gender inequality, and the lifestyles of employees.

As case in point, I recently came across a situation in which I had to deal with an ethical dilemma. In short, after one of our dinner cruises one of our employees came to me asking me for a favor. It is important to note that this employee is a very hard worker and is very reliable. However, on this day she told me that she needed to leave early and was in a rush to make an appointment. Therefore, after telling me about her situation she handed me her time sheet and told me to clock out for her at the conclusion of my shift. This scenario put me in a tough predicament because I wanted to help this employee but at the same time, she also knew that I would be staying at least another two hours beyond her shift. In retrospect, I could have easily clocked out for this employee but instead I told my owner and turned in her time sheet.

This situation was hard for me to deal with because on the one side I wanted to help out an employee but on the other side; I knew that clocking out for a different employee was illegal and dishonest.  Ultimately, this scenario challenged my integrity as an employee as well as tested my loyalty in obeying both our company policies and national labor laws. However, at the end of the day I am glad at how I handled the situation; by doing what was right rather than what seemed right and courteous of a fellow employee and friend. 

Brief description of the past two-week’s duties:

The last two weeks have been overwhelming and stressful but yet exciting and exhilarating. The reason as to why these weeks have differed from previous weeks is because; I played more of a managerial role. In short, over the last two weeks I have temporarily acted as the Food and Beverage Manager while my regular manager, Christian Matthews, has been out of town. Under this new responsibility, I was in charge of managing the Vagabond Cruise Sunset Dinner Cruises from Wednesdays through Saturdays. This experience created a wonderful opportunity for me to display my management skills and apply my own brand of leadership and management philosophy.

Besides my responsibility as the temporary food and beverage manager, my other duties included placing reservations, processing orders, printing boarding passes and assisting our customers on our cruises. Furthermore, on my own leisure time I have continued to post relevant ads and events on the Vagabond Cruise Facebook page. This responsibility has helped me to pursue my interests in advertising and social media marketing. Overall, my duties have continued to expand at a comparable rate in comparison to the durations of my stay on Hilton Head Island.

How are you experiencing a relevant and challenging use of your skills?

Over the last few weeks, my internship has indeed been a relevant experience and has continued to present me with challenging opportunities to enhance my skills and acquire new abilities and talents. As a manager, I have been able to direct staff members during faculty meetings, assign responsibilities, monitor inventory levels, and manage the finances of our operations. These roles and responsibilities in and of itself have helped me work in every realm of Vagabond Cruise and more importantly has helped me refine my potential as a professional within in the tourism industry.

What did you learn from your experiences?

It seems as though every day I learn at least one principle which is imperative to my career and which will help me have lasting success. Some of the principles, which I have learned, include building rapport with future clientele and establishing a strong market presence. To begin with, I have been able to shadow my owner and internalize the way in which he communicates with people. Keith Walston is very personable, professional and yet he is very direct and is exceptional at clarifying his expectations with customers. These skills as observed in Keith are something that I too embodied in my relationships with clientele over the last few weeks. Similarly, over the last two weeks I have come to understand the importance of how marketing can help build customer traffic and promote sales for a tourism operation. As the food and beverage manager, I was responsible for meeting with timeshare visitors in order to promote our cruises. This experience helped me learn how to better sell and upsell our products and services to individuals. More importantly, I learned that establishing a positive perception with customers is the single most critical action that one can take towards helping their company establish lasting success and longevity.

Please describe the supervision you are receiving.

Honestly, I received very little to no supervision over the last few weeks. In fact, as the food and beverage manager, I tended to supervise more than vice versa. Therefore, I had the responsibility to be the spokesperson for all our cruises and likewise coached and evaluated the performance of each of the fall interns. It was quite the experience to be able to have pep talks with each intern and be able to express to each of them not only their areas of improvement but also their strengths and abilities. In the end, it has been a very eventful few weeks and I have enjoyed every moment of my internship.

One of the most imperative aspects of success is portraying a positive attitude. Indeed, it is true that attitude is addictive and can either help or hinder each experience. Hence, it is prior to my internship I made it a personal commitment and goal of mine to portray an enthusiastic and upbeat attitude, regardless of the circumstances. One way, in which I have followed through with this commitment, has been to stay humble. I truly believe that if people act in way in which they continually learn and strip themselves of pride, that it allows a person to better learn and apply necessary principles and social skills.  Another priority I have made to illustrate my attitude has been to record my thoughts and feelings because I do so, I will be able to articulate what I am feeling in a more logical and personable experience. In other words, as I record my impressions, I find that I am much more apt to recognizing what I need to do when a similar such experience occurs in the future. This thereby not only helps me become a better a better employee for Vagabond Cruise but more importantly as a person.

A second principle that I believe and can attest to helping oneself achieve success is to seek learning opportunities. Therefore, as a Food and Beverage Sales Representative for Vagabond Cruise, I have dedicated myself towards learning all that I can, whether it pertains to my work responsibilities or not. For example, it is very common for me to ask several questions and over the last five weeks, I have sought more and more information about how Vagabond Cruise operates. Simply said, I love to learn and because of this being a passion of mine, I have retained every artifact of this internship as means for retention of information and tactics, which undoubtedly will help refine my abilities, increase my strengths, and overcome my challenges. Indeed attitude is an essential component of life and as I continue to embody happiness and humility, I believe that I will be a positive asset to Vagabond Cruise.

Brief description of the past two-week’s duties:

The last two weeks have been very exciting and worthwhile. Although my roles have not changed and I have yet to receive additional responsibilities; it is important to note that, I have continued to find avenues in which I can retain a relevant and educational experience. During this fourth and fifth week of my internship, I primarily worked in our ticketing booth and acted as a food and beverage representative on our Sunset Dinner Cruises as well. If I by chance am neither working in our ticket booth or on a cruise, I have been making posts and revamping the Vagabond Cruise Facebook page. This responsibility has brought me great joy because I have always enjoyed using social media outlets. Ultimately, despite the last two weeks being repetitive, I have enjoyed every minute of my internship.

How are you experiencing a relevant and challenging use of your skills?

It comes by no surprise to me nor to those, in whom do I affiliate, that I am experiencing a relevant and fruitful internship, one that is allowing me to use both my talents and abilities. To prove this notion, I have been able to use my strong sense of organizational structure towards organizing the ticketing booth and our wine inventories. Additionally, I have been able to use my keen understanding of social media outlets towards promoting the Vagabond Cruise Facebook page. These two tasks have allowed me to control the social marketing directions of Vagabond Cruise and ensure that we were logistically sound and well structured.

What did you learn from your experiences?

Over the last two weeks, I learned that Vagabond Cruise is a company, which focuses more little on preparation and structure. It seems as though Vagabond Cruise operates its business day by day without making any real investments about the future. Such a business philosophy was unsettling for me and after working the last few weeks I have realized that I would rather work for a company, which focuses on its financial investments and future business plans.

What worked well?  What would you change next time?

In reflection, I believe what worked well for me over the last two weeks has been seeking feedback from my supervisors and relying on other interns to share the work load. In my prior work experiences, I have a reputation of working individually and at times taking on more than I can handle. Learning from my past, throughout the last two weeks I have requested help from the other Fall Interns so that I individually can be more efficient. This strategy has ultimately helped us better achieve our company goals both individually and collectively. On the other hand, the last two weeks have run rather smoothly and because of this, I cannot pinpoint any action or decision, which I would change. Honestly, whenever a challenge came about I was more than capable of solving the problem at hand, as I had over five weeks of experience under my belt.

Please describe the supervision you are receiving.

Over the last two weeks, I have received constant supervision and instruction. Moreover, the all the instruction I have received was conducted in a professional manner and in such a way that it has helped me better excel in my roles and projects. One such example of supervision that I received occurred on Tuesday September 17, 2013. On this particular day, I worked in the ticketing box and was responsible for ringing up over 150 passengers for our Historic Savannah Cruise. As one can imagine, I was quite overwhelmed to ring up all these passengers all by myself but nonetheless I did the best I could to look up reservations and process payments.

It was during this time of chaos that my owner, Keith Walston, dropped by the office to check on how I was surviving. Standing in the background, I suddenly felt more pressure to speed up the process and get everyone finished in a timely manner. It was not until after I processed all the passengers that Keith pulled me aside to give me some feedback. Keith started by expressing his admiration for my work ethic, praised my high energy, and followed by encouraging me to personify my work ethic like a duck. In other words, Keith told me to act more like a duck because when a person first looks at a duck, they see a very calm and cool animal swimming on the top of the water. Keith told me to embody myself with a calm presence to customers. Keith then mentioned that although a duck looks calm, under the water these animals pump their legs. Therefore, Keith told me to harness my energy but not in a way in which it prohibits me from working at a fast and efficient pace. Overall, the feedback I received from Keith was very applicable and it made me realize that I needed to work in a way, which is more personable to customers.