Mayuresan's October Week 1 Reflection
Please share how you feel about the onboarding process. What are some resources that were helpful, and what’s something you’d like to see implemented in the future?
The onboarding and training process I went through a couple of weeks ago was something incredibly valuable to me during my transition to being in a professional working environment. The videos, tips, and documents outlining procedures and policies here at U+ were useful to me as everything seemed pretty overwhelming at first. However, by accessing the website, training videos, and SOP documents, I was able to get an understanding of the work culture and brand image U+ strives to foster. In the future, I feel future co-op students would benefit from more information regarding Slack and how to use it, especially if they haven’t used it before. This could include help with setting up notifications, signing in and signing out, setting up your profile, and more. Having a general co-op student meeting within the first few weeks to familiarize everyone with Slack could be another solution.
Describe your main tasks this week. Who did you work with? How did you approach the task? What did you accomplish?
The main tasks I have been assigned to for the past couple of days have been under Christina’s LEGO Robotics Team, where we have been responsible for creating and designing various LEGO Robotic lesson plans and challenges for students of different age groups via Canva. I worked primarily under the guidance of Christina and communicated with other team members while we were working in person. Having a considerable amount of experience working with Canva, I enjoyed creating engaging and fun lessons for the kids. When it came to understanding the coding aspect, I had to familiarize myself with the coding and the type of challenges the LEGO Robotic lesson plans offered.
What is one big challenge you faced this week? Who did you turn to when you needed support? Describe what you learned and what you would do differently the next time.
One big challenge I faced was finding my way to the office in person, as it required considerable travel time. I researched travel routes and looked at the video Carey posted, showing where the office is and how to gain entry inside. I was able to meet another team member on the day of and we were able to go inside with the help of Christina. I was able to familiarize myself with the route to the OneHub office and how the space is shared with them. Something I would do differently is ask others who have been in the office about routes they take and how they utilize the space.
What are three main skills U+/YRES allowed you to leverage/develop this week? Reflect on how each skill brings value to your professional development and propels you forward in the industry.
Three main skills U+ has allowed me to leverage and develop this week include communication, time management, and self-motivation. I was able to develop and enhance these skills while working virtually from home, and while working in person at the U+ office. Learning to meet stricter deadlines and that employers may not always be able to check up on you have allowed me to improve my time management and self-motivation. I improved my professional communication by communicating with supervisors, team members, and other staff at U+ on Slack. Each skill will help me grow professionally as I will be able to use it to showcase my strengths and abilities as an employee at any future workplace. As these skills are crucial and required for any job, I will be able to utilize them and grow my career further.
What personal motto or guiding principle would you bring with you to your role next week, and how do you see it helping you contribute to our organization’s mission?
A personal motto I have set for myself that I wish to bring to my role next week is “Use what you’ve learned to help others”. This follows closely with U+ Education’s mission on providing accessible quality educational resources to everyone with various programs that can help improve one’s education. By using the skills and information I have gained at U+, I wish to help young individuals find enjoyment in learning new things and be engaged with content instead of learning things just for the sake of learning it. Growing up, I felt pressured to learn things just to know it for a test or quiz, but at U+, I’ve come to realize that they value true experiential learning rather than just mere percentage results.