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Anthropology Internship Coordinator: Dr. Maureen Hays ​haysm@cofc.edu

Instructions: As part of your assessment you will keep a written journal of your internship experiences. Entries should be reflective and thoughtful. This journal will have two formats. 

 Daily Log​ - At the end of each day at your placement, record the time you worked (e.g., Wednesday, August 28, 12-3 P.M.) and describe in a few sentences what you did that day. 

 Weekly Questions- ​At the end of each week, reflect back on what you accomplished that week and answer the weekly questions.

Week 1:  Why did you choose to intern with this organization?  There are many different types of goals--academic, professional, personal, or more likely, a combination.  List three goals you have for this term. Given these goals, what skills do you hope to acquire or improve?  What do you want most to explore, understand, or learn during your internship?

Week 2:  What is the mission of the organization? Describe the organization. What is its structure?  What do the various members of the organization do?  Who are its clients?  How were you being integrated into the organizational structure?

Week 3:  Describe your placement. What are your duties and responsibilities?  How do the responsibilities of each member of the organization contribute to the mission? How does your internship fit into the mission of the organization?

Week 4:  Community can be defined in many ways, global, national, state, Charleston, academic, to name a few. What does your organization contribute to its clients and/or the community?  Based on your experiences thus far, what brings this organization and the community together?  Does it seem to be a relationship of mutual reciprocity?

Week 5:  How does the organization work to meet the goals of its mission?  How does it interact with other organizations with similar missions?

Week 6:  It is an unusual intern who does not experience some kind of disillusion or disappointment with their internship. This often stems from a difference between what was anticipated and what is actually experienced. This is a typical stage of an internship. Have you felt this disillusion?  Is there a difference between what you expected and what you are experiencing? How are you addressing it?

Week 7:  Compare your learning experience in this internship course to a traditional classroom course. What are the pros and cons of both?

Week 8:  What has been your most positive experience thus far?  Your least positive? Explain both.

Week 9:  Reread your entry for Week 1.  Do you think that you have developed the skills you hoped to improve/acquire? If not, how will you work over the next few weeks to achieve those goals?

Week 10:  In describing your activities this week, note if and how they have changed since Week 3. Comment both on areas in which you assumed more responsibility, and changes in your perception of the organization and clients.  Do you think your internship has contributed to the mission of the organization?

Week 11:  During Week 1 you set three goals for yourself. Are you meeting those goals? Have your goals changed? If so, how? 

Week 12: How do you think anthropologists can contribute to the mission of this organization? 

Week 13:  Would you suggest your placement to other students? Why or why not?  Is there anything that you would have wanted to know at the beginning that would have improved your internship experience? Are there any tips you would pass on to future interns? What suggestions do you have for your organization about the internship?  Have you told them, and if so, how did they respond? 

Week 14:  Your last journal entry should be a summary and evaluation of your experience. To write this, read back through your journal. The following questions should be answered in the summary: How has this internship contributed to your anthropological knowledge? How did your anthropological knowledge allow you to make contributions to this organization? Did your internship experience allow you to acquire or apply knowledge that you could not have in any other way?  Did the internship meet your expectations? What was your greatest challenge during this internship? How did you overcome it? Did your anthropology course material prepare you for your internship? How or how not? Did this internship generate ideas for anthropological research? Did your internship experience have an impact on your future career plans?