We asked 优蜜视频’s Summer Programs Intern Kaitlyn Chen to write a reflection on her journey with 优蜜视频. Check out her post below on how 优蜜视频 influenced important decisions about her future career opportunities!

My name is Kaitlyn, and I鈥檓 currently a sophomore pursuing a major in Psychology with a minor in Film at California State University, Long Beach. In 2017, I participated in the program, externing at . Before coming into 优蜜视频, I had a set goal of wanting to become a film editor. For 6 years, I鈥檝e been self-teaching myself how to edit. I鈥檝e volunteered at multiple film festivals and nonprofit organizations in hopes of getting my foot in the door of the industry. However, the majority of the time, I was learning and editing on my own. When I started my junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted a mentor, someone who would guide me through the steps towards becoming a filmmaker, or more specifically, a film editor. I first learned of 优蜜视频 and their through my college and career counselor (Ms. Sisson) as I was nearing the end of my junior year. There, I met Ni帽a, who would become my program coordinator and later my supervisor this summer. I also met my EXPLORE mentor, Dr. Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy, who would later become an influential person in my editing career.

How 优蜜视频 Helped me to Grow

优蜜视频 definitely challenged me socially by helping me step out of my comfort zone and opening myself up to new people, ideas, and experiences. The excursions that I visited during my year (2017) and this year (2019) in EXPLORE helped me to grow closer with the other externs and become familiar with the networking process. All it takes is a brief chat with someone, and there you go! You just formed a connection, and the next step is getting in contact with them. Through 优蜜视频, I鈥檝e learned that I shouldn鈥檛 be afraid of people, but of the missed opportunities in life. As the saying goes, 鈥淵ou miss 100% of the shots you don鈥檛 take.鈥� 优蜜视频 helped me see what it meant to be a gifted individual. It didn鈥檛 mean being born a prodigy or being the top 1% of the class (although those could be the cases). There are other individuals whose gifts might not be as obvious, yet they are the ones working their hardest to reach for their dreams.

优蜜视频 also challenged me academically by helping me apply my academic knowledge to the real world. Going into the EXPLORE program, I didn鈥檛 think I would need any prior knowledge, aside from video editing. However, I was wrong. Before I started on my editing project, Professor Amy gave me some books to read and some documentary films to watch. I understood that in order to carry out a project, I needed to know the background information behind it, or more specifically, the historical significance. That鈥檚 when I had to reach into my memory to recall some of the previous information I had learned at school. I never imagined history to be so alive and relevant in today鈥檚 world until I began applying my historical knowledge into everything I did during my externship. Moreover, 优蜜视频 taught me the technical side of the counseling field during these eight weeks I served as an intern. I learned how to format documents, file papers and keep records of the budget. I found these simple tasks to be very useful in my life, and I use them in all the things I do, whether that is formatting my assignments or recording my money spending.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The moment I stepped foot in Professor Amy鈥檚 house, I just knew my filmmaking experience would take a whole different turn. You wouldn鈥檛 believe how many cultural artifacts I saw in her house, especially her living room alone. It鈥檚 like walking into a museum of its own with paintings, musical instruments, books, and so much more. How cool would it be if all filmmakers had studios like this! My filmmaking experience was more fast-paced and contemporary. However, Professor Amy showed me another route I could take that was more slow-paced yet culturally informative. For three weeks, I worked with her in learning about various South / Southeast Asian cultures and getting a chance to edit one of her documentary films. I鈥檝e learned so much about the documentary filmmaking process 鈥撯�� not only the time it took to make a film, but also the time it took to learn all the information about the people and culture being documented. Professor Amy鈥檚 patience, guidance, and wisdom made my first hands-on experience in the EXPLORE program such a memorable one. I felt my work as an editor was even more valuable, knowing that it contributed to a global effort of connecting individuals to each other through cultural awareness. I never felt more valued as an editor when Professor Amy reached out to me after the program, asking me if I can help her edit again. It was that small favor that really ignited my passion for film. If someone believed in my ability, I should believe in it as well. I don鈥檛 think my connection with Professor Amy would鈥檝e been possible without 优蜜视频鈥檚 help because they were the ones who initiated the EXPLORE program. It is because of programs like these that allow students (like myself) to continually expand our networks and connect with individuals who are like-minded and passionately driven.

A Step Towards School Counseling

I always knew I had a soft spot for kids. I love being around them. They鈥檙e such a joy to work with because they exude so much energy and optimism. I had the chance to experience these ___ more fully this summer at 优蜜视频, engaging with students from all different backgrounds and grade levels. When I was at Academy and watching over the kids on their breaks, some of them would come up to me and excitedly ask me to play with them, whether that was tag or a board game. I felt like a kid at times, remembering when I used to run around with my friends or become super competitive in Monopoly. There were, however, times when I had to step in and calmly advise the kids not to run out onto the streets or to take turns in the game. On the other hand, when I was interacting with the high school students in the EXPLORE program, I felt, in a sense, more connected to them because I was in their shoes not too long ago. Whenever they voiced their victories, I celebrated with them. Whenever they voiced their defeats, I gave them some advice that others had given me when I was facing similar challenges. These moments of connecting and advice-giving allowed me to develop a sense of purpose and fulfillment that will transcend into my possible counseling career.

Being surrounded by kids/teenagers and interacting with them brought out my inner passion for helping others physically and psychologically. Because of my soft-spoken, compassionate, and observant nature, I believe school counseling might be a great field for me 鈥撯�� one that I can be myself and become the person I want to be. I realized that my purpose in life was to help those in need because the world so desperately needs that at the moment. I feel like my past experiences in counseling elementary and high school students at various nonprofit organizations, especially at 优蜜视频, have ultimately led me to where I鈥檓 at. It didn鈥檛 matter how many people I was helping because I鈥檓 satisfied knowing that helping one person can change his or her world. It鈥檚 strange how I entered 优蜜视频 wanting to pursue one field (film) and coming out wanting to pursue another field (psychology). It just goes to show that life and the choices you make in life are constantly changing. Therefore, you鈥檙e always learning how to adapt to these changes.

The Institute for Educational Advancement was honored to be awarded a grant from the Annenberg Foundation to participate in the 2019 cohort of Alchemy Tech, a pilot program developed in partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN,) that is focused exclusively on technology capacity building for nonprofits in Los Angeles County. The kickoff to the program began with attending the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) hosted by NTEN.

LOCATION AND VENUE

Portland, Oregon, Oregon Convention Center, March 13-15, 2019

Having never been to Portland, I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the downtown area is. The transit system makes getting around very easy, and almost everything I needed was within walking distance. There is no shortage of places to eat; from fine-dining to quick on-the-go meals, downtown Portland has something for everyone. (BlueStar donuts, anyone?)

CONTENT

Offerings

The conference ran for three days, and each day there were at least three sessions. There were over 130 topics to choose from, grouped by categories: IT, Fundraising, Leadership, Marketing/Communications, and Program, in addition to the keynotes and vendor presentations. In the main hall, there were over 100 vendors and suppliers ready to answer questions about various platforms and services. I definitely experienced information overload, but every session I attended gave me new insights and ideas into how to apply technology to our Pasadena-based organization.

Collaborative Notes

The conference is centered around technology, so it would stand to reason that technology would play a huge part in the delivery of information. An app allowed you to see the complete schedule of events, and by marking your favorites, create a mini vetted itinerary for yourself. In addition, either through the app or through a web browser, attendees were able to view notes provided for each session and contribute note-taking to the collaborative platform. After the conference concluded, speakers鈥� slide decks were also made available through the portal.

Learning Outcomes

Unfortunately, as many offerings as there were, one could only choose one topic per time slot to participate in. Perhaps future technology will allow for time-travel, cloning, or parallel-universe existence, but I did not have access to those this year.

Instead, I tried to attend sessions in various categories, sort of a 鈥渟urvey / 101鈥� approach. As 优蜜视频 is migrating to a new database this year, I learned key concepts around migrating data and keeping it clean, best-practices for implementing those changes, and specific questions to ask the team about goals and focus areas. I learned about various integrative delivery methods for deep content, such as the report on the Poll Results on Gifted Education going live this month. I attended sessions on succession-planning; mapping digital ecosystems; how to have effective project management from a staff resources, as well as,

a platform and reporting structure viewpoint; how to reach target audiences through crowdfunding and peer to peer networking; and even tools and tricks for creating an efficient and user-friendly financial dashboard that key stakeholders (board members, staff, foundations) can utilize with minimal time requirements.

ACTIVITIES

In addition to the actual conference, attendees arranged for various get-togethers and tours around the city each day. The conference hosted a party at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Thursday night, and key sponsors of the event (Microsoft and EveryAction) hosted mixers at the Convention Center.

PEOPLE

Finally, the conference provided excellent networking opportunities with fellow cohort members of the Annenberg Alchemy Tech program, NTEN employees, speakers and vendors, and fellow attendees who found each other through the 鈥淏irds of a Feather鈥� lunch tables coordinated by the event.

The experience was eye-opening and incredibly valuable, and our team is already implementing strategies and projects inspired by the event. Look for announcements from 优蜜视频 in the coming months regarding new platforms and technology, as we grow into the next phase of our development!

The 2020 NTC will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD, March 24 -26.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

https://annenberg.org/what-we-do/alchemy/alchemy-tech/ https://www.nten.org/ntc/program/agenda/?page=day-2 https://www.oregoncc.org/ https://omsi.edu/