I think I got pretty lucky with my placement and the way it fits with my personality. I’ve always been one to find comfort in somewhat smaller tight knit groups of people and that’s the kind of community my workplace has. We’re a pretty small operation at Friends of Parkside with the staff to intern ratio being pretty much 1:1. Candice, Moustafa, our coworkers, and I all share an office where our desks are pushed together in little clusters and bring antisocial isn’t an option. In the almost 4 weeks I’ve been here I feel like the give of us have gained an understanding and liking for each other (some of which is based on our mutual teasing of Zach). At first I was hesitant to be coming into this new place with a history and their own protocols but as we’ve become comfortable with each other I’ve realized that as long as you’re friendly and respectful you just have to give it a little time and then you’re in. This is especially true with my supervisor who started out as pretty professional figure. However, in the last week or so I feel like I’ve really developed a raport with him once we got a better idea of each other and started picking on each other. Thus week especially felt natural to be working with my coworkers and fellow interns and it makes the experience a lot more enjoyable. I was a little concerned about the culture of an office, especially with the age gap, but Parkside seems to be the perfect balance for me.
