Week 7

During this past week I have made two observations. The first is how every intern reaches a point in their internship when they almost become fully comfortable with their role in the office. Or at least this is how I feel. I no longer have to bug the other staffers with little questions regarding how to do certain tasks. I feel so comfortable with the office that all last week I walked the two new interns through office procedures, how to do certain tasks, and answered questions. By thoroughly and quickly bringing the new interns up to speed I increased office efficiency and productivity.

Secondly, I was able to enjoy the company and mentoring of my roommate’s mentor on Saturday. My roommate was nice enough to invite me to his mentor’s home where we spent the afternoon lounging around the pool and later going out to dinner and a movie. The great thing about this shows how AAPD interns do not have to restrict themselves to developing a relationship strictly with their mentors. An intern can develop strong friendships both his or her own mentor and the mentors of their peers.

Week 7: Distinguished People

As an AAPD intern on the Hill, I am privileged with the opportunity to meet and speak with many distinguished individuals in their respective fields. At the past social event, the other interns and I were given advice from three very distinguished individuals, and it made me think about the career I'd take and the advice I'd like to be able to give when, and if, I have done so well to be in a position like theirs to give advice. From whatever distance into the future I look back from, I want to be able to feel confident that I lived and worked according to my principles and values. I want to become a leader in my field by working as hard as I possibly can to be a reliable and dependable resource. Coming from a hard working family and being raised to believe that I can achieve whatever it is that I want to achieve, I have come to view my place in the disability community as a platform to show that a person's will and work-ethic will topple any obstacles he/she might face. I will not allow my disability to corner me into one segment of society, but I will use it as a launching pad to educate and demonstrate unto others how the disabled community is a vital resource. This is how stereotypes are changed. Most of all, I want to live a life and have a career that I can be proud of. I want to be distinguished.

Internship Blog for Week Seven

Wow! I had a good time at the office on Tuesday! I was there with a co-worker and chatted with a woman knows ASL. Ms. Emmonds (Office of Personnel Management) interviewed me (with an interpreter) for the background investigation. It took about an hour for the interview. After lunch, a woman came to my office about the videophone; I’m excited about this because I can start to participate in meetings. She told me that my videophone didn’t get setup yet because they need to get the modem from Verizon. A co-worker came to my office and shows me what he doing on his job about different devices with firewall more security. I think him since showed what it looks like, I can to start working on a project with some co-workers. I had nothing to do today. I am still waiting for modem to arrive for setup videophone then can I join a meeting with group on calls. I just sit in my office all day and read the book. I feel concern because I feel like I did not learn anything today. I really would rather keep busy when I am here. Friday was interesting. My POC came to my office and asked me who the interpreter is last Tuesday? I explained the interpreter was for my background investigation and not relative to DHS. He explained he was trying to get an interpreter for meetings for me and I showed him the website and he was very impressed! Now he gave me a schedule of meetings and is making an appointment for an interpreter for me for all the meetings. I have to setup a request for the date and time and where the meeting is at. I asked him if all meetings are by phone conference or in the conference room. He explained that every Tuesday we will have staff meeting in the conference room. I explained I don’t need to make an appointment for interpreter with phone conference because I can use videophone for VRI (Video Remote Interpreting). He said, “I thought it just was only one-on-one?” I explained that yes, but can have more people than one-on-one in the videophone for meetings. He said “wow that’s awesome”! I am excited because now I can start to participate in the meetings next week for sure! I’m really excited about it; I can’t wait to participate and learn more at the meetings!

You call this a Pizza Party?

Pizza: Pronunciation: \’pet-sə\. Function: noun. A dish made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked.

Party: Pronunciation: \’pär-tē\. Function: noun. A social gathering.

AAPD Pizza Party: Pronunciation:\’a-a-p-d pet-sə pär-tē\. Function: noun. A social gathering where dishes made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked are served. Guests have the opportunity to meet high ranking officials from the private and public sectors who have an active role in the disability rights movement.

Given the phrase “pizza party”, I would say most Americans would not anticipate the third definition being true; however, when you are an AAPD summer intern this definition does not do the event justice. This week, AAPD held an intern pizza party at the K&L Gates building in Washington, DC. Most of the interns arrived thinking: “free food, relaxing after work, catching up with friends, this is going to be a good activity”. Instead what we found when we arrived were four VIPs, Wade Henderson, Dick Thornburgh, Ralph Boyd, and Jonathon Young. I think most of us changed our mind to thinking “GREAT activity”. Each of these esteemed men took time out of their day to speak with us, a group of 18 young interns with bright hopes. Personally, I was quite honored to have the opportunity to hear them speak. They shared a little bit of their personal and professional backgrounds with us and then opened up the discussion for questions. I would like to say I asked a witty question; however, my mind was still too numb from trying to process the fact that these four cared enough about us and the future of disabilities rights to come to our pizza party!!! This event gave me the chance to learn more about and connect with leaders in the disability community, and I am very grateful for this opportunity. I am still having a hard time accepting that this summer has opened up 101 doors for greater possibilities for me, and I fully appreciate everything AAPD has allowed me to do. I know we still have four more weeks left in the summer, and we have more and bigger events to come. I look forward to these with excitement and anticipation, and I hope to continue learning and growing through this amazing experience. Thanks again AAPD!!

Slow Week

Hello again,

This is me blogging from East Brunswick, NJ. I’m at my Uncle’s house for the weekend to celebrate my cousins graduating from High School/College. So this past week was interesting. This was a very short week for me; I went back to work on Wednesday and left for NJ after work on Thursday, which was interesting to say the least. I can check a 5 hour bus ride from Metro Center to Penn Station in NYC off my bucket list now. Otherwise this past week has been fairly dull. At the beginning of the week I was still of from July 4^th, and the end I was off visiting family.

It’s my first time seeing my cousins in over a year, and it’s refreshing to be around family again. Work wise, everything has been going pretty good. The pace has slowed down a bit, but I expect it to pick back up next week when I come back to DC. Otherwise, it’s been great seeing everyone again, and it’s great to be back in a familiar environment. Can’t wait to see the rest of my family, and cant wait to get back to work either.

Till next time,

Ron S. Nunes

A Celebration of Freedom and Equality

Spending the 4^th of July in DC instilled Independence Day with an air of festivity and an empowering sense of connection to the patriotism displayed in DC. Watching a parade that commemorates the actions of our forefathers traverse down Constitution Avenue mere feet from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights instilled the 4^th of July with special meaning. The 4^th of July parade provided my first experience with the larger than life balloons that I’d previously only seen on the TV screen during the Thanksgiving and Christmas parades. Following the parade I toured the American History Museum. Gazing upon the Star Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our nation’s national anthem on the 4^th of July evoked in me a certain special pride. Though the iconic moment of my 4^th of July was watching the effervescent colored lights of the fireworks streaming against the night sky against the backdrop of the Washington Monument. Thousands of Americans stood at attention gazing upon the pyrotechnic light show up in the night sky, meant to resemble the very rockets that shone on the Star Spangled Banner during the War of 1812, the flag that showed that our nation was still there. Just as the 4^th of July indicates each and everyday that our nation remains committed to the traditions of freedom and equality. This tradition of respect for the freedom and equality of individuals and groups empowered Colonists to rise up against the British in 1776, led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In addition to celebrating our nation’s independence we must also remember that the 4^th of July recognizes our nation’s achievements towards freedom and equality throughout history.

Week Six - The Sixth Adventure

Nature is my first love, if it means to go bald, I will gladly let the hottest sun toast my hair on fire. A hundred degrees feels more like 85 degrees. I do not mind the heat for I have once lived in the desert and traveled to the hottest places on this planet. Being a human means to survive natural disasters, take risks and learn to climb the highest mountain. There's no doubt that too many people appreciate technology more than mother nature.

Not a lot of interesting things has happened during this week. I had fun alone at my apartment cooking dinner for myself. I have achieved several victories for my PC Gaming competitions. And now, I just had a Pizza party with the AAPD yesterday. It's good to meet our friends again and listen to lectures from important leaders experience.

My job has created more work for me to learn. I have created a webpage for a team of web developers to use as a way to share their work. It was my job to set up the website using Microsoft SharePoint web service. It's not difficult but it takes time to add information such as record management.

As a IT Specialist Intern, I get to improve my communication skills to understand people needs. Whenever I have a project that I must complete. I first begin to speak with them to make sure that I understand all of the requirements expected. If I don't I will have to restart all over again or worse, a project can result to failure and loss of time & money. The ability to understand different people needs is called needs assessment. For instance, a programmer has received requirements to build software from a boss who knows nothing about computers. A programmer would use good methods of communication to his/her boss to understand the exact software requirements. I hope that helps.

Only four more weeks left of happy adventures.

Lovely snowflakes, they fall nowhere else! ~ Zen Proverb