Greetings! My name is Zion Jackson
and I spent the summer of 2017 as an
intern with PDA’s Training and Research
Institute (TRI).
While parts of my internship were spent
working on administrative tasks at my
desk, I also had the opportunity to work
in the training labs—an opportunity I
absolutely enjoyed. My supervisor, David
Talmage, allowed me to broaden my horizons
through very precise assignments.
Not only did I learn about the workplace,
but I gained great life lessons from this experience
as well. This internship required
a lot of organizational skill, disciplined
focus and time management.
In all honesty, I am not the most organized
person. The first day of my internship,
however, involved extensive organization.
My first task took me two weeks
to complete. For this task, I organized
important papers from different training
sessions into their correct folders. Since
these papers were very important, I made
sure that all of them were filed correctly.
Of course, working with a copier proved
a hassle, but is that not the case for all
technology? Still, I always made sure to
double-check my work and worked at a
good pace to do the job right and complete
it in a timely fashion.
Working in the labs required more disciplined
focus and precision. It came with
a lot of responsibilities and rules. Not
only for the safety of the individuals in
the lab, but also for the tests and training
activities being conducted. I set up training
sessions and prepared the substances
needed for a particular class. For any class
to succeed, the setup must be up to par. I
was nervous, of course, but I accepted the
challenge with confidence. My supervisors
were really patient with me and very
helpful. Not only did they inform me of
what my tasks were, but they educated me
about the different machines and activities
that take place in the lab. I found it quite
interesting to come to work and learn
something new every day. In the end, I
became comfortable with the labs and
felt very welcome. It truly made me feel
amazing that they trusted me with such
important tasks. While I messed up here
and there, they still encouraged me to
keep going and always do my best.
I would definitely recommend a person
my age ask about this internship and get
involved. I enjoyed working with the PDA
Education staff every day. Even though I
was younger than them, they treated me
as if I was one of them. I was treated as a
mature adult and their mentoring guided
me into a different way of thinking. And,
ultimately, I learned the importance of organization
and time management. I would
love to give a special thanks to my supervisors
David Talmage, Stephanie Ko, Kimberly
McIntire and Stephanie Grinan.
They pushed me to my limits and helped
me every step of the way. I appreciate them
so much, and I hope it was as much of a
pleasure having me there as it was for me
being there with them.
PDA Who's Who
- Stephanie Grinan, Education
Coordinator, PDA
- Zion Jackson, Student, Bowie State
University
- Stephanie Ko, Senior Manager,
Lecture Education, PDA
- Kimberly McIntire, Manager,
Education, PDA
- David Talmage, Senior Director,
Education