An Intern's Reflection - by Harsh Patel

As I am quickly approaching my last day here at SPD, I am feeling grateful and reflecting on all the interesting experiences I have had here. As I reflect upon the last month, I feel incredibly proud of my accomplishments and the breadth of projects I have had the chance to participate in. During my time here with Employee Relations and Department of Natural Resources, I have gained experience and knowledge of various policies and procedure in government settings. For this reason, I would like to thank the Employee Relations division and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for extending me an opportunity to work with them and learn great things while allowing me to utilize and build on my skills. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to these divisions and employees for enhancing my internship experience with SPD and sincerely appreciate their time and the opportunity to work with them.

While working with Employee Relations for two weeks, I spent most of my time obtaining knowledge of remote work (telework/work-from-home) situations, policies, and procedures to assist in preparing a remote work policy. It was interesting to work on this project because a work-from-home policy sparked a debate in the media after Yahoo ended a work-from-home policy followed by Best Buy on the issue of productivity and team work.

After working nearly 50 hours, I was able to complete my project which consisted of a 17 page report about a remote work policy and a state-wide implementation plan based on research from other federal and state agencies. This project enhanced my research, planning, policy/procedure writing, and presentation skills. Additionally I learned remote work processes and management, and knowledge of policy and procedure language used in government settings.

My experience with DNR was also memorable and I had the chance to work on various HR related projects like reviewing, formatting, and updating the new employee manual, training check-list and orientation for Indiana’s Division of State Parks and Reservoirs. While working on the new employee training check-list, I learned how this training helps the park’s employees to respond effectively during emergency situations that arise on State parks and reservoirs. Furthermore, I updated the employee manual that can be used by all State parks and reservoirs employees and summarized their primary duties and responsibilities. Moreover, my last project was to create a presentation for new State parks and reservoirs employees that address safety, customer service, radio and vehicle use, payroll and many other important issues to help them achieve their organizational goals and maintain a safe working environment.

My Internship projects so far have resembled real world experience while at the same time applying lessons and theory learned in the classroom to find practical solutions. Applying theory to actual working situations has helped me to gain a deeper understanding of my business discipline. Through an internship like mine, students are better prepared for employment and graduate school. Moreover, employers are also looking for students with real world experience and many employers use internships as a means to recruit future employees.