Legal Assistant Internship

by Marcella Mackey

I am doing my internship for the Law Office of Nancy McCombs. I began my internship on August 7, 2013. I work every Monday and Wednesday from 9-5.

Nancy McCombs takes potential clients who have been denied Social Security benefits. Nancy McCombs has an associate attorney, two legal assistants and a bookkeeper on staff. The office is small in size. But the amount of work she does, as well as her office, for her clients is huge. 

My job title is legal assistant. My job duties are to update and maintain client files including status, reminders and updates. I call US Social Security offices to update clients' case status'. I maintain contact with health care providers regarding client release of information status. I also steadily check status of client cases on the Social Security database.

My internship is a great opportunity for me to gain experience and knowledge as a legal assistant as well as an office assistant.

Medical Front Office Internship

 by Hinde Gribi

  

The Mission Neighborhood Resource Center (MNRC) helps homeless people in giving them social services referrals and medical assistance.

My job responsibilities as an intern are scheduling and changing patient appointments, faxing prescriptions, referrals, scanning patient’s forms (patient registration forms, consent, address, income and insurance eligibility), checking insurance validity and filing documents. 

I start at 8:30 am, and the first thing I do when I arrive is to prepare patient registration forms in English and Spanish.  After that, I log in to my computer. When patients start to show up, I ask them if they have an appointment or if they are a new patient. If they are new, I give them the forms to fill out, but if they have an appointment, I ask them to give their name and date of birth, so I can check them in and also verify their insurance validity. Sometimes, I answer the phone, take messages or transfer the call to the appropriate person. I also scan all the new patient registration forms and other documents.  I do some research on the internet too, for patients such as looking for clinics that offer free acupuncture or free dental services etc…

Every Thursday MNRC staff has a meeting from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. At each meeting they discuss different subjects: one was about how to deal with patients.  The other subject was about how to get patients to  open up and talk about their personal lives… if they have experienced abuse or rape…..and offer them help.

A challenge I have faced at MNRC is that most of the patients speak Spanish, so sometimes I can’t help them because I don’t speak Spanish. So, I apologize to them and I call a coworker to help them. But when I sometimes understand what they’re saying, I help them. 

As an intern I have learned a lot of fascinating things at MNRC. Every time I go there, I learn something new.  All the people who work there are friendly, nice and work as a team. It’s has been such a wonderful and interesting experience.

Administrative Assistant Internship for a Non-Profit Organization

by Maria Soledad Becerra

 I did my administrative assistant internship at W.A.G.E.S. W.A.G.E.S.is an acronym for Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security. It is an organization located in downtown Oakland that works with low-income immigrants, mostly Latinas to give them the skills to own their green cleaning businesses cooperatives. WAGES teaches women to work together to success in a healthy work environment, with good pay, while making good decisions and getting an equal distribution of profits. WAGES has 12 members in different positions.

I had some responsibilities while I was interning there. I had my own temporary email from W.A.G.E.S. and was given different passwords to be used with the confidential and exclusive computer system. The organization shared relevant and private information about members of cooperatives with me. My supervisor was the Associate Director Alex Armenta who gave me the opportunity to understand, reflect on and follow her directions. She was very clear and specific when she explained and assigned a new project to me.

 I went to my internship Mondays and Wednesdays for eight weeks from 9 am to 4 pm. My internship started at 9 am. I greeted everyone in the office then took “my” laptop from the finance manager who had control of computers and devices. I had a designated seat in a desk close to my supervisor Alex. I turned on the laptop and I read all the emails prioritizing for necessity and urgency. I had a very big project doing a super spreadsheet putting all contacts and providers together. The spreadsheet was my principal project, and I received lots of compiled lists from other members of the staff to put the information on it.

I had some challenges during my internship because it was my first real experience working in an office environment in the United States. I needed to meet the Associate Director for an interview before I was accepted for the internship. She asked me some questions, questions I had learned how to answer in LEN Business and Language Institute’s (LEN) Career Development class, so I was prepared to do that. I knew that I responded assertively.

I also needed to pass three tests, one of them was how to write an email to communicate to everyone in the office about a holiday coming. The other was how to resolve a three person  executive meeting where only one would be present because the other two had problems planning their agendas and canceled at the last minute. The last one was regarding my knowledge of spreadsheets in excel. After I waited for a few minutes to see if I passed the tests, the Alex decided that I could be there as an Administrative Assistant Intern. I liked the name of my position so much.

Another challenge I had was when the Financial Manager requested me to translate some documents from Spanish to English. It was hard, but I felt proud of that accomplishment.

 But the most difficult challenge I faced was when I felt overwhelmed about the internship because I didn't take my break times and lunch time. I was exhausted entering a lot of data in a spreadsheet without rest. I tried to quit the internship without saying anything to the Alex about my situation I tried to make up a story telling her about changing my career plan to study medical assisting at LEN, and that it would not be necessary to finish because I didn’t need it.

I called my counselor Miguel and explained my feelings. He recommended that I explain the situation not my feelings to Alex. Then I talked with Nancy, the LEN director and told her I was feeling too exhausted and didn’t want to continue going there. After that, Nancy, Miguel and I had a telephone conference regarding my internship at WAGES. We decided that I would end it. But then later, Nancy recommended that I talk with Alex, and explain my situation. Alex was very understanding and nice. She suggested that I take breaks and go outside specifically to a garden on the sixth floor of Kaiser Permanente and walk around. She gave me a one hour lunch to do that and permission to stand up and relax at any time I needed. So, I stayed.

While I was undertaking the internship, I got a lot of benefits. For example, I had the amazing opportunity to work with a very professional staff in a structurally formal organization. I felt so important having my own email, passwords, desk, laptop and whatever I needed to accomplish and finish my job. I learned some new skills like how to manage a Google calendar, how to share files with staff in their own computerized system. I had the experience to act professionally, resolve my internship conflict,  and gain confidence about following instructions from a boss. I felt happy that my job was recognized and the organization appreciated my time with them. 

Thanks to WAGES for  letting me be part of them for the 8 weeks of my internship.

Data entry, Filing, Research Internship

by Phoebe Ha

  

I am doing an internship at the Asian American Journalist Association. They had an office in Los Angeles, but moved to San Francisco. There are seven staff and two different offices in the same building. One is for customer service; one is for keeping records for the journalists.

My job duties are filing, scanning pictures, creating folders on the computer. I also call different radio stations, television stations, and newspapers to get their contact information. Then too, I need to make sure all the office supplies are put in the right place to keep the office organized.

My job starts at 9:00 on the eleventh floor. Usually, I get a cup of water then go to my table where there is a list of my job duties. I start on the easier one that is not going to take much time. Usually,  I put a box of client information to the shredder. Next, I usually do filing. Then, I take all the files to the other office on the sixth floor. Then I turn on my computer where I insert data for the new journalist graduate’s information into the computer. After that, I do research on different company’s contact information. Research is a long term project. I do that only when I have finished all of the other jobs.

  

An Internship is a great place to get job experience. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. They know you’re new, and you need to learn. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn. Be positive if you are an intern.

Clerical, customer service internship in Education

By Roderick Francis

In March, I started my internship with the AmeriCorps Organization at the Hayward Unified School District. It is a great opportunity for me to be a part of a program that helps and educates the community. I recently had the chance to be a part of an awards ceremony honoring the young black men who are excelling academically and in community service.

My assignment was to contact the parents of the students receiving awards. I made calls, logged in information such as current address, student name corrections, and sent out e-mails concerning the event to parents.

I separated the students into two categories--striving students, learners who are improving their grades and--thriving students, pupils who maintain a B average or higher.

I had the opportunity to work on programs and flyers for the event-using publisher. I even gave a presentation about nutrition at a health fair for the elementary school students. In the coming weeks, I will be learning some new programs and applying for positions in the district.

Overall, it is a wonderful learning experience. I hope to become a permanent member of the team.

 

Property Operations Assistant Internship

by Inga Markevich

I performed my internship at the main office of Mercy Housing California.

During my internship I was assisting one of the Area Directors of Property Operations, Ms. Judy Shepard-Hall.

My daily responsibilities were:

Ø  Checking the voice messages and reporting to my supervisor if she was not in the office.

Ø  Checking and allocating the incoming mail between the property managers by scanning and e-mailing.

Ø  Sorting and filing documentation by properties in alphabetical order.

Once a week I was responsible for checking the status of weekly payments and approving payables through the company’s online system.

Also I performed different tasks such as:

ü  Working in Excel and preparing budget documentation for the properties. Mostly, I was transferring information from one document to another, following the instructions and standard format of the document.

ü  Updating information about personnel and providing it to the Department of Human Resources.

Most of the time I was working on preparing various documents for one of the new Mercy properties that will be opened by the end of this year. I updated the management plan, the resident selection criteria document, the lease agreement, and created a project description document for this property. This part of my internship was very challenging but interesting because I had to deal with lots of unfamiliar information and look for details about the project on the Internet and Mercy’s website. 

I had a chance to visit the construction area of this property and attended a power point presentation presented by the project architect. That was a very interesting experience and my first time at a construction area.

In addition, at my internship I attended a couple of business meetings with my supervisor. This allowed me to meet many people and feel the real work atmosphere of a large company.

Overall, I can say that I really enjoyed my internship at Mercy Housing California. I have learned a lot about the company and the whole process of developing and operating affordable housing for particular segments of the population. Plus, I gained good office experience in a wide non-profit organization. Even though my supervisor is a very busy person, and sometimes it was very hard for me to reach her, my internship at Mercy Housing California was a pleasant, challenging, and very knowledgeable experience. 

Data entry, Filing Internship

by Aidana

Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc. is a big organization that has been providing services for The Mission Community over 50 years. It consists of 9 preschools, 3 youth programs, and 1 senior center. The administrative office of Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc. is called Capp Office and located at 362 Capp St. in The Mission District. This is a 3 floor building between 18^th-19^th Streets on Capp St. It has a very warm and nice atmosphere and office environment.

I am really glad that I am doing my internship here.

The staff I am working with is very friendly and helpful. They are teaching me things that I need to learn very understandably, and explain everything that I need to do clearly and in detail, so I am not confused at all. And if I still have any questions or problems, I can always ask them. They are always ready to help me with anything.

The executive director of Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc. is Sam Ruiz. And the Children Services Division’s director is Dolores Terrazas. Mostly I help Judith Espino – the Children Services Management Specialist, who is also a an administrative assistant to Dolores Terrazas. I help Judy to file purchase orders, check requests, invoices, accident reports, contracts, meeting agendas and minutes of board of directors, create folders and binders, make labels, print and copy Acts and Program Performances, Grant Applications of one of the Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc. organizations – Head Start. I also update data (Excel) in Expenditure Tracking of budgets for all centers, checked all formulas and add new information. And there is one PowerPoint project that I have started working on with updating the information.

When I finish with Judy, I usually ask Alba if she needs some help, because we all three work together in one room, and everyone has her own desk. Alba Juarez is a Community, Parents & Health Associate. I already helped her with printing and copying parents’ meeting information and announcements, and I also checked the parents’ in-kind worksheet information and counted the hours and found the total amounts.

Then I go next door and find out if Barbara needs some help too. Barbara Walden is an executive assistant. I have already helped her with filing purchase orders and checks, and the organization’s vehicle plates and insurance information, as well with organizing office supplies and posting announcements.

And after that I go downstairs to Jaynie Lara, she is a Human Resources Manager. She always has a lot of documents to be filed. All of the information about the employees is confidential, so I have to be very careful. I help Jaynie to file personnel folders, check if the all documents are in the right place and order, to make new folders and create labels for new employees, and to shred the unnecessary or extra employee information.

Filing, data entry, organizing Internship

by Esetu

I did my internship at The Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. They have only four staff. They help people that have different kind of problems with their landlord or roommates. Most of the work is done by volunteers and by people that goes there for an internship.

My duties were entering confidential client information into the database, filing, copying/scanning and making sure there were enough brochures on the shelves for clients to take home and read so  they can understand their rights. I was given instructions on my first day about what to do and when to do it, so I followed their instructions and when I had a question I asked one of them about it. The instructions were very detailed and understandable.

My day started at 9a.m. Most of the time I did data entry all day long. I took a lunch break at noon for half hour then back to work. Sometimes I had a ten minute break in the afternoon. There was a day I had to do just filing and copying. I had to stand on my feet all day long rearranging the file cabinet which was a mess. It took me approximately five hours. Then I made copies of all kinds of forms and brochures to put up on the shelves. That was a very tiring day for me, but it was a good experience and I felt good about myself knowing that I did it the way it was supposed to be. After that day I started to mix and match my duties.

The challenge I faced was because there were a lot of volunteers, I worked with different people with different kinds of hand writing, some I couldn’t read at all. At the beginning, it was not easy, but once I got to know them I started to key in what I could read and leave the ones I couldn’t read until I got a chance to ask about it. That helped me not be frustrated and use my time wisely.

It was a good experience. I had the chance to work on some of the things that I learned at LEN. I think I have learned some, but I am sure if I had the chance to go for an internship in a normal office environment, I would have learned more.

by Sokrathany Tea

I am currently interning at U.C.S.F. in the Orthopaedic Surgery Department.

My responsibilities are different everyday as it all depends on my supervisor and what special projects she wants me to complete each day. So far, I have scanned, shredded/filed confidential information electronically and created new folders for new patients. I am also responsible for retrieving new scrubs for the doctors and restocking office supplies such as paper, ink, pens, paperclips, and staples etc. I am given very detailed instructions step by step from my supervisor for each task that is given to me and I understand exactly what to do.

The first day on my internship, I was very excited and nervous because I have never worked in this kind of environment before, but despite that feeling, I was ready to learn something new. I arrive every Tuesday and Thursday to my internship at 8:45a.m. When I get there, the first thing I do is greet everyone in the office then I ask my supervisor for my duties for the day. On my first day of my internship I was instructed to file patient charts alphanumerically, create new labels and new folders for new patients. Every project that is assigned to me is very clear and understandable because my supervisor Lori explains every step thoroughly.

The challenges I faced at this job was scanning documents in to the system because I had no clue at all on how to scan anything, but I overcame this challenge by asking my supervisor to show me step by step on how to scan confidential documents on the scanner and by the end of the day I knew exactly how to scan.

My overall impression of my internship is that it is great. I really enjoy working at U.C.S.F. because the people I work with there are all so friendly and helpful. I learned a lot about how the hospital operates such as what certain forms are for and why the doctors are so busy each day. More importantly I gained experience in working in an office setting, and it isn't as hard as I thought it was.

I have benefitted a lot from this internship because it matches perfectly with my short term goal which is to get a job as a Medical Administrative Assistant. I learned the daily duties for the position that I am looking for, and I am definitely looking forward to learning more from my internship.

Reception, Data Entry Internship at Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco

by Norma Abella

My internship is at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, it is a non-profit organization that helps some residents in San Francisco with issues they have with their landlords. I did not know that this organization existed until I started interning there.

My position is Receptionist and Data Entry Specialist. I am so excited because I am learning how to use FileMaker Pro, a software program for Mac. I had never used it before, so it’s a brand new experience. It is a lot like Access. In the afternoons, I sit in the reception area greeting clients and assisting them with the mandatory paperwork. I also answer the incoming calls. Recently, I started calling Spanish speaking clients and asking them for the update of their complaints.

I start at 9:00am and begin with any paperwork that needs to be entered in FileMaker Pro and if the information has been already input, I verify the information and comments. After having lunch I’m at the receptionist’s seat, and get ready because it is a very busy office. The office is open to walk-ins from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Monday thru Thursday and they are closed to the public on Fridays.

I have not been trained as a counselor, but I did help with one of their Spanish speaking clients, and one of the challenges that I faced during that meeting was that when explaining things to the client, he got stuck on this problem and wasn’t listening to a resolution or acknowledging that landlords also have rights. I was told that this is a common issue.

Overall, my internship is teaching me many things including, dealing with all types of clients to learning a new program. I like this internship because I enjoy helping people and it is a very impressive organization. I like that they help residents of San Francisco at no cost to the residents and that most counselors are also giving their time to help out, out of a staff of 12 only 3 are paid.

Data Entry Internship at Human Rights Committee of San Francisco

by Nafis Okilova

I do my clerical internship at Human Rights Committee of San Francisco.

I carefully provide data entry including personal information.

I sit at the computer and do data entry and photocopying .

I have communication challenges at my internship, but...everyone helps me to understand.  

Google docs, Scanning, Data Entry Internship at Asian American Journalist Association

by Nargiza Okilova

I am doing my internship at the Asian American Journalist Association which works to promote new writers.

My responsibilities in my internship are to cross reference from one database to another database, create documents of office supplies on Google docs. At the end of the day I save all documents that got updated.

I have been scanning electronic copy of board minutes. I organized and inventoried office supplies. I inserted member information. I filed  membership forms. I started inventorying  office supplies.

My challenges in my internship include when I inserted membership forms to the database, I had trouble reading handwriting. Then I asked for help from Antonio.

I learned news things from my internship. For example, how to create documents on Google docs. I learned office supply vocabulary. They are very helpful. I ask about everything that I can not understand.

Filing, Scanning,Organizing Internship at SFGH

By Katsiaryna Sheludziayeva

My internship is at SFGH Orthopaedic Trauma Institute. The staff provides expert care in all aspects of ortho trauma, including inpatient and outpatient orthopaedic surgical care, rehabilitation, and orthotics and prosthetics.

Now my responsibilities include filing, scanning, and checking that all documents filed are in the right place. I have to sort documents like requests or purchase orders and make sure they are in a certain place.

My internship starts at 9.00, but I usually arrive at 8.30 because I am always worried that I will be late. Also I have some extra time to prepare everything for work: bins, folders, stickers, label markers, etc. I try to organize everything so it is not messy. At first, I check what kind of documents I have to sort, and then I label folders for them, and after that, I just move documents to the right place. I have breaks for 15 minutes before and after lunch. If I have done all the work before my time ends, I just ask for more tasks from an administrator.

The most challenging task for me is document numbers, and what they mean. I know that it is very important to place them with accuracy. But I prepared a little cheat sheet that helps me a lot. Also I can say that communicating with others was difficult at first because people there are very busy and because I usually work in a separate room.

I like my internship because it helps me understand how some things work, like filing for example. Also, I can learn how people behave in a working environment.