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Deidra M. Baxter
June 11
th
2014
EDLD 8735: Practicum
Midterm Email Reflection

1.) Describe your practicum environment. Identify your mentor, other employees, clients
served, and the organization itself. Identify some ways you initially tried to orient yourself
to and gain acceptance within the organization. Rank your practicum experience thus far
on a scale of 0-5 with 0= poor and 5= outstanding. Explain your response - two paragraph
minimum.
My mentor, Ms. Nirvana Edwards is the Outreach Coordinator for the Outreach Programs
division in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Georgia Tech. She
is well-organized and prompt, especially when it comes to the administrative and coordinating
duties for outreach programs. Since the week of May 19
th
, I have been shadowing Ms. Edwards
who is coordinating three different summer programs at the same time. I have been assigned to
specifically work on the Hot Days program. When Ms. Edwards told me she coordinates three
different programs at the same time, I was overwhelmed, but her well-structured manner and
organization skills make for a great work environment. Ms. Edwards works with many different
employees within the College of Engineering, but mainly with faculty in the ECE department.
From what I observed, the faculties that work with outreach programs have been friendly and
helpful and used to the routine.
The clients being served in this department are students, who are the participants in the
Hot Days Program. In addition, Ms. Edwards works with some parents, since these students are
in high school. I try to orient myself and gain acceptance with the organization by trying to
interact with students. If they ask me questions, I try to answer them to the best of my
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knowledge, and I try to remember names to be more personable. Overall, I would rate my
practicum experience a 4 out of 5. I have learned a lot about the administrative aspects of the Hot
Days outreach program, which contains a heavy amount of pre-planning, however I would have
liked to be involved with more than one program.
2.) Discuss/reflect upon at least one of the components of your portfolio and its application
to your practicum experience and/or a work experience one paragraph each minimum.
One of the components to my portfolio that significantly correlates to my practicum
experience is the Higher Education Administration M.Ed. Program Standards. Specifically,
Standard #5, which states, Candidates who complete the program are competent and
knowledgeable educational leaders who have the ability to manage the organization, resources,
and operations for the efficiency and effectiveness of diverse and complex post-secondary
institutions. During my internship, I am learning how to manage aspects of the organization,
resources, and operations for the Hot Days Program. By managing resources, I learned that
ordering food, t-shirts, and materials needed for the program had to stay within a budget, which
Ms. Edwards reviewed with me. Upon seeing the budget, I noticed that Outreach Programs are
not working with much, so that is why they have volunteers such as faculty to conduct
workshops. I have learned how to utilize non-costly resources on campus as well. In addition, I
assisted with managing operations by helping with the organizational flow of the program, which
so far has been monitoring sign-in sheets, registration, and booking venues.
3.) What has been the biggest eye-opener from your experience thus far? Explain your
response two paragraph minimum.
The biggest eye opener from my experience working with Outreach Programs is the
advancement of the students participating in Hot Days. This program is specifically for rising
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10
th
and 11
th
graders, and their knowledge on technology is unbelievable! These students know a
lot about technology, especially compared to when I was a high school student. Two students
even mentioned that they created their own Application that is on sale via iTunes.
As I observe students during these workshops I think of how effective this program is.
The participating students can gain experience and advance their development within
technology. The fact that they are participating in Hot Days will be a great asset to their college
applications and those interested in pursuing a degree and even a career in technology will have
experience under their belt. The biggest eye-opener is seeing how this outreach program will
advance and expand the knowledge of participating students.
4.) How are your leadership/management styles and your mentors leadership/management
styles the same? How is it different? Explain your responses one paragraph minimum for
each part.
When I am in a leadership position, I am well organized, especially if it is a group effort
and I am the leader of a group. With management I am the same way, I believe organization is
key. If I am a leader of a group, I like to manage my group members by checking in periodically
to ensure every group member is doing their part. The biggest similarity Ms. Edwards and I have
when it comes to leadership and management styles is our organization. We both like to pre-
plan, have check-lists and back-up plans.
The biggest difference in our leadership and management styles is that she is not a
micro-manager. When I first started, she informed me of what her expectations were and what I
can bring to the table, which was help with administrative duties, pre-planning and assistance
with students once the program started. She also told me she would show be the ropes, but
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everything else is pretty self-explanatory. She relied on me to use my best judgment and take
initiative in certain areas within the office.

5.) Identify areas in which you wish you had more content knowledge or skills to better
perform within your practicum experience. Explain the areas and the reasons one
paragraph minimum.
The area in which I wish I had more content knowledge to better perform within my
practicum experience would be being more knowledgeable of the other programs within the
department. As mentioned, my mentor Ms. Edwards coordinates three different programs at the
same time, and I am only assigned to one of them. Sometimes when I am left alone in the office,
I would get phone calls about other programs and I would just have to take a message because I
am unaware of detailed information regarding the other two programs. Hot Days is the busiest
summer program and the other programs are with college aged students, so they are more self-
sufficient, so I can understand why I was only assigned to one of the programs; however I do
wish I had more content knowledge and skills of the others.