Edie Foley
August 10, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
I have to say, this has probably been the most painful (physically) day I’ve experienced. Came in at 7am with an aching back because of the cortisone shot along with 2 other shots I got in my back yesterday. I can hardly move so it’s been a rough day at work. Instead of doing Stroller Rollers this morning, I was needed to help running the front desk in the Fitness Center, so I did this until 11am. After helping out in the gym, I took my lunch then had some small projects that my boss, Greg, needed me to do for him. I had to call around to local fitness centers getting their prices of memberships, fitness classes, etc. and compare them with what our fitness centers offer. He had me do this because we are needed to raise our prices on things but don’t want to go too high, just below the average pricing. Once this was done, I had to make a survey sheet for the patrons in the Fitness Center to pass out and have them fill out the pros and cons of the fitness center. This will help better more, on target, points in the fitness center. Once this was done, I was never more happy to leave because my back had been in shooting pain all morning.
Edie Foley
August 11, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
Today I came in at 12 because I instruct an Interval Class of walking and running for patrons and dependants. Today I didn’t have anyone apparently because school is starting back up so my boss said that the attendance level of classes will be slim to none. So instead, I started working on some assignments I had to do for both Nancy and Greg, my bosses. Some of the assignments were organizing paperwork for the employees here at MWR, Redoing the bulletins in the cardio room, hang a poster in the stretch room, redo the bulletin board in Sam’s Fitness, print out fitness and health facts for the bulletin in Sam’s Fitness, Label all the stretch mats “MWR” and stretch balls, and other small things. The biggest thing I had to do was the bulletin but it was my most favorite. It was the hardest to do because I work the hardest on it making sure the information I applied to the wall were good facts for the participants of the gym and which facts would be more beneficial to the atmosphere. These assignments took me all night until I got off work at 9pm to do, which I actually didn’t even get to finish. Even though I was busy the whole time, I had fun doing it all.
Edie Foley
August 12, 2011 – Friday
MWR
Today I came in at 7am, as usual to get pre-pared for Stroller Rollers. Brittany, the main instructor, is back from her baby leave so it was a relief to see her back. I love to do the class but I didn’t get to see how she ran it before she left because she went into labor quicker than her due/expecting date. I liked her being there this morning because I was able to watch the kids better and give the moms a chance to work out instead of constantly checking on their child. After both these classes, I finished my assignments from the night before. Today I also worked on a couple other events I am doing and the outline so that I can show Nancy the main points of what I will be doing. I decided to do another Fitness Challenge Obstacle because a lot of patrons and requesting me to do another, a dog –n- costume 5k, and a bike 5k. I’m really excited about how these will turn out! After planning outlines for all these events, I also was asked to go through unloading the new stretch mats and labeling then along with splitting them up into each cardio/stretch room. I then had to work on a Survey for the fitness gym that my boss Greg is wanting me to do so I was able to put one together before I left work today but needing to review it before I let him go over it so I thought, Monday, would be a good day to do that along with other small assignments I’m needing to finish. It’s been a long week so I’m ready for the weekend!
Edie Foley
August 15, 2011 – Monday
MWR
This morning I came in at 7am, as always again, getting ready for Stroller Rollers. I had a meeting with Nancy at 7:30am so we were able to review very quickly some of the events I am planning. We didn’t have time to go over everything so it was just the basics. Stroller Rollers was from 8-10:15am (2 classes) and that went fine just like last Friday. The parents seems to be very happy that I’m there helping watch the kids. They said it takes some stress off their shoulders to be able to workout more. This is part of my job, and I really love keeping the kids occupied. When I finished, I had forgot some stretch mats I didn’t mark along with the stretch balls that I had to label so I went and did this while I was free. I also relabeled all the sports equipment that is signed out of the front desk so people don’t mistake which equipment is ours and theirs. After doing all the labeling, I had finished the survey and reviewing it myself so I took it to Greg whom reviewed it and brought it back to be to do some changes, which weren’t bad but still was work. By the time I got done doing all of this, I was still able to have a little more free time to add on to my events or perfect them so it was nice to be able to sit in thinking mode and concentrate on what exactly I was wanting. It’s nice to be able to take time for myself every now and then rather than doing everything in fast motion.
Edie Foley
August 16, 2011 – Tuesday
MWR
This morning, as soon as I came into work at 7, we started loading the base pick up truck of water and weights for INDOC PT. It was just Riley and I this morning so I loaded everything up by myself besides a few exceptional small things Riley put in the truck. He’s really getting the advantage of making me do all his chores that he had to do before I came, but I’m going to be a sport and take it for what it is and not complain. It was a pretty easy morning at INDOC because the Nucs did the same workout just different set up half their time, then the rest of their PT time, they played a fitness game kind of like a mix between football and dodge ball called “Battle ball”. It got pretty intense so I had to doctor up a few Nucs this morning. Directly after INDOC, I had to put most the things back up then rush over to the East side fitness center because I was starting a Stroller Roller class for the Officer Housing wives. They seems to really love the class and I ran it like I would have any of the Stroller Rollers classes. It was meant to only be an hour but ran over because I was just getting to know everyone in the class and sharing information with them about fitness. Once I was done on the East Side, I had a Trainer meeting with my boss along with Riley to talk about events and anything new or changes that need to happen in the fitness field on base. These meetings last up to an hour so by the time I got out I only had an hour left of work. I spent that last hour doing small assignments from Greg in Sam’s gym along with research on fitness class prices so we can keep ours cheap enough for our patrons. There were a lot of small things to get done so I was ready to get off work when I did!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
WEEK 9 - Edie Foley - MWR
Edie Foley
August 3, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today was hard. Just one of those days where it feels like the largest weight in the world has been set on your heart. I started work at 7am, like normal and got prepared for the Stroller Roller classes from 8-10:15am. It went a little slow and not many people came to either class because most wasn’t sure when I would be back. The ones that did come said they were glad to see me back so that help me know that the way I set up the workouts are effective. The 2nd class was different because one lady brought her dog for the start of our base walk warm up so instead of her leaving and not doing the circuit training, I explained the workouts to the girls and stayed in the lobby with her dog so she could work out. I love dogs so it made my morning a little better. The rest of the day was mainly getting things straightened out from when I left making sure things were put back properly along with calling back some people that called while I was gone. I still feel like I left KY too soon, things right now just don’t seem desirable like they once were but I know it will take time.
Edie Foley
August 4, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
Today started off at 12:00 so I was able to sleep in finally. When I got to work I had a couple things I didn’t have time to finish yesterday I had to do. There was a misprint on the Fitness Schedule flyer so I had to go through all the flyers and hand out flyers and mark off a class that’s been discontinued. These took a while because there were about 150 so that was aggravating. After this I had to go through the sign up list from my event project calling the 1st and 2nd place winners for each category so they can come pick their prizes up. I realized this was an aggravating part of my event because it’s hard to contact some of them. I decided next event they will have a time limit to come get their prizes before it goes onto the next participant. That’s what I’m doing now as well. I’m giving them a few more days and calls to come pick it up then it goes to the next participant. After this, MWR got a trailer for the truck to haul some fitness equipment on so, some of the workers including me had to organize the shed to have a place for the trailer. It didn’t take long because the trailer wasn’t that big. Then I had a couple hours to get back into doing prescriptions for the rest of this weeks fitness classes along with some research about health and pregnant women health because I instruct Stroller Rollers which tends to have expecting women attending. I also participated in a fitness class myself tonight. My boss likes me to go to as many as possible to learn from the instructors along with knowing which each class consists of so if a patron has questions and want details of the classes, I’ve been to them all so I can inform them. The rest of the night was just a cleaning night. I helped the Fitness front desk get caught up on some cleaning along with cleaning my building as well.
Edie Foley
August 5, 2011 – Friday
MWR
This morning I got to work at 7am and from then until 9:15am was very slow. Since I didn’t have anyone my first fitness class, I helped out in the fitness center at front desk because one person had to leave. After this I was able to run my second fitness “Stroller Rollers” class which seemed to also run slow. Sometimes when you get a few in for a class, if it isn’t a large group of at least 5 or more, they are motivated & seem to get distracted easily with their kids to get out of a workout. Luckily the original instructor will be coming back Monday so I will be taking the kids while she does the class with the moms. I’m glad she is coming back because I can’t relate to most conversations when the moms talk about their children or pregnancy so it’s a little awkward. From when this class ended until about 1:30pm I worked in the fitness center with Jason because 2 staff members have to be behind desk. This isn’t too bad because I love working with people and using the cash register for some odd reason. When 2nd shift came in I was able to take a lunch break then work on some more prescriptions that had to be revised by Riley, the personal trainer. Apparently he was supposed to okay all the other workouts I planned but I didn’t know this until Nancy told me today. She was slightly rude about it and told him to make sure I stopped by and if I didn’t to let her know which really ticked me off because I’m capable of responsibility if you tell me once to do something. After this, the rest of the day consisted of making “Welcome Back” signs for the regular Stroller Rollers instructor because she is returning from having a baby to teach class. I was more than happy to do this even though I had to pay for it out of pocket while being told to make them by my boss. It was worth the money because she knows how to cope with pregnant women.
Edie Foley
August 6, 2011 – Saturday
MWR
Today I was scheduled to come in from 0730-1300 (yes I can use military time now!) to work the front desk in the fitness center because they are running out of front desk staff. I don’t mind doing this at all because it is an easier job than what I would normally do. Although I can’t sit still for very long so I ended up cleaning more while the other employee sat at the front desk checking ID’s. This is pretty much how the entire day went until the 2nd shift came in. Later on during my shift the other employees family came in so he left and played basketball the rest of the time which really bothered me because then I was left running the entire fitness center. Every now and then he’d come back up to the desk and check if I needed him to do anything but every time he’d check I had already done all the duties. He is on his last ride before getting fired though so it didn’t bother me as much because he won’t be there much longer.
Edie Foley
August 7, 2011 – Sunday
MWR
So I’m now working on a Sunday, which I have never done in my life but Jackie (the head of the fitness center) needed someone so I volunteered. It was probably one of the worst experiences for me working with the employee I did work with. She didn’t do anything at all. All she did was sit around, talk to guys in the gym, and lay on the floor behind the counter. I cleaned, serviced people, and checked on everything all day so it really ticked me off. Here I am, a new worker in the fitness center, already running the place the 2nd time I’ve worked there. She then left early before closing without me knowing it. She didn’t even help me with the closing cleaning list. Instead, she signed her name on stuff I had done then left. Luckily another employee was told to come over to help close and he ended up closing everything himself because I didn’t know how and I also had family waiting for me for dinner. He was a blessing because he took over and told me to leave because it wasn’t fair what she did to me. If I could, I’d give him a raise for his courtesy and time. Some workers aren’t worth paying while other is worth a raise, but I guess that’s the hard part of reality. You work for what you get and whether it is now or later, the honest will be rewarded. I still got hot headed about it though and still do when I think about it.
Edie Foley
August 8, 2011 – Monday
MWR
It’s my birthday so my bosses let me off work.
Edie Foley
August 9, 2011 – Tuesday
MWR
This morning I came in at 7am which started off badly. Every Tuesday morning we have INDOC, where the Nuclear Power squadrons come in a very large group up to about 90 Nucs and get their PT in. Riley, the Personal Trainer I work with, gives me a hard time everyday but today was worse than any other day. Knowing I’m small he made me carry out big water jugs to the back of the truck after I was nice enough to even go get the truck and drive it up to his door for him. Once we were out doing INDOC, he acted like the world revolved around him. I guess he just has little boy syndrome and no girlfriend which makes him that way. On the way back to base, he bashed me about how my boyfriend got me a promise ring for my birthday just making fun and asking what I’d be good for in a relationship along with making me bleach out his groups huge Gatorade water jugs just because he could knowing that I had to leave for a doctors appt. soon. This made me pissed off because I wasn’t in the right close to be dealing with bleach and he just got done saying to me and other staff he didn’t have anything to do since our boss was out of her office, though he had me bleaching out things that were his responsibilities. One of these days I’m going to turn around and tell him what I think and go on with life. It’s just hard because there are times I do have to listen to what he says and I don’t want to make it worse than it already is. He thinks just because he’s been here longer he can boss me around and make me feel harassed. I just would like to come in work and be appreciated by him at least once, instead of looked down on. When all this was done, I had to leave to get major shots in my back which of course didn’t help my day.
August 3, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today was hard. Just one of those days where it feels like the largest weight in the world has been set on your heart. I started work at 7am, like normal and got prepared for the Stroller Roller classes from 8-10:15am. It went a little slow and not many people came to either class because most wasn’t sure when I would be back. The ones that did come said they were glad to see me back so that help me know that the way I set up the workouts are effective. The 2nd class was different because one lady brought her dog for the start of our base walk warm up so instead of her leaving and not doing the circuit training, I explained the workouts to the girls and stayed in the lobby with her dog so she could work out. I love dogs so it made my morning a little better. The rest of the day was mainly getting things straightened out from when I left making sure things were put back properly along with calling back some people that called while I was gone. I still feel like I left KY too soon, things right now just don’t seem desirable like they once were but I know it will take time.
Edie Foley
August 4, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
Today started off at 12:00 so I was able to sleep in finally. When I got to work I had a couple things I didn’t have time to finish yesterday I had to do. There was a misprint on the Fitness Schedule flyer so I had to go through all the flyers and hand out flyers and mark off a class that’s been discontinued. These took a while because there were about 150 so that was aggravating. After this I had to go through the sign up list from my event project calling the 1st and 2nd place winners for each category so they can come pick their prizes up. I realized this was an aggravating part of my event because it’s hard to contact some of them. I decided next event they will have a time limit to come get their prizes before it goes onto the next participant. That’s what I’m doing now as well. I’m giving them a few more days and calls to come pick it up then it goes to the next participant. After this, MWR got a trailer for the truck to haul some fitness equipment on so, some of the workers including me had to organize the shed to have a place for the trailer. It didn’t take long because the trailer wasn’t that big. Then I had a couple hours to get back into doing prescriptions for the rest of this weeks fitness classes along with some research about health and pregnant women health because I instruct Stroller Rollers which tends to have expecting women attending. I also participated in a fitness class myself tonight. My boss likes me to go to as many as possible to learn from the instructors along with knowing which each class consists of so if a patron has questions and want details of the classes, I’ve been to them all so I can inform them. The rest of the night was just a cleaning night. I helped the Fitness front desk get caught up on some cleaning along with cleaning my building as well.
Edie Foley
August 5, 2011 – Friday
MWR
This morning I got to work at 7am and from then until 9:15am was very slow. Since I didn’t have anyone my first fitness class, I helped out in the fitness center at front desk because one person had to leave. After this I was able to run my second fitness “Stroller Rollers” class which seemed to also run slow. Sometimes when you get a few in for a class, if it isn’t a large group of at least 5 or more, they are motivated & seem to get distracted easily with their kids to get out of a workout. Luckily the original instructor will be coming back Monday so I will be taking the kids while she does the class with the moms. I’m glad she is coming back because I can’t relate to most conversations when the moms talk about their children or pregnancy so it’s a little awkward. From when this class ended until about 1:30pm I worked in the fitness center with Jason because 2 staff members have to be behind desk. This isn’t too bad because I love working with people and using the cash register for some odd reason. When 2nd shift came in I was able to take a lunch break then work on some more prescriptions that had to be revised by Riley, the personal trainer. Apparently he was supposed to okay all the other workouts I planned but I didn’t know this until Nancy told me today. She was slightly rude about it and told him to make sure I stopped by and if I didn’t to let her know which really ticked me off because I’m capable of responsibility if you tell me once to do something. After this, the rest of the day consisted of making “Welcome Back” signs for the regular Stroller Rollers instructor because she is returning from having a baby to teach class. I was more than happy to do this even though I had to pay for it out of pocket while being told to make them by my boss. It was worth the money because she knows how to cope with pregnant women.
Edie Foley
August 6, 2011 – Saturday
MWR
Today I was scheduled to come in from 0730-1300 (yes I can use military time now!) to work the front desk in the fitness center because they are running out of front desk staff. I don’t mind doing this at all because it is an easier job than what I would normally do. Although I can’t sit still for very long so I ended up cleaning more while the other employee sat at the front desk checking ID’s. This is pretty much how the entire day went until the 2nd shift came in. Later on during my shift the other employees family came in so he left and played basketball the rest of the time which really bothered me because then I was left running the entire fitness center. Every now and then he’d come back up to the desk and check if I needed him to do anything but every time he’d check I had already done all the duties. He is on his last ride before getting fired though so it didn’t bother me as much because he won’t be there much longer.
Edie Foley
August 7, 2011 – Sunday
MWR
So I’m now working on a Sunday, which I have never done in my life but Jackie (the head of the fitness center) needed someone so I volunteered. It was probably one of the worst experiences for me working with the employee I did work with. She didn’t do anything at all. All she did was sit around, talk to guys in the gym, and lay on the floor behind the counter. I cleaned, serviced people, and checked on everything all day so it really ticked me off. Here I am, a new worker in the fitness center, already running the place the 2nd time I’ve worked there. She then left early before closing without me knowing it. She didn’t even help me with the closing cleaning list. Instead, she signed her name on stuff I had done then left. Luckily another employee was told to come over to help close and he ended up closing everything himself because I didn’t know how and I also had family waiting for me for dinner. He was a blessing because he took over and told me to leave because it wasn’t fair what she did to me. If I could, I’d give him a raise for his courtesy and time. Some workers aren’t worth paying while other is worth a raise, but I guess that’s the hard part of reality. You work for what you get and whether it is now or later, the honest will be rewarded. I still got hot headed about it though and still do when I think about it.
Edie Foley
August 8, 2011 – Monday
MWR
It’s my birthday so my bosses let me off work.
Edie Foley
August 9, 2011 – Tuesday
MWR
This morning I came in at 7am which started off badly. Every Tuesday morning we have INDOC, where the Nuclear Power squadrons come in a very large group up to about 90 Nucs and get their PT in. Riley, the Personal Trainer I work with, gives me a hard time everyday but today was worse than any other day. Knowing I’m small he made me carry out big water jugs to the back of the truck after I was nice enough to even go get the truck and drive it up to his door for him. Once we were out doing INDOC, he acted like the world revolved around him. I guess he just has little boy syndrome and no girlfriend which makes him that way. On the way back to base, he bashed me about how my boyfriend got me a promise ring for my birthday just making fun and asking what I’d be good for in a relationship along with making me bleach out his groups huge Gatorade water jugs just because he could knowing that I had to leave for a doctors appt. soon. This made me pissed off because I wasn’t in the right close to be dealing with bleach and he just got done saying to me and other staff he didn’t have anything to do since our boss was out of her office, though he had me bleaching out things that were his responsibilities. One of these days I’m going to turn around and tell him what I think and go on with life. It’s just hard because there are times I do have to listen to what he says and I don’t want to make it worse than it already is. He thinks just because he’s been here longer he can boss me around and make me feel harassed. I just would like to come in work and be appreciated by him at least once, instead of looked down on. When all this was done, I had to leave to get major shots in my back which of course didn’t help my day.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
WEEK 8 - Edie Foley - MWR
Edie Foley
July 27, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today has been a really rough day for me but I made it through. I just got back to South Carolina at 3am this morning then turned around to come to work at 5:45am to help set up and coordinate a 5k run that is done every last Wednesday of each month. It started at 7am until everyone finished and it rained all morning. Although it rained there was still a good turn out of at least 15+ people. After this I usually have my two Stroller Rollers classes but when it rains I (most of the time) don’t have anyone come because we always start out walking. Again, because of the rain, we had no shows but I had many text messages from my clients saying they didn’t want to get out in the rain which I understand completely. So during this time I went over my event plan and back ups along with calling to make sure things are going as planned with the volunteers and equipment. This has turned into an event that is either going to be good or bad because of so many people that are interested or are coming. I’m really excited to see the turn out but nervous like a normal person would be. After reviewing everything for the event, the rest of my day I spent working in the fitness center behind the front desk which makes the day slow because if I’m not sitting behind the desk checking IDs, I’m cleaning what needs to be clean. Since my lack of sleep, I was even happier to get off work.
Edie Foley
July 28, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
Today was the busiest but one of the worst days of my life. It started out good, it was a whole lot of running around getting all the equipment for the event set up. Nancy and I went out to get prizes which was an easy task because I previously looked up and made a balance of the prices of the prizes so we just went in Sports Authority, got what we needed and left. After this we had a staff meeting with all but 2 staff that works for MWR because someone carved in the wooden desk behind the front desk counter. Once this was over I had to help set up the inflatable with the volunteers I was blessed to get from the Navy base. The only bad thing about the inflatable, was that the people who used it before had for the 4th of July, didn’t spray it down so myself and another staff member took 3 hours to sweep the grass out along with sanitized the entire obstacle. The rest of the day I had to go out and get the other equipment that I used in the obstacle such as the tires, cones, corn hole boards, weights, etc. At about 6:30pm there was a death in my family so staying and setting up until 9pm was the hardest part of this project.
Edie Foley
July 29, 2011 – Friday
MWR
This morning I came in at 5am because I had to turn on the inflatable and run through it making sure everything was clean and ready to go. I also took time to finish the rest of the set up which involved printing out sign up sheets to keep track of the participant and their time for the prizes at the end. The first session started 6-8am and I was super pumped about this event but at this time, because of the death in my family, I didn’t want to be there and it wasn’t as exciting as I really wanted it to be. This is my event though, so I plastered a smile on my face and kept going. For the first session, 6-8am, I had already had about 30 participants to sign up and go through the obstacle and absolutely loved it. I allowed 2 chances to go through and would take the best time which people loved. During the break until 11am I went through straightening up the obstacle and talking to some of the participants. Somehow the guy I work with, Riley, found out there was a death in my family and told me he was taking over and to go home. This was the biggest blessing I’ve ever had because it had been so hard all morning to keep going without shedding a tear. I was able to leave everything with Riley and other staff that came in to fill in for me so I could leave because I had a 9 hour drive. Even though sometimes work can be aggravating and tiring, I am thankful for the staff that I work with.
(I went home over the weekend & returning to work tomorrow, August 3, 2011 – Wed.)
July 27, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today has been a really rough day for me but I made it through. I just got back to South Carolina at 3am this morning then turned around to come to work at 5:45am to help set up and coordinate a 5k run that is done every last Wednesday of each month. It started at 7am until everyone finished and it rained all morning. Although it rained there was still a good turn out of at least 15+ people. After this I usually have my two Stroller Rollers classes but when it rains I (most of the time) don’t have anyone come because we always start out walking. Again, because of the rain, we had no shows but I had many text messages from my clients saying they didn’t want to get out in the rain which I understand completely. So during this time I went over my event plan and back ups along with calling to make sure things are going as planned with the volunteers and equipment. This has turned into an event that is either going to be good or bad because of so many people that are interested or are coming. I’m really excited to see the turn out but nervous like a normal person would be. After reviewing everything for the event, the rest of my day I spent working in the fitness center behind the front desk which makes the day slow because if I’m not sitting behind the desk checking IDs, I’m cleaning what needs to be clean. Since my lack of sleep, I was even happier to get off work.
Edie Foley
July 28, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
Today was the busiest but one of the worst days of my life. It started out good, it was a whole lot of running around getting all the equipment for the event set up. Nancy and I went out to get prizes which was an easy task because I previously looked up and made a balance of the prices of the prizes so we just went in Sports Authority, got what we needed and left. After this we had a staff meeting with all but 2 staff that works for MWR because someone carved in the wooden desk behind the front desk counter. Once this was over I had to help set up the inflatable with the volunteers I was blessed to get from the Navy base. The only bad thing about the inflatable, was that the people who used it before had for the 4th of July, didn’t spray it down so myself and another staff member took 3 hours to sweep the grass out along with sanitized the entire obstacle. The rest of the day I had to go out and get the other equipment that I used in the obstacle such as the tires, cones, corn hole boards, weights, etc. At about 6:30pm there was a death in my family so staying and setting up until 9pm was the hardest part of this project.
Edie Foley
July 29, 2011 – Friday
MWR
This morning I came in at 5am because I had to turn on the inflatable and run through it making sure everything was clean and ready to go. I also took time to finish the rest of the set up which involved printing out sign up sheets to keep track of the participant and their time for the prizes at the end. The first session started 6-8am and I was super pumped about this event but at this time, because of the death in my family, I didn’t want to be there and it wasn’t as exciting as I really wanted it to be. This is my event though, so I plastered a smile on my face and kept going. For the first session, 6-8am, I had already had about 30 participants to sign up and go through the obstacle and absolutely loved it. I allowed 2 chances to go through and would take the best time which people loved. During the break until 11am I went through straightening up the obstacle and talking to some of the participants. Somehow the guy I work with, Riley, found out there was a death in my family and told me he was taking over and to go home. This was the biggest blessing I’ve ever had because it had been so hard all morning to keep going without shedding a tear. I was able to leave everything with Riley and other staff that came in to fill in for me so I could leave because I had a 9 hour drive. Even though sometimes work can be aggravating and tiring, I am thankful for the staff that I work with.
(I went home over the weekend & returning to work tomorrow, August 3, 2011 – Wed.)
Week 10 & completion Matt Dooley SWS Mountain Guides
7-27-11
Final kick to complete all repairs on tents. All tents are labeled good if nothing is wrong with a small piece of red tape. Glad this is finally done for winter.
7-28-11
Today I went through all MSR stoves both high altitude and international stoves to make sure fuel lines, pumps, and jets were clean and working properly. All stoves completed to be used again next season.
7-30-11
Cleaned the insanely nasty tomato sauce spill in the fridge that has been there for a week. Thanks KC and or Crit. Cleaned front porch behind locker and put inside locker stuff in garage and straightened up the garage. Fixed front poster hanging behind the locker out front for the public to see. File paperwork into correct folders. Vacuum entire house.
8-1-11
Cleaned all spider webs inside the house with a soapy wash rag on a pole and outside in the eves of the house. Cleaned windows with Windex inside and out around the entire house. Cleaned out and vacuumed the locker box so it it could be eaten off of. Did all of the laundry in the house downtown in the 24/7 laundry place. Cleaned out front room and reorganized misplaced items. Cleaned behind the couch as the spider has been eating everything and sorry fellah but you had to go to mr. spider. Started an article for Dave to be put in the next SWS newsletter.
8-2-11
Last day at work. Got up on the roof early to try to eliminate a small leak problem we have been having. Spread roofing compound all over to hopefully eliminate the problem. Finished SWS article. I would like to conclude this school write up with the newsletter I have written.
Intern review for SWS Mountain guides by Matt Dooley, Summer 2011.
I would first like to start this article with a big thank you to David Cressman for allowing me to have such a great summer internship opportunity and in the past ten weeks allowing me to gain just a glimpse of what it is like to be a mountain guide. Although this internship opportunity had both its ups and its downs, in the end it was a great learning experience. Some of the most significant things I learned during the past ten weeks were client interaction and making the initial first impression by setting the bar high for myself and for the image of SWS Mountain Guides. Although at times I was absolutely clueless on what to do, I would simply act the role by pretending what to do and shine the light to an experienced SWS guide.
My day to day routine in the office included house chores and the constant upkeep on gear and equipment. The equipment I despised the most during this experience was the tents. Constant rips, tears, and crampon punctures to fix. My love hate relationship with Seam Grip and white Duct tape would somehow make my days go by faster. My schedule was fairly flexible and laid back thanks to Dave. There was no consistent set times of when to show up to work or when to leave which suits me and my personality very well. That being said, I work my hardest to get things done both fast and most importantly the right way. Thanks to Dave and his intern chore lists for me it always kept me on track and so glad to cross something off the list for the day. I would typically show up around 9:00 am and leave mid afternoon working typically six days a week on the average. Weekends were different as I would show up at 7:30 am on Saturdays and on Sundays I would show up after lunch to help with returning trips.
My experience was not limited to the office. All of the chores were finally worth it as I was able to shadow a few trips on the mountain. A big thank you to Brady, Crit, Tim P and Tim K for taking me under their wings and for being great teachers on the mountain and allowing me to shine on in attempt to gain some knowledge by being more than just an intern/client. Whether it be digging in a tent, cooking a meal, or putting crampons on clients, it was all a great learning experience. A big thank you to Crit to allow me to ‘learn by experience’ as I forgot the MSR stoves and had to walk back down the mountain to get some from the office. Thanks Crit for teaching me humility, and I will probably never forget the stoves again!
To all SWS Mountain Guide staff I thank each of you for teaching me all the little tricks of the trade in your own professional way, from coiling rope, tying knots, client interaction, and gear talk. I would like to conclude this article with a quote that stuck to me from Neil Woodruff “Hey you lazy fucks, get off the couch and help me clean!” Once again thank you Dave and all SWS Mountain guide staff members for allowing me to have a wonderful internship.
Final kick to complete all repairs on tents. All tents are labeled good if nothing is wrong with a small piece of red tape. Glad this is finally done for winter.
7-28-11
Today I went through all MSR stoves both high altitude and international stoves to make sure fuel lines, pumps, and jets were clean and working properly. All stoves completed to be used again next season.
7-30-11
Cleaned the insanely nasty tomato sauce spill in the fridge that has been there for a week. Thanks KC and or Crit. Cleaned front porch behind locker and put inside locker stuff in garage and straightened up the garage. Fixed front poster hanging behind the locker out front for the public to see. File paperwork into correct folders. Vacuum entire house.
8-1-11
Cleaned all spider webs inside the house with a soapy wash rag on a pole and outside in the eves of the house. Cleaned windows with Windex inside and out around the entire house. Cleaned out and vacuumed the locker box so it it could be eaten off of. Did all of the laundry in the house downtown in the 24/7 laundry place. Cleaned out front room and reorganized misplaced items. Cleaned behind the couch as the spider has been eating everything and sorry fellah but you had to go to mr. spider. Started an article for Dave to be put in the next SWS newsletter.
8-2-11
Last day at work. Got up on the roof early to try to eliminate a small leak problem we have been having. Spread roofing compound all over to hopefully eliminate the problem. Finished SWS article. I would like to conclude this school write up with the newsletter I have written.
Intern review for SWS Mountain guides by Matt Dooley, Summer 2011.
I would first like to start this article with a big thank you to David Cressman for allowing me to have such a great summer internship opportunity and in the past ten weeks allowing me to gain just a glimpse of what it is like to be a mountain guide. Although this internship opportunity had both its ups and its downs, in the end it was a great learning experience. Some of the most significant things I learned during the past ten weeks were client interaction and making the initial first impression by setting the bar high for myself and for the image of SWS Mountain Guides. Although at times I was absolutely clueless on what to do, I would simply act the role by pretending what to do and shine the light to an experienced SWS guide.
My day to day routine in the office included house chores and the constant upkeep on gear and equipment. The equipment I despised the most during this experience was the tents. Constant rips, tears, and crampon punctures to fix. My love hate relationship with Seam Grip and white Duct tape would somehow make my days go by faster. My schedule was fairly flexible and laid back thanks to Dave. There was no consistent set times of when to show up to work or when to leave which suits me and my personality very well. That being said, I work my hardest to get things done both fast and most importantly the right way. Thanks to Dave and his intern chore lists for me it always kept me on track and so glad to cross something off the list for the day. I would typically show up around 9:00 am and leave mid afternoon working typically six days a week on the average. Weekends were different as I would show up at 7:30 am on Saturdays and on Sundays I would show up after lunch to help with returning trips.
My experience was not limited to the office. All of the chores were finally worth it as I was able to shadow a few trips on the mountain. A big thank you to Brady, Crit, Tim P and Tim K for taking me under their wings and for being great teachers on the mountain and allowing me to shine on in attempt to gain some knowledge by being more than just an intern/client. Whether it be digging in a tent, cooking a meal, or putting crampons on clients, it was all a great learning experience. A big thank you to Crit to allow me to ‘learn by experience’ as I forgot the MSR stoves and had to walk back down the mountain to get some from the office. Thanks Crit for teaching me humility, and I will probably never forget the stoves again!
To all SWS Mountain Guide staff I thank each of you for teaching me all the little tricks of the trade in your own professional way, from coiling rope, tying knots, client interaction, and gear talk. I would like to conclude this article with a quote that stuck to me from Neil Woodruff “Hey you lazy fucks, get off the couch and help me clean!” Once again thank you Dave and all SWS Mountain guide staff members for allowing me to have a wonderful internship.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
WEEK 7 - Edie Foley - MWR
Edie Foley
July 20, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today I started off with writing a prescription for my 2nd Stroller Rollers class because I had to leave after the 1st one for a doctors apt. Even if I am gone, they still love to come in and see what challenge I’ve set up for that day for them to do. I did my 1st class and 2nd class different because there weren’t many in for the 1st class. I always have more at the 9:15am class because it is a later start. When I got back from the doctors at 12, I had participants of my event with questions so I spent about an hour calling and talking to a lot of Navy chiefs wanting to bring their unit in for me to train along with military personnel. I’m starting to really like working with the military because they are so respectful of everything you do for them. I started on another prescription after this because I have a Circuit Training class I instruct 2-3. Sometimes I have feedback from my clients/participants of what they would like to focus on more specifically so I use this as a learning session to do research on how to work that muscle the best. I had a good turn out in this class and wore myself to death. Sometimes I bit off more than I can chew when it comes to fitness because I do each workout with them. I left the last 30 mins of my class to questions and clean up. Some question I am asked are health related, I love this because it gets me motivated to do more research on the fitness and heath side of recreation.
Edie Foley
July 21, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
I came in at 9:30am instead of 12:30 because of the time I’m making up for going to the doctors yesterday. My boss wasn’t in this morning so I took the time to write up a prescription for the Teen INDOC (boot camp) I’ve started because I won’t be able to instruct them next Tuesday so their supervisor is going to use my prescription for them so they still get fitness in their day. Most of today is relaxing and writing prescriptions for next week. I also had to review things for my event that I am doing because I am going home for the weekend until Tuesday so when I get back I need to have everything ready to roll and set up on Thursday. I still have to get prizes that sponsors are paying for but my boss has the NAFF card to buy things with but is out of her office until next week sometime which is really making me nervous. Both my bosses won’t be back until next week so it’s put a lot of pressure on me to do everything alone without advice. Therefore, today I spent more time than I thought looking up prizes for my age groups for 1st and 2nd place which was much harder than I expected. It has to be fitness related, but I can’t go over $500 for each age group, gender, and place prize. Since I worked until 9pm, I took time to think of other events to host for base for at least each month. Some small some big but I like getting people involved and being involved myself. I also cleaned the building I’m in because 1st shift doesn’t do it so someone has to and I can’t stand looking at the mess. I always thought if you have two arms and two legs then there’s no reason not to do your job, but if I don’t do it no one will. This pretty much ended my day because cleaning everything in this building seems to take more than a day.
Edie Foley
July 22, 2011 – Friday
MWR
Today was a really short day for me because my boss is letting me go on a home visit for the weekend until Tuesday. The only thing I did this morning was get the prescriptions for the Stroller Rollers set up, and instruct the first class of Stroller Rollers. I was going to stay and instruct the 2nd class but the participants said for me to leave because they knew the prescription and would do it together. This was a blessing for me because 9 hours home is a long way to be driving so I was able to get a head start. Riley and other staff was around to help keep an eye on the class so I wasn’t worried about leaving them to the prescription itself. Since I have all my project plans set out and ready to go, I was able to leave without a lot of stress on my shoulders.
Edie Foley
July 25-26, 2011 – Monday & Tuesday
MWR
(HOME VISIT)
July 20, 2011 – Wednesday
MWR
Today I started off with writing a prescription for my 2nd Stroller Rollers class because I had to leave after the 1st one for a doctors apt. Even if I am gone, they still love to come in and see what challenge I’ve set up for that day for them to do. I did my 1st class and 2nd class different because there weren’t many in for the 1st class. I always have more at the 9:15am class because it is a later start. When I got back from the doctors at 12, I had participants of my event with questions so I spent about an hour calling and talking to a lot of Navy chiefs wanting to bring their unit in for me to train along with military personnel. I’m starting to really like working with the military because they are so respectful of everything you do for them. I started on another prescription after this because I have a Circuit Training class I instruct 2-3. Sometimes I have feedback from my clients/participants of what they would like to focus on more specifically so I use this as a learning session to do research on how to work that muscle the best. I had a good turn out in this class and wore myself to death. Sometimes I bit off more than I can chew when it comes to fitness because I do each workout with them. I left the last 30 mins of my class to questions and clean up. Some question I am asked are health related, I love this because it gets me motivated to do more research on the fitness and heath side of recreation.
Edie Foley
July 21, 2011 – Thursday
MWR
I came in at 9:30am instead of 12:30 because of the time I’m making up for going to the doctors yesterday. My boss wasn’t in this morning so I took the time to write up a prescription for the Teen INDOC (boot camp) I’ve started because I won’t be able to instruct them next Tuesday so their supervisor is going to use my prescription for them so they still get fitness in their day. Most of today is relaxing and writing prescriptions for next week. I also had to review things for my event that I am doing because I am going home for the weekend until Tuesday so when I get back I need to have everything ready to roll and set up on Thursday. I still have to get prizes that sponsors are paying for but my boss has the NAFF card to buy things with but is out of her office until next week sometime which is really making me nervous. Both my bosses won’t be back until next week so it’s put a lot of pressure on me to do everything alone without advice. Therefore, today I spent more time than I thought looking up prizes for my age groups for 1st and 2nd place which was much harder than I expected. It has to be fitness related, but I can’t go over $500 for each age group, gender, and place prize. Since I worked until 9pm, I took time to think of other events to host for base for at least each month. Some small some big but I like getting people involved and being involved myself. I also cleaned the building I’m in because 1st shift doesn’t do it so someone has to and I can’t stand looking at the mess. I always thought if you have two arms and two legs then there’s no reason not to do your job, but if I don’t do it no one will. This pretty much ended my day because cleaning everything in this building seems to take more than a day.
Edie Foley
July 22, 2011 – Friday
MWR
Today was a really short day for me because my boss is letting me go on a home visit for the weekend until Tuesday. The only thing I did this morning was get the prescriptions for the Stroller Rollers set up, and instruct the first class of Stroller Rollers. I was going to stay and instruct the 2nd class but the participants said for me to leave because they knew the prescription and would do it together. This was a blessing for me because 9 hours home is a long way to be driving so I was able to get a head start. Riley and other staff was around to help keep an eye on the class so I wasn’t worried about leaving them to the prescription itself. Since I have all my project plans set out and ready to go, I was able to leave without a lot of stress on my shoulders.
Edie Foley
July 25-26, 2011 – Monday & Tuesday
MWR
(HOME VISIT)
Week 9 Matt Dooley SWS Mountain Guides
7-19-11
My week begins with an exciting trip with 33 kids from all over the states on Mt. Shasta. I have a group of 8 girls who's ages are from 15-18. These girls are mostly from the south so altitude is going to be a problem. Today we are going to 50-50 at 9600 feet to set up base camp. Good news the marian has melted out enough so TIM and i will not have to dig the tents in. saves a lot of time and energy. Also, note to future self. this is a crazy trip, but make sure you check all tent bags to make sure they have fly, body and poles, don't go off of weight. We have one tent at base camp with no poles. We are lucky this is a big group and there are extra spots available in tents. I teach my very first ice axe/ crampon clinic today all by myself. covered the basics and went over everything pretty fast but i felt like everyone in the group understands and everyone can self arrest and self belay which is the biggest thing. Put the girls into bed at 7:30pm. Tim and i talk about my role for tomorrow and snow conditions.
7-20-11
summit day. Wake up at 2am. breakfast is ready for the girls at 2:45am. I have to put all the girls crampons and harnesses on. Sweet southern bells are very needy this morning. Tim has me stay at base camp to take another groups campers down the hill to Horse Camp. 2 bad cases of altitude sickness. Tim decides to short rope right out of camp to make it easier on the girls. Tim is wise and this allowed the girls to be dragged along at a slow pace to begin the process of truly waking up. As i am walking down to Horse Camp with these girls, one from Ohio and the other from Mississippi they begin to feel better. One sprains her ankle in her boot so the trip becomes even more slow. They are troopers! Tough, tough girls. I drop them off at Horse Camp to some of there camp directors who stayed there over night. Time for me to go back up the hill and possibly still summit today... its going to be a very long day if I have to go up the mountain above base camp.
Once i get back to base camp Tim is there and tells me to take a quick nap to recharge and than when i wake up we will pack camp and split. This is music to my ears! One of our girls is in another group going for the summit, the rest are at base camp due to altitude. Tim took the girls up to 12,400 feet and they were done. Watched the sun come up and headed down. One brave girl says she will take all of the sag bags down, i feel she will soon regret this.
Down to Bunny Flat at 4:00pm and i have to wait around for other groups to get back so i can collect gear and make sure if anything is missing we give JH a bill. Back at SWS office at 5:30 put stuff away and get the hell out of dodge.
7-21-11
organize back room to make sure all the gear is labeled and put in the proper place. I detailed the back room as the climbing season is winding down pretty fast now. Looks spic and spam. One tent (my group) that didn't have the poles i now have to either find poles or make and chop a set of poles to fit to make due. I am a lucky dog today as i was able to find a set of poles, they are supper stiff but will work for this tent. set up tent outside to ensure poles will work. Tim K arrived so I was able to install a shower curtain, towel hooks, and entry way strip to cover the tile/carpet seem.
7-25-11
Start to go over every single tent in the inventory (about 30) making sure there are no holes and all poles are in working condition. Clean back room and organize helmets and ice axes.
7-26-11
more tents, and brought my screw gun down to put a few holes in the tile to mount the all important toilet paper dispenser. Put one more coating of tile sealer on the floor. I am getting very excited that i only have one more week to go.
My week begins with an exciting trip with 33 kids from all over the states on Mt. Shasta. I have a group of 8 girls who's ages are from 15-18. These girls are mostly from the south so altitude is going to be a problem. Today we are going to 50-50 at 9600 feet to set up base camp. Good news the marian has melted out enough so TIM and i will not have to dig the tents in. saves a lot of time and energy. Also, note to future self. this is a crazy trip, but make sure you check all tent bags to make sure they have fly, body and poles, don't go off of weight. We have one tent at base camp with no poles. We are lucky this is a big group and there are extra spots available in tents. I teach my very first ice axe/ crampon clinic today all by myself. covered the basics and went over everything pretty fast but i felt like everyone in the group understands and everyone can self arrest and self belay which is the biggest thing. Put the girls into bed at 7:30pm. Tim and i talk about my role for tomorrow and snow conditions.
7-20-11
summit day. Wake up at 2am. breakfast is ready for the girls at 2:45am. I have to put all the girls crampons and harnesses on. Sweet southern bells are very needy this morning. Tim has me stay at base camp to take another groups campers down the hill to Horse Camp. 2 bad cases of altitude sickness. Tim decides to short rope right out of camp to make it easier on the girls. Tim is wise and this allowed the girls to be dragged along at a slow pace to begin the process of truly waking up. As i am walking down to Horse Camp with these girls, one from Ohio and the other from Mississippi they begin to feel better. One sprains her ankle in her boot so the trip becomes even more slow. They are troopers! Tough, tough girls. I drop them off at Horse Camp to some of there camp directors who stayed there over night. Time for me to go back up the hill and possibly still summit today... its going to be a very long day if I have to go up the mountain above base camp.
Once i get back to base camp Tim is there and tells me to take a quick nap to recharge and than when i wake up we will pack camp and split. This is music to my ears! One of our girls is in another group going for the summit, the rest are at base camp due to altitude. Tim took the girls up to 12,400 feet and they were done. Watched the sun come up and headed down. One brave girl says she will take all of the sag bags down, i feel she will soon regret this.
Down to Bunny Flat at 4:00pm and i have to wait around for other groups to get back so i can collect gear and make sure if anything is missing we give JH a bill. Back at SWS office at 5:30 put stuff away and get the hell out of dodge.
7-21-11
organize back room to make sure all the gear is labeled and put in the proper place. I detailed the back room as the climbing season is winding down pretty fast now. Looks spic and spam. One tent (my group) that didn't have the poles i now have to either find poles or make and chop a set of poles to fit to make due. I am a lucky dog today as i was able to find a set of poles, they are supper stiff but will work for this tent. set up tent outside to ensure poles will work. Tim K arrived so I was able to install a shower curtain, towel hooks, and entry way strip to cover the tile/carpet seem.
7-25-11
Start to go over every single tent in the inventory (about 30) making sure there are no holes and all poles are in working condition. Clean back room and organize helmets and ice axes.
7-26-11
more tents, and brought my screw gun down to put a few holes in the tile to mount the all important toilet paper dispenser. Put one more coating of tile sealer on the floor. I am getting very excited that i only have one more week to go.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Week 10/11 - William Gates - Cycling/HWC
Cycling Week 10
My final week with the Cycling Program included leading one final campus tour to an athlete from Pennsylvania who could potentially come here in August. Luckily, the tour was during the week so all of the buildings were unlocked and we could show her around. The cycling team even treated her and her mother to lunch in the dining center.
The video projects were both completed. The campus tour video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mN7shmY8r8 and the Road Race course video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M80R1gziQBA&feature=related. Coach and I also shot more video of other roads around Columbia that display the beauty of the roads and countryside.
The cycling shed also was completed. Coach and I had to go to Jeffries hardware shop to get some hose and some other little things to help hang up a peg board. Taking out some of the excess trash from the shed to the trash container behind Cranmer was challenging because I had to carry it and walk it from place to place, but it was a good workout!
I also had to compile a list of athletes who I had talked to this summer who graduate from high school in 2012 and send them all a message letting them know that they can start applying for admission.
I am really excited that this internship is complete, although it was great learning all about the sport management side of the cycling team and developing a deeper relationship with Coach Grigsby. It was such a great experience and I am glad that I was given the chance to do an internship with the team.
--------------------
HWC Week 10
Week 10 of my Wellness Center internship included receiving the prizes for the Flab2Fab fitness challenge and making sure everything was accounted for. There was no weigh-in during this week, mainly because I would have gone over in my allowed hours at the Wellness Center, but also to hopefully allow for a larger weight loss for the participants for the final weigh-in. I could tell that some of the participants were upset that the program was almost over.
The Couch-2-5K program also came to an end on July 23, 2011 with the actual 5K event. Friday I had to go out and mark the course with flags and athletic spray on the road. I put arrows before, in, and after every turn so that it made it clear which way to go. I tried to make it as fool-proof as possible. One issue that I ran into was that Friday night I was told that the gates on Waterworks Street were not open, when I called twice and made sure they were going to open them. Saturday morning...EARLY morning... I went out on my bike and marked some more places and made sure the gates were open. They were open Saturday morning, which made my life better. We had 21 people complete the 5K and 12 of those people completed their first 5K that morning! It was super exciting and everyone loved it! They thanked me for hosting the 5K. I wish we would have had some sort of door prizes to give away to help wrap up the program and event.
HWC Week 11
Monday and Tuesday were my last two days of the program and of my internship! Monday I had to lead the final, last chance group workout for the participants. I also had to make sure that everything was in place for Tuesday. Tuesday was weigh-in day. We also did measurements to see how many inches were lost. Then we re-did the 5 minute step test. The group ended up losing 370 pounds and 232 inches! The 'Biggest Loser' lost 10.43% of her body weight! It was exciting to see everyone pretty happy with their results. The people who did not seem ecstatic about what they had done were the ones that I could tell did not give 100%, but I learned that I can really only provide so much help for them and that they are the ones that have to take it into their own hands and decide if they want it bad enough or not. We had prizes for the biggest losers and then a couple random prize drawings, too. Before everyone left I gave them an "end of program survey" to get feedback on their thoughts and what they would like to see to help improve the program if we have it again.
As soon as everyone left, I just stood in the room, took a deep breathe and felt mixed emotions - happiness and worry. I am happy that almost everyone who started the program finished and that some were so happy about their results. I am worried for some people because I can tell that they might slip off and go back to old, unhealthy habits and reverse everything that has been worked for in this program, but I told them that they can contact me anytime if they need motivation or someone to talk to anytime. It was such a beautiful experience - learning about myself and others and developing great friendships with amazing people.
My final week with the Cycling Program included leading one final campus tour to an athlete from Pennsylvania who could potentially come here in August. Luckily, the tour was during the week so all of the buildings were unlocked and we could show her around. The cycling team even treated her and her mother to lunch in the dining center.
The video projects were both completed. The campus tour video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mN7shmY8r8 and the Road Race course video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M80R1gziQBA&feature=related. Coach and I also shot more video of other roads around Columbia that display the beauty of the roads and countryside.
The cycling shed also was completed. Coach and I had to go to Jeffries hardware shop to get some hose and some other little things to help hang up a peg board. Taking out some of the excess trash from the shed to the trash container behind Cranmer was challenging because I had to carry it and walk it from place to place, but it was a good workout!
I also had to compile a list of athletes who I had talked to this summer who graduate from high school in 2012 and send them all a message letting them know that they can start applying for admission.
I am really excited that this internship is complete, although it was great learning all about the sport management side of the cycling team and developing a deeper relationship with Coach Grigsby. It was such a great experience and I am glad that I was given the chance to do an internship with the team.
--------------------
HWC Week 10
Week 10 of my Wellness Center internship included receiving the prizes for the Flab2Fab fitness challenge and making sure everything was accounted for. There was no weigh-in during this week, mainly because I would have gone over in my allowed hours at the Wellness Center, but also to hopefully allow for a larger weight loss for the participants for the final weigh-in. I could tell that some of the participants were upset that the program was almost over.
The Couch-2-5K program also came to an end on July 23, 2011 with the actual 5K event. Friday I had to go out and mark the course with flags and athletic spray on the road. I put arrows before, in, and after every turn so that it made it clear which way to go. I tried to make it as fool-proof as possible. One issue that I ran into was that Friday night I was told that the gates on Waterworks Street were not open, when I called twice and made sure they were going to open them. Saturday morning...EARLY morning... I went out on my bike and marked some more places and made sure the gates were open. They were open Saturday morning, which made my life better. We had 21 people complete the 5K and 12 of those people completed their first 5K that morning! It was super exciting and everyone loved it! They thanked me for hosting the 5K. I wish we would have had some sort of door prizes to give away to help wrap up the program and event.
HWC Week 11
Monday and Tuesday were my last two days of the program and of my internship! Monday I had to lead the final, last chance group workout for the participants. I also had to make sure that everything was in place for Tuesday. Tuesday was weigh-in day. We also did measurements to see how many inches were lost. Then we re-did the 5 minute step test. The group ended up losing 370 pounds and 232 inches! The 'Biggest Loser' lost 10.43% of her body weight! It was exciting to see everyone pretty happy with their results. The people who did not seem ecstatic about what they had done were the ones that I could tell did not give 100%, but I learned that I can really only provide so much help for them and that they are the ones that have to take it into their own hands and decide if they want it bad enough or not. We had prizes for the biggest losers and then a couple random prize drawings, too. Before everyone left I gave them an "end of program survey" to get feedback on their thoughts and what they would like to see to help improve the program if we have it again.
As soon as everyone left, I just stood in the room, took a deep breathe and felt mixed emotions - happiness and worry. I am happy that almost everyone who started the program finished and that some were so happy about their results. I am worried for some people because I can tell that they might slip off and go back to old, unhealthy habits and reverse everything that has been worked for in this program, but I told them that they can contact me anytime if they need motivation or someone to talk to anytime. It was such a beautiful experience - learning about myself and others and developing great friendships with amazing people.
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