SDEDf is a small non-profit organization with a significant presence in the San Diego area. I appreciated having the opportunity to create such a vast network in the energy-market in Southern California. I was given the entire task of managing, setting-up, and running the Energy Futures Academy webinars for 2019, which included raising $33,000 in funding, researching and creating information dockets for political candidates in San Diego given the changing energy market, and having meetings with major players in the area such as Shell, Bayshore, County Governments, City Planners, and more. I enjoyed being able to run and manage my own projects and it taught me a lot.
What I wish was different
I wish that when this internship started, it would have been as cohesive and organized as it is now. I got to develop a bit of my own role and grow into other on-going projects as well, but that all took a little initial time to figure out. Lane (the founder of SDEDf) and I have grown very professionally close over time and I have made that known to him, and together we developed a more streamlined process, but that took some time and work to get to.
Advice
One thing I would do more differently and am currently working on improving while I am still at SDEDf during the school year is communicating my points and abilities more clearly. At first, I had a tendency to just accept or take on any task that came along my way, which resulted in being a bit overworked at times. Over the summer I was working two internships, and now I am working & doing school - so it's always been a lesson in learning to balance reasonably and responsibly.
