May 2nd, 2018
Benjamin Outland
3 Randolph Ave, Cape Charles, VA 23310
(804) 539-4071 (m)
Colonel Stewart D. MacInnis
111 Smith Hall, Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304
(540) 464-7170
Colonel MacInnis,
As part of the Fieldwork (ERH 411) course that accompanied my internship with your department, I have been asked to write you a letter of recommendation. I’d like to write to you about some aspects of the experience which I believe worked well, and offer a few suggestions that may be beneficial for future interns. For starters, I really enjoyed the entire experience, I got a lot out of it, and for that reason writing a letter of recommendation has turned out to be one of the harder assignments I’ve completed for the course. I really liked the hands on aspects of the job, including going out and shooting Breakout and cadet activities, and filming the baseball game. These experiences were especially valuable as I was able to see the behind the scenes of essential job functions. I liked the flexible hours, and the ability to change out set times to do a special project at another time. Flexible hours are important to any cadet intern as our schedules make anything outside of the training matrix tough to get clearance on. All of the assignments were beneficial to me in that I always felt like I was doing something helpful or important to the mission and nothing seemed like busy work. The daily assignments such as writing press releases or creating photo selections allowed me to build upon kills I already had in new ways and use them in new ways.
I believe that working closely with John was beneficial, as he is very knowledgeable and a good teacher, although shadowing other team members or extra time with Marketing might have enhanced the experience. I do wish I had spent some time working with some other members of the team such as Mary, Robin, or Ashlie, to get an understanding of what exactly they do. At one point, Ashlie shared with me some of her past experiences working with a newspaper, which I found to be very interesting and was left thinking it would be useful to learn more. Perhaps carve out a day during the semester where the intern shadows a specific team member, so that they can see the full scope of operations in the office. The Marketing department was another part of the internship that helped me use creativity and do something new. However, I mainly only worked on one project with the team, and as a result, did not spend very much time with them. A future intern may benefit from spending entire shifts, or one shift of three a week in the marketing office, working on multiple projects with them or learning about other job duties they have. The most beneficial thing for me during the early stages of the internship was asking me what my specific interests were, and using these to tailor the experience to fit my needs. I had expressed an interest in reporting, journalism, and public relations, so spending more time in the communications office helped me gain valuable experience. Definitely be sure to ask this to any future interns, and consider what parts of the job would benefit that individual the most. These are a few of my observations and recommendations for the future of the internship, though it was an overwhelmingly positive and educational experience for me. I would like to extend my most heartfelt thanks to you and everyone in the office who spent their time putting together a schedule for me, helping me learn how to do the job, and being patient with me as an intern.
Sincerely,
Benjamin M. Outland
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