Hello my friends! It has been a wild ride, but we are not done yet! Only one more week to go, but I have things planned for it and this weekend. In the meantime, it has been long enough; it’s high time I gave a little more background on my internship itself.
I am an English Major. You’re probably already aware of that, but I just wanted to put it out there because most people who go to IRRI are science majors of some sort. Usually Biology, but there are others. And it makes sense, IRRI—International Rice Research Institute—is a research institute. People come here to do research on growing rice and everything that goes with it.
So, as an internship at a research institution that does not research, what do I do?
I work in the office! Originally, I was going to be working on encoding and updating the database for the many projects that are undertaken by IRRI and Partners. I did do some of that, and it pretty much involved switching tabs, clicking buttons, and making sure things were updated and correct. Important, maybe, but not really exciting.
Once my writing skills came up, however, things became far more interesting. I would look at legal documents, remove all the case-specific language, and format them into templates such that the process of beginning new projects could be just a little faster. I did this with at least ten different documents, and it was actually really cool.
Except for the time I had to rework the numbered lists. That was a pain and a half and took far, far too long.
I’ve also edited the grammar and wording of a few documents as well as come up with a way to visualize the data in the database such that it is easier for the viewers to understand what it is they are looking at. And lastly, I am writing a paper with the help of a colleague on making a solution in the early stages of project finance.
Although I haven’t really been trained for any of this, honestly, I feel as though the classes and what I have learned up to this point have helped me to be well-rounded enough to understand whatever it is I need to do. Before last week, I knew nothing about finance. But I knew how to read, research, and learn, so I taught myself and now I can properly write the paper.
It also helps that I just enjoy reading and writing. I tell my peers what I’m doing, and they wince, but I’m enjoying it. I would not mind having a job like this after the internship.