Thank You Letter

Dear Jon Brodsky,
I can not thank you enough for all that you have done for me over these past months.  I have learned so much from you and everything you have taught me.  You have exposed me to so many great situations and experiences.  Looking back, there were so may times I found my self in situations where I thought to myself, "this is pretty cool that my involved in this right now."  Your leadership and communication skills are something that I look up to. I look to you as an example of where I want my skills to be.  I will take everything that I have learned from you with me moving forward in my life.  I am so grateful for everything I have learned and gain from you.

Thank you,
Daniel Mendoza 

What I Learned

I learned so many important things from my time at my internship.  I learned great communication skills, what work life is like in an office environment, how formal meetings are conducted, and various other professional skills.  I am very thankful that I was exposed to this internship and had the opportunity to learn all that I have learned.  Looking back on my first post I can saw I feel accomplished with what I have done.  My first goal was that I wanted to get the opportunity to make a positive difference in Phoenix.  I believe through my work with FitPHX i have accomplished my goal.  I have helped out in many projects that FitPHX has been apart that have improved the lives of Phoenix's people.  I also wanted to gather notable references through my great work with FitPHX.  I know that I have accomplished this because the people I have worked close with have told me that they would be glad to be a reference for my resume.  Accomplishing my initial goals and taking away what I have learned, has been a valuable experience for me and I and thankful for my the opportunity to do my internship with FitPHX.    

Career Services Write-Up

I was fortunate enough to have Courtney from Career Services to come into my English 301 class and give us a presentation on how to write the winning resume.  She was very helpful and gave our class a lot of great information and tips.  We were given multiple hand outs with example ideas for what our resume and cover letters should look like.  I liked that she suggested to add in a section for related courses we have taken to help enforce our qualifications for the job we are applying for.  To also tailor our resume to what each organization is looking for before sending one out.  This was a very helpful class and I feel I am better prepared for applying for jobs now. 

Free Write

Last week I went to my first Diamondbacks game.  I have been in Arizona for nearly two years and have never been, even though I live a ten minute walk to the stadium (I know, this is lame).  I had a great time at the game and had nothing but great things to say about the ball park.  Other than the over priced drinks and food the experience was awesome and I am glad I went.  Still call myself an Angels and Dodgers fan first though.

Free Write

For this free write I wanted to talk about some of the tv shows that I have been watching lately.  This past Sunday was the return of one of my favorite shows, Game of Thrones.  This shows is great and something I always love to talk about with my friends.  I have also enjoyed Last Man of Earth, which has been one of the funniest shows I have seen in a couple years.  The new Daredevil show is one I have heard good things about and am anxious to start watching.  Also looking for a good show to binge watch this summer.  I've never watched Breaking Bad or Walking Dead so I am thinking about going in on either of these two. What do you all think?

Organizational Strengths

I feel like FitPHX has many strengths.  I think for the size of the organization is is highly effective.  The things that have been accomplished since I have been there are great.  From winning grants, the success of MMDT, and walkphx expansion to name a few.  I also feel like another strength of FitPHX is the broad spectrum it reaches.  FitPHX's mission statement enables it to reach all areas of health & fitness and continue to reach new opportunities to make the community healthier.  If I were in charge of a similar i do not think I would do anything differently.  I think my boss, Jon, has done about as good of a job as anyone could in his position.  He attracts a lot of attention and money for FitPHX for something that he is solely in charge of. 

Free Write

I want to use this free write to talk about my sports.  Sports are a huge part of my life.  I played and watched them a lot when I was younger, and that habit has carried over to my life now, just with a lot less playing.  I grew up in southern California so many of my favorite teams are teams from this area.  I enjoy rooting for the Angels and Dodgers in baseball as well as the Ducks in hockey.  I odnt have a favorite NFL team, but this is my favorite sport to watch.  I am also a huge Mixed Martial Arts fan and follow the sports closer than any of my friends and most people I know.  The NFL Draft is something that follows the previous statement.  It is where my love for college football and pro football come together.  I love the build up and event of the NFL Draft.  The NBA is something I have grown to love and watch and read about closely as much as I can.  Sports consumes much of my entertainment time and many of the discussions I have with my friends involve sports.

How does your organization demonstrate public service and/ or urban governance?

FitPHX demonstrates public service in countless ways.  The whole point of FitPHX is to serve the public.  To make Phoenix a healthier place.  They have and are enhancing some of the parks to include walking routes and mileage markers to encourage exercise.  They educate and provide healthy activities for children at local gymnasiums and after school sites.  FitPHX puts on a free walk every Monday night downtown that encourages exercise and supports local businesses.  FitPHX is all about public service and is constantly looking at ways to increase their impact in a positive way for the public. 

Free Write

My recent day in the office was very interesting.  I started out arriving at the Norton House where I spend my office days and Jon gave me a task regarding our Meet Me Downtown event.  Jon wanted me to look through all the pictures from Meet Me Downtown since its debut in November and to compile a file of the best pictures.  I was excited to look through all the pictures and decide which were the best.  After spending time on this, later in the day Jon and I went to City Hall where we attended the FitPHX monthly meeting.  We went over many things such as the evolving mission statement and areas to grow FitPHX.  I was given opportunities by on too to give my input on each item brought up in the agenda.  This was a successful day.

Free Write

I have officially from City Hall to the downtown divisions office at the Norton House.  My FitPHX Job has adjusted well to the move as have I.  The office is a converted old house so all of the offices are rooms at the house and the former family area is designed as a reception and meeting area.  This is also where my work area is.  I have a computer that I work on in the downstairs area and Jon's office is upstairs.  This transition has run smoothly.  Instead of my computer being in a cubicle it is now in a house living room.

Leadership plays a role at my internship in many ways.  Jon, my supervisor, gives me a great example of how to lead and what it takes to lead.  Jon does so many things and communicates with many different people on a daily basis.  He shows great leadership skills when he deals with these various people which allows FitPHX to be successful.  For me as an intern, I am able to show leadership skills.  Jon always loves that I do and accomplish things without him having to ask and he always tells me that he appreciates it.  Whether it's handing out information at meetings or setting up for Meet Me Downtown.  Leadership is something I am getting to show and learn at my internship. 

Free Write Internship

I had a fun day working in the office recently.  I was given the task by Jon to combine various spreadsheets into a master spreadsheet for various future walkphx locations.  I have no problem doing this work and liked having a task that kept me busy.  Half-way through the day, Jon sent me down to the Suns arena to pick up tickets that the team gives us for the Meet Me Downtown event on Monday nights.  This was an enjoyable thing to do and gave me a chance to get some fresh air.  Interning for FitPHX is a great opportunity for me to experience many new and different things.

Interview

For my interview, I interview my supervisor Jon Brodsky.  I asked Jon about his main responsibilities and he told me they are countless. He is basically a one man show for FitPHX.  He did say though that if he had a main responsibility, it would be to apply FitPHX's mission statement in as many ways as possible and opportunities.  Jon's choice of this career was interesting.  When i asked him he told me first started working in television and then moved to work at the city councilman's office.  From there he wanted something more and took on the task of FitPHX.  He wanted to do something more than sit in the office all day and as looking for a new challenge.  I has a bachelors degree, but he did not remember if that was a requirement for him getting the job.  The advice he gave for someone who wanted to do what he did was helpful.  He said to do what I was doing a great start. Interning and building of a network of contacts is helpful to land any job.  He also mention being able to sell yourself in an interview and self-confidence are also very helpful.  I would be interested in this position, because FitPHX is an idea I believe in and getting to touch the lives of so many people in a positive way would be something I would love to do.  

Free Write Internship

I got to be there for when the news came to film a short segment on the Meet Me Downtown event.  We met at Heritage Square Park on Friday morning and the reporter showed up with his camera man for the story.  The reporter interviewed a few of the main people involved with the event while I was in the background for many of the shots.  It was cool to be apart of and really cool when I saw myself on TV.  The news story hopefully will bring more people out to the Monday event. 

Free Write Internship

My boss Jon informed me that his office is being move from City Hall to an office in the downtown division.  This change is due to FitPHX's dominant presence in the downtown community with events such as Meet Me Downtown.  This changed enables him to better collaborate with the resources he needs to accomplish FitPHX's many tasks.  This means I will be moving with him for the office day we meet and have a new cubicle to work at in the new office.  This will be a cool change for both of us.  I've met many of the people in the new office at other events so it should be cool to work along side them for a day and see what they do on a daily basis.   

Career Services Write Up

For this blog post I wanted to talk about my meeting with my adviser Maryjo.  Maryjo sat down with me and asked me questions interview style about myself and what I want to do as far as a career.  She then went over my answers and crafted what things I should focus on for myself and what employers look for.  She then looked over my resume and told me things I should focus on. Particularly, on my past job history note things I accomplished while I was there.  She then told me what employers look for on resumes and how else to better craft mine.  We then looked at ways to find employers online.  I took a lot away from this meeting and feel I am better prepared for getting the career I want.    

Free Write

My birthday was this last weekend and I traveled up to San Francisco to visit my friend who works there.  I had a great time visiting and love the city.  We went on a tour of the Anchor Brewery while we were there as well as take advantage of the sunny weather and hiked.  It was a fun birthday trip and let me take my mind off of school for a little bit and have some fun. 

Typical Day

I am fortunate at my internship to not really have a typical day.  I got to my internship twice a week and do something new and different each time.  On Monday nights I help out with the Meet Me Downtown event.  This typically involves me helping set up and assisting people on the path.  On Thursday when I come in I do a number of things.  I have done things like join Jon taking people to to the different parks, do inventory on the various parks, office work on the computer, and sitting in on meetings.  Jon is awesome about including me in things and thinking of me when he plans things so I get to experience the cool things.  I am excited to think about what I am going to be doing each week.   

Cool Thing I Got To Do

Last on Thursday I went in for my internship and got to do accompany Jon on a field trip of sorts.  We got a city vehicle and picked up two high up people from Banner Health/Good Samaritan hospital.  These gentleman had interest in integrating their goals to make the city healthier into what FitPHX is doing.  They want to get people healthy and not have to make hospital visits and try to prevent a persons problem before it starts.  We showed the two high ups a Walk Phoenix site at Maryvale Park.  We showed them the walking path along with the "Energy Zone" area inside the gym and things for the children to do in the Library.  We then went to a senior center and showed them FitPHX's integration into the senior community.  We finished at Verde Park with a showing of what kind of education FitPHX is giving to children with the help of local medical students.  They were very impressed and showed great interest in the hospital joining with FitPHX in some capacity.  It was a great experience and one of the many things that Jon brings me along to do.

Meet Me Downtown

Every Monday evening I help out with the Meet Me Downtown walk organized by FitPHX and Jon Brodsky.  The walk starts in Downtown Phoenix at City Scape restaurant "The Corner."  I arrive at The Corner and immediately start organizing the tables and setting up the area so that returning exercisers can sign in and new ones can register.  I have a brief meeting with Jon when he arrives and when everything is set up I pass off the sign in duties to other helpers in attendance.  My task from here varies, but it has mainly been to either help direct people on a new path, this was the case during Super Bowl, or standing out at a tricky part of the route to help guide participants.  My day concludes when all members are done with the route.     

Intro to FitPHX

The organization I intern for is called FitPHX.  FitPHX is part of the Parks and Recreation Department for Phoenix and is led by Jon Brodsky.  It is a city wide health initiative with the goal to "create programs and utilize existing resources to improve health and wellness in the region and make the Phoenix area one of the healthiest in the nation. The program encourages residents to lead healthier lifestyles, focusing on childhood and adult obesity, nutrition education, walking, bicycling, the use of public transportation and healthy worksites." www.phoenix.gov/parks/fitphx
FitPHX does many things such as organize the Meet Me Downtown walk that takes place every Monday night.  They also have walking paths set up around various parks throughout the city that encourage walkers to track the distances they have walked.  FitPHX also works with children at various parks with activities called Energy Zones.  For FitPHX I will be helping set up and run the Meet Me Downtown walks as well as coming into the office or go out to parks and assist with various projects.

Hello everyone,
My name is Daniel Mendoza and I am interning at FitPHX.  My goals for this internship include
1.) Be able to say I made a positive difference in Phoenix working with FitPHX 2.) Gather good references for my resume with the people I work with and get to know. 3.) Make a good enough impression to be offered a job when all is said and done.