Day to Day

A typical day in my internship can be a bit umm what the word is boring. Yes I am learning a lot but sometimes send out countless emails making tons of phone calls just gets old quick. I know, I know I should get use to this considering I want to work in the university setting doing something very similar. But there are also many days where I get to interact with students that are already here and ask them what they want to see what they like and think. Get their opinions on things I am trying to put together and to me that makes all the long days with countless emails and phone calls all worth it. The other fun part my day to day life in my internship is getting to meet with different directors and staff of the college. For instance the one person I got to meet most with for the fall welcome events I was planning was the director of marketing and communications for the entire college. I really like meeting with people and having an interactive job, rather than sitting in an office by myself and trying to communicate with people via email. Something about in person is so much better. Well at least to me! 

Future Endeavors

So since this is a free write I wanted to talk about something that has to do with my future career. But not anything to do with my internship. So here is a little fact about me first most of what I learn I learn through watching and seeing and hearing things. So I was watching this video on Netflix called “Cowspiracy“  Yes you read that right I did not spell it wrong it says Cow. So if you haven’t read my original blog I am really big into food systems and sustainability. So any chance I get I love to learn more about the subject, and the easiest way for me to learn is by simply watch documentary of the subject. Hence why I watch Cowspiracy. Anyways as I was watching a lot of my morals on the subject got very blurred. I learned that big Agro business more sustainable then organic agriculture, and to add insult to injury it’s cheaper. How is this even possible? Big Agro business believe it or not make more Co2 emission then all of cars, boats, trains, planes combined. So how in the world is it more sustainable? Well simply said is that it take more to produce organic and pasture raised animals. This made me think everything I have been learning was wrong. But here was the twist. It’s not wrong. I never learned that Big or small agro business was sustainable, it was the exact opposite. Yes I know no one wants to hear you need to stop eating all animal products. I get it its hard pill to swallow. I use to hate people telling me to be vegetarian or vegan. I use to think they were hippies. But it’s so much more than that. It’s not good for us it’s not good for our planet and it’s not good for the animals.  But what does this have to do with my future career well. This video also showed me how many policies are in place to hinder smaller farmers and to keep all of America in the dark about what is really going on in agriculture. So I decided that after I finish my Bachelor’s degree in public service and public policy with a concentration in sustainability that I would go on to get a concurrent MPA- Masters in Public Administration and Sustainability. So When I graduate with my Master’s degree I will actually have to Masters. But here is what I want to do after that. Yes I still want to work in the university setting, but I will also start lobbing for policy changes I want to see happen with our food system. After doing this for a few years I want to go back and get a Jurist Doctorate focusing on environmental law.  So that I can go on and become a politician so that I can just write the laws the way I see fit while educating people about the harsh reality of agriculture.

Senior Year Fears

Hey thanks for stopping by and taking time to read my blog. I think for this one I want to talk about how nervous I am to actually graduate with my bachelor’s degree. But your probably thinking why this should be exciting time in your life. And it is but I am still scared see, I never graduated from high school. I was forced to drop out when I was just 16 years old. I can remember the day like it was yesterday. It was November 14^th 2006. My dad had been threatening me for years telling me if I didn’t get my grades up that he would make me drop out. Well when I finally got into high school he became more serious about the matter so I reached out to my advisers and principles but no one believed me. They said he can’t make you, it’s against the law. Well on that day my dad came to pick me up from school he walked into the office and he dis-enrolled me. He told them we were moving and I was going to be going to another school. That was just a big fat lie but they believed it. I didn’t ever go back to high school after that day. However when I was 18 I went to enroll myself into a GED program where in less than a year I received my GED. From here I started taking a class to become an EMT-emergency medical technician. I didn’t pass it my first time but I did my second time. But I never did anything with it instead I decide to go to Community College and take some lower division courses. So two and half years later I transfer to ASU with no diploma. It was taking for ever to get anywhere at the community college so when I had the chance I took it and I transfer to ASU in the Fall of 2013.  Man I never even thought I would get this far. From a no body high school drop out to a University student. It was a huge deal for me. When I transferred in only 27 of my credits transferred that means I started in my sophomore year here at ASU. So when I graduate here in Spring of 16 it will have been almost 10 years from the time I dropped out until I got my bachelor’s degree. I will be the first person in my family to have a bachelor’s. SO although I want to go on to Grad school this will be the first time I actually graduate with something. It’s such a nerve raking felling. It makes me scared, sad, happy, excited, and unsure most of all. I don’t know what is going to be next for me. I don’t know how this will change my life. What is in store for me? It makes me scared to have such a huge change about to happen in my life. I mean by the time I graduate I will have been going to school for almost 6 years. That’s a long time and it will be over before I know it. Anyways I guess I just wanted to share some of my thoughts about graduating and how nervous it really does make me.

Thanks for stopping by check back soon for more blogs

Tammie 

Arizona State University

The organization that I doing my internship at is Arizona State University within the College of Public Service and Community Solutions academic affairs office.  I worked with the retention coordinator Amanda Andrew. She works with all students from the time they register for classes until they time the graduate. For me I would love to have a job like this. She gets to work with the students in the residents halls plan college wide events and is in charge of ASU101 and so many other things. So for my internship one of my main task was to help her with Fall welcome well I pretty much organized all of Fall Welcome for our college this year. See Amanda was busy filling in for another staff member for young African leadership institute so I got to pretty much run the show when it came to the events for fall welcome from food, swag (free give a ways) the works I came up with designed and picked out everything. One of my other main objectives for my internship was to create and manage a program for our college called academy. This is a college wide initiative that we haven’t had success with in the past. So I am in charge or revamping it and making students more interested in it. Well that at least is my goal for it! One other project I might have for my internship is helping organize and plane a trip for students during fall break, for those who can’t go home they still can have something fun to do here in Arizona. Last year the trip was to the Grand Canyon but it was just a turnaround trip which wasn’t as fun. Hopefully if I can help out with it and make it a longer trip so that it is more enjoyable for those who want to go.   

Let Me Introduce Myself

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by my blog.

My name is Tammie Garrett and I am a senior at Arizona State University pursuing a degree in Public Service Public Policy with a concentration in sustainability. I am also a part of Barrett, The honors College and will be starting my thesis this year. My thesis is about community gardens, but ran as a nonprofit with a twist. It will focus on developing urban vertical gardens in abandon building for low income areas and so much more that I could probably go on forever about. Anyways I am super into sustainability and food, and how to make sustainable food choices available to the masses especially low income areas and not just the higher socioeconomic status. I believe good healthy food is a right and shouldn’t be held from anyone. With that said my internship really has nothing to do with any of that. However I am sure I will gain a lot of great skills from it. I do hope to eventually work at a university and will probably work with the government in some aspect as well like the FDA or lobbing, not 100% sure just yet. 

So there are a few things I hope to get out of my internship.

1. Learning how to plan events

2. Create initiatives / project for incoming students  

3. Make a difference in at least one student life

Yes I know the last one is a huge request but here at ASU we have a sign we like to say 

“Dream it Do it” and I honestly believe I can make a difference in students’ lives, that’s why such a big part of me wants to work at a university after I graduate.

Well that’s it for now stop back by soon and see more about my internship experience.

See ya soon,

Tammie