Week 3

June 24th - Monday
7:00am - 4:00 pm

Today was an important day as far as meetings go. I had a morning meeting to discuss how we want to use our social media and what our goals are for our social media usage. In the afternoon, my intern group and I made a significant leap forward with our project. We had a conference call with the CEO of Pavegen (the company that makes the kinetic energy tiles we are interested in deploying throughout Detroit.) We discussed all angles of the product and are all very fired up about pitching our idea next week. I spent the afternoon researching that project and beginning to prepare out presentation.  It was a big step for me to be on such an important conference call and to be speaking with someone so important without being able to see their body language and sense the way the conversation was going. I learned a lot about how to conduct such conversations.

An example of the PaveGen tiles we are hoping to implement in Detroit.

June 25th - Tuesday
8:00am - 9:30pm

Today I spent a bit of time working on social media content and getting some posts up. We began changing our sites from Imagitivity Detroit over to dPOP! and figuring out the best way to phase those over. We had a team meeting and we discussed the challenges behind switching all the social media sites to new names or creating new ones and linking them for awhile. We decided the best idea was to phase the names over, but make sure there are posts that explain what has happened and why they are changing. During this meeting, I really felt that I was becoming a team lead and began taking the reigns. I have the most social media experience out of group and will really be able to shine in this role. 
In the evening, all interns were invited to stay downtown for a Tigers game! We were given a free dinner at Hockeytown and then walked over to Comerica Park for the game. It was a long day, but it was enjoyable. I am going to sleep well tonight!

June 26th - Wednesday
8:15am - 6:00pm

We spent the majority of today on a d:Hive bus tour of Detroit. D:Hive is a start-up business that helps with directions and accomadations in Detroit. They do walking tours, bus tours and hold other various events for the community and visitors. We visited the Heidelberg Project, the Riverwalk, several spots in Midtown, some historic areas, New Center, and even some really “ghetto” areas. We were taken to the best of the best and the worst of the worst. They wanted to point out that everyone says Detroit is “run down,” “empty,” “desolate,” or “ruined.” While there are lots of vacant areas, there are also booming areas. We received some information as to why Detroit is what it is. I found it very interesting that the main reason there are desolate areas is because of the automotive industry. When Chrysler, GM and Ford decided to move to suburbs, they took hundreds of thousands of workers with them, therefore leaving empty neighborhoods. Once the neighborhoods became less-populated, less people had the desire to live there… therefore the desolation, crime and poverty spiraled out of control. Even in the worst areas, communities are building. One area was saw seemed to be torn apart and lifeless but once we got a block or two in, a huge Gleaners Food Bank inc. location had been built. They created gardening spaces, a park and other “hangout” areas. Families were outside with children and pets, BBQing with neighbors and enjoying the beautiful day. These people may not have much, but they seemed to have pride in their neighborhood and the city of Detroit in general. For me, this day was a great learning experience. I have always been kind of skeptical, and even afraid of Detroit. Ive always heard the negatives, and never the positives and this tour made me much more confident in the city and feel somewhat safer being outside of “downtown.” I know have a list of places I would like to visit that are consider gems to the city such as old bakeries, restaurants, and shops. I hope to take another bus tour with d:Hive again soon.

Heidelberg Project with Anna, another Phi Sigma Sigma on my team! (Making sisterly bonds as well!)

Thursday June 27th - Thursday

7:40am - 5:00pm

Today was just another day with meetings and lots of independent work time. I met with both groups (Social Media and Intern Project - Pavegen) and we continued the progress of what we are working on. We will be pitching the Pavegen project on Tuesday so we are working very diligently to get all the information for this compiled and set to go. 

Friday June 28th - Friday

7:10am - 3:30pm

Today was a rather laid-back day in the office. We had a few meetings and I continued to work independently. I was assigned some additional tasks relating to photography and I think they went pretty well. I spent some time working down in Campus Martius today and getting to know some other coworkers better. We completed the mission statement for dPOP! as well. (After many, many, many rewrites!)

dPOP! is passionate about inspiring people to connect to their environment through purposeful design. After laying the foundation of a sound product, our seasoned team members continually strengthen the client relationship through individually tailored services. Whether designing interiors, consulting on moves, or managing facilities, dPOP! invents solutions that embrace the client’s culture while reflecting our own core principle that innovative places lead to innovative outcomes. From start to finishes, dPOP! leads the industry in creating expressions that inspire.

I took off early due to bad weather approaching, and my parents wanted to take a trip out to Ikea. I drove through some of the worst weather trying to make it home. It was down pouring and lightning like crazy. Nothing like driving home at 30mph on i75!



Thankfully, it is the weekend! I hope to find some time to relax, although I can't foresee too much of that as we are moving more furniture this weekend and cleaning out the old house some more.


Total hours this week: 49.45