My Ten Weeks With AALEAD Flew By In the Blink of An Eye

By Liying Tan, Curriculum Development Intern
Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff

This summer, I was honored to be selected as a Curriculum Development Intern for the AALEAD. Starting off, I was interested in working for non-profit organizations and Curriculum Development. However, I’m not sure what I can accomplish ultimately as I had no official work experience before in these areas. Now on August 17th, when I am looking back, I think I have learned a lot especially how to work effectively even under great pressure and I’ve found that I enjoy working in a challenging and multitasking environment. For example, I sometimes need to sort hundreds of lesson plans and teaching materials alone by different objectives, and edit existing AALEAD lesson plans and teaching tools based on students and staff immediate feedback. At the same time, I also perform many administrative tasks include making copies, managing schedules, refine current lesson plan template, and create tips and guidelines document for new program staff who are new to lesson planning. Also with the help of Charles, I can always work on the most pressing needs first and then make sure everything else will be taken care of at the end. Therefore, there is no doubt that with an environment of open feedback and communication, I was able to grow both my professional and interpersonal skills.

Different from some other organization, working in the AALEAD makes me feel that I am treated as an actual staff member rather than just an “intern”. My supervisor and colleagues provided me efficient support not just when they came to AALEAD, but also in my own professional life, e.g. Charles helped me set up informational interviews with Neel and staff members in other institutions help me decide my future career path. It was unforgettable working with AALEAD and I’ll take my experiences to mold me as a better individual from here on out. No risk, no fun is always my inspirational quote, so if you want to find a place for both risk and fun, AALEAD is your perfect choice.

Last but not the least, I just want to say thank you to everyone working in the AALEAD. Charles, Freidricka, Ha, Stephanie, Raj, Neel, Mylynh, Saadia, Vi, and all the other AALEAD staff members in MD and VA area I did not have an opportunity to see you in person.