Running head: BRINGHURST LEARNING SUMMARY

Antioch College Writing Institute:

An Internship Learning Summary
David Bringhurst
SAA 7670: Internship II
Dr. Carol Patitu

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Antioch College Writing Institute: An Internship Learning Summary

I chose Antioch College as an internship site for the Summer semester 2014 primarily
because of its distinct student profile and because of the rare opportunity to experience the birth
pangs of a new college. I chose to intern in Antiochs Writing Institute because it was an
opportunity to help my colleague, Robin Littell, as she seeks to lay the groundwork for her area.
Several challenges had an effect on the experience. First, Antioch operates on the quarter
system, so our Summer semester bridged their Spring and Summer quarters. This difference in
term structure did not cause major problems, but it did give my experience an interesting twist in
that I experienced the end of a term prior to experiencing the beginning of a term. It also created
a week-long gap between quarters. This was not a problem because of how we arranged my
workflow. The second challenge was the fact that my supervisor, Robin, was a first-time
internship supervisor and relatively new to her position. Combined with the start-up nature of the
college itself, this meant that she had almost too many choices for how I could help her. Again,
this wasnt a huge problem, but it did affect the internship. The relative shortness of our Summer
semester also posed a challenge as did the related issue of my full-time work status. Even though
I had other options, I felt compelled to complete the internship during the semester rather than
extend it and that meant doing more of my work after hours, but more importantly, offsite.
Despite these challenges, the internship was a good experience. I was able to help Robin
design a survey which she distributed to faculty in an effort to determine what types of support
they most wanted from the Institute for both themselves and their students. I also developed and
presented two workshops, though only one provided what I would call a meaningful experience.
The first workshop was about Mind Mapping. This was a new subject to me, so I had the
opportunity to learn about this note-taking and brainstorming technique. We designed a highly-

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interactive workshop that allowed students to actually practice the technique. Four students
attended, including the student whose regular use of the technique inspired the workshop idea.
The discussions that followed each activity were lively and showcased the creativity and
individual spirit that Antioch is looking for in their students. The interaction was highly
engaging. The students clearly enjoyed the activities and the discussion. What struck me most
from the interaction was how mutually engaging it was. I think Robin and I learned as much
from the students as they did from us, which was not unexpected given the type of students we
were working with and our own novice understanding of Mind Mapping. The second workshop,
on APA Style, was more or less a rehash of presentations I had done before. No students showed
up for the workshop, again, not an unexpected outcome. At least Robin now has a workshop she
can use in class.
In addition to those project-related experiences, I did have other opportunities to observe
and work with Antioch students. Robin invited me to attend their Community Council meeting
one day early in the internship but late in their Spring quarter. While the college President, Mark
Roosevelt, played Master of Ceremonies for an award presentation to a valued donor, the
primary business of the meeting was led by students. The major topic was the installation of the
newly elected set of student leaders. Two things really stand out to me about the experience. The
first was the seemingly genuine feeling of equality that pervaded the meeting. Students and
faculty sat shoulder to shoulder, and I observed no real feeling of class structure, for lack of a
better term. Faculty were very respectful of student perspectives and there seemed a genuine
partnership. It was only one meeting, so I do not know if this experience reflects the day-to-day
experience, but the feeling was palpable enough to stand out.

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The other opportunity I got to interact with Antioch students was in the Writing Institute
itself. Though I did not have regular hours in their office, I did have the opportunity to work with
students one day. Robin had to race to another meeting, and a couple of students were in the
Institute and had questions about papers they were working on. I volunteered to stay on and talk
to them. I had a rather extensive conversation with one young lady who was working on a
psychology paper. She had concerns about whether her discussion of the topic was clear enough
and, moreover, whether the argument she was putting forth carried enough weight. We talked for
perhaps an hour, and during the course of our talk it became clear that she had some general
anxiety about her college experience. We talked about that almost as much as her paper. I was
glad to be able to provide her with some support on both issues, but the experience took on new
meaning to me as my internship came to a close. As I reflected on my experiences with students,
I realized that many of them had demonstrated observable levels of anxiety, doubt, and
uncertainty. I am not at all sure what to make of that, but it is an interesting counterpoint to my
experiences with Wright State students, particularly those that I work with in the Writing Center
every day. I have a fair amount of personal contact with the students who work for me. It is not
unusual for me to have conversations with them, some of a personal nature. And with all of that
contact, I do not recall getting the same sense of anxiety from them. Certainly, the developmental
stage typical of most young college students is a time of great change and challenge. Students
grapple with complex issues as they become their adult selves. Surely that accounts for some of
what I observed. Perhaps, too, the small sample size and limited nature of the interactions had an
effect on my perception. Again, I am not sure what to make of it, but it is something that I
continue to ponder. In sum, my experience with Antiochs students left me a bit surprised. For all
that Antioch is trying to establish in their student body, I feel like our students compare

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favorably with Antiochs. In terms of initiative, leadership skills, confidence, and competence,
the students I work with on a daily basis in the Writing Center those who work for me are
easily the equal of Antiochs cohort.
Overall, the internship experience was a good one and met my expectations. I made some
practical choices to do a lot of the workshop development off campus. That worked for my work
needs, but it had consequences for the internship itself. Robin and I talked after the unattended
APA workshop, and we both agreed that if we were to do this again, we would schedule more
time on campus. Some of that time would certainly be inefficient because the Writing Institute
does not have a particularly high volume of traffic at this point, but we talked about also creating
more opportunities to participate in committees on campus. In any case, more time on campus
would provide for more serendipitous opportunities for interaction with students, faculty, and
staff, and yield more of a connection to the campus. While I feel I got a fair experience of a
different educational paradigm, I think I would have benefitted more if I had spent more time on
Antiochs campus.