Haley Harrington interned at Club Metropolitan fitness center in Spain. During her internship, she had several learning objectives including leading an exercise class in Spanish, observing massage therapists, and improving the center's Facebook page. She achieved many of her goals such as leading an abdominal class and interviewing massage therapists. For her Facebook objective, she created a presentation but implementation was delayed. Overall, the internship improved Haley's Spanish skills and experience with fitness instruction, massage therapies, and creating professional presentations.
2. Table of Contents Resume (slides 3-4) Learning Objectives and Reflections (slides 5-11) Demonstrated Achievements Official Sign Created for Club Metropolitan (slides 13-14) Entry from my notebook (Slides 15-16) Fitness Class Plan (slides 17-18) Massage Therapist Interview Summary and Brochure (slides 19-20) PowerPoint Presentation Outline (slides 21-22)
6. Objective One Objective: By July 7th, I will lead an exercise class in the gym for the Spanish clients. I have a choice of an abdominal class, a stretching class, a cycling class, or a combination of the three. Learning Activities: I will keep attending and observing classes offered at Metropolitan. I will grasp key Spanish words used, as well as follow the specific exercises. I will write down my plan and practice (either by myself or with friends) to make sure I am leading the class properly and using the correct Spanish. Finally, I will go through the plan with the trainer who usually leads the class to make sure that it is a good plan for the class. Evaluation: I will be able to know if I achieved my goal based on whether or not I lead the class be July 7th.
7. Reflection I was able to successfully complete this objective. I led an abdominals class by the date after observing, planning, and practicing. The planning process took longer than I expected; though I originally was just expecting to just sit down, plan a class, and start, I found out that the process was much more than that. I wanted to make sure that I led a well-organized class, used the correct Spanish, and had the right amount of confidence to keep maintain the flow of the class. I was happy with accomplishing this goal, and it ended up being my favorite part of the internship.
8. Objective Two Objective:I want to observe the massage therapists and interview them. I have not yet been to this area of the gym because I have mainly been in the fitness area. However, due to my recent increased interest in massage therapy and acupuncture, I think it will be beneficial to observe a professional in that setting. Learning Activities: I will talk to my supervisor in Club Metropolitan and tell him my interest in branching out to the massage field of the club. With his help, I will set up a day that I can interview a massage therapist and observe her with the clients. I will learn the beginning of what massage therapy entails. Evaluation: I will have a copy of either the interview in total or a summary of the interview to show that I learned from the massage therapist. I will write an analysis of what I learned and observed. This includes anatomical terms, medical aspects, and client interactions. This will be a measurable way for me to expand my interest in the massage therapy and acupuncture field.
9. Reflection I was not able to actually observe the massage therapists in action due to privacy restrictions (clients are guaranteed privacy and confidentiality). However, I was able to ask them about their equipment, treatment, and a little bit about what they do on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, besides the “client interactions” mentioned in the evaluation part of my learning objective, I was able to achieve this objective. I learned a lot about treatments that I had never heard of before. I saw this as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of types of therapy that I did not know much about before, and it made me realize that there are a lot more options for future careers than I originally though in my area of interest. For example, I did not know about ultrasound being an option for treating an injured area. I have a summary and analysis of my interview, shown in my demonstrated achievements on slide 20.
10. Objective Three Objective: When searching Club Metropolitan on Facebook, I discovered that there are multiple groups for the same gym, and the groups are not up-to-date. In addition, there are broken links and outdated events. It was very confusing trying to navigate their groups. Though their official website is professional, the Facebook groups seem unprofessional. I want to create a new system where there is a single Facebook group for our Metropolitan location. I also plan to fix the links and make the group well-organized. Clients of the gym regularly check this group and rely on it for useful information; therefore, I plan to reorganize the group, increase client participation in the group by at least 10% (through the addition of new members), and provide up-to-date information in Spanish and English. Overall, these aspects will increase the professionalism of the group. I wish to accomplish this before I finish my internship on July 23rd. Learning Activities: I have created a PowerPoint presentation to show to my supervisor explaining my objectives, plan of action, and the advantages of my project. I want to prove that this is a project that needs to be done for the overall professionalism of the company, and that I am capable of managing this task. On Monday, July 4th, I have an official appointment with the supervisor to show him this presentation. Once approved, I will set forth as a Facebook admin on the group to improve the overall functionality and quality of the Club Metropolitan group. I will fix broken links, make the general information more organized and available, and create one united group so that there aren’t multiple groups for the same location. Most of the information will be in Spanish, but some English translations will be added (since many of the clients speak English). Evaluation: I will know that I have accomplished this project once I have consolidated the Club Metropolitan groups into one organized group, along with up-to-date information and working links. Along with my English and Spanish descriptions, I hope to increase the group size by 10%. Improving the overall professionalism of the Facebook group is my goal, and once I complete the steps and accomplish this by July 23rd, I know that my objective will be complete.
11. Reflection This objective was a tough one to complete. I did my part by creating and presenting my project, which the director of the center liked and took interest in. However, I discovered that my director, while the head of my center in Madrid, was not in charge of the Facebook group or website. The person in charge was located in another Club Metropolitan in Barcelona. However, my director approved of my idea, so he took it to the other center in Barcelona when he went there on a business trip. He presented my presentation to them, but they needed time to decide. Unfortunately, by the time all of this occurred, I was already ending my internship and returning to Kansas. I have kept in contact with the director in case Club Metropolitan does want help with the group (since I fulfill my project easily on the internet), but I was not able to achieve my idea by July 23rd. Even though I was not able to carry out my idea, I learned a lot from this process. I realized that in a business with multiple locations, there may be more communication required than just who you work with in your own building. In addition, I learned how to create a professional PowerPoint presentation, shown on slide 21 under demonstrated accomplishments. Finally, I had my first experience developing and demonstrating an original idea to a director of a business. Though I was nervous about the actual presentation, I was able to speak clearly and have organized thoughts, despite them being in Spanish, because I put in much planning and effort before the presentation. Therefore, I consider this learning objective a great experience.
14. Official Sign Created for Club Metropolitan facility Occasionally, I was placed in charge of making official signs for the building. I was given information on what was to be included on the sign. I took that information and wrote presentable signs, using correct Spanish vocabulary and grammar. I was also allowed to use a format of my choice, so I got to design the layout, too. After creating and laminating the signs, I placed them in the appropriate places around the gym. This project helped me develop a formal sense of writing in Spanish. Since I knew that the clients would all be reading the signs, I knew that I had to have perfect spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. After doing this, though, I felt more comfortable with writing a formal Spanish document without having to translate every word with a dictionary.
15. 2. Entry from my Journal:Learningand Appling Spanish Vocabulary
16. Entry from my Journal Since the internship was in Spain, I entered knowing that I wanted to not only to learn Spanish words, but to also use them effectively and effortlessly when interacting with clients. I used each day as an opportunity to learn about anatomy, both on a basic and muscular level, movements, and equipment. After committing the words to memory, I made sure to actually apply them in my daily activities. I knew that if I wanted to be successful with communication, I would have to practice these words repeatedly. Learning these words made me an effective communicator with my coworkers and clients. When I first arrived and did not know as many important terms, I tried to use body language to communicate my ideas. While body language is good, it can only get one so far when used alone. Therefore, having a more extensive vocabulary helped me communicate much more effectively with others around me. By the end of the internship, I was using words in conversation without having to pull them out of the back of my mind; it was as if they had been my first language! My level of Spanish significantly improved, which was what I knew I wanted to do before I got there.
18. Fitness Class Plan I had the opportunity to direct a few abdominal classes in my last weeks at the internship. Since I needed to construct a well-organized, effective class, I needed to do a lot of planning to make sure that the movements, as well as the Spanish vocabulary, were all in check. My first plan was scribbled on a piece of paper, but as I grew more organized and became more comfortable with the process, I began to type out class plans. My written plans were a great way for my to organize my thoughts. It helped me develop my planning skills, which will serve as a good tool in my future job as a fitness instructor at KU. In addition to my developing organizational skills, my written plans were a tangible way for me to see my ideas written out. Seeing my ideas on paper was a great way for me to expand and get creative. With my plans, I made sure that I had a variety and wasn’t doing the same thing every time. After repeating this process several times, it became a much easier and quicker process for me. I became really good at creating a well-put-together plan in a short period of time.
20. Massage Therapist Interview Summary of interview: There are many different types of therapies used in the spa. There is massage therapy, which helps relieve tension. Different techniques were used in movement, which was demonstrated. In addition, there is also simple physical therapy offered to help people restore basic movement after injuries. This includes hands-on movement training, training with large rubber bands, and ultrasound stimulation, which improves blood flow to the injured area. All therapies can be used in combination with each other to improve function, movement, and injuries. Analysis of interview: There is a variety of techniques used to help people restore maximal function. Having knowledge of different rehabilitation techniquesis a good thing to keep in mind, as it will further me in my future jobs. Thanks to knowing different options, I know that I can explore different paths to find exactly what will fit my goals.
22. PowerPoint Presentation I had an idea to help Club Metropolitan improve the professionalism of their Facebook page. I knew that I would have to project this idea to not just my regular supervisor, but the director of the entire facility; therefore, I knew I had to create an official presentation to show him. Because he was always so busy, I knew he did not have time to just listen to a random idea. Knowing this, I created a PowerPoint so that I could present my idea quickly and effectively. This was the first professional PowerPoint that I have ever made. The other ones I have made have been school-related. Therefore, I was excited to create my first professional presentation to present to the head of the facility. This project helped me with my organizational skills.
