Eveanna's Portfolio

Table of Contents
Resume...............................................3
Organizational
Analysis..............................................6
Challenge
Exercise............................................21
Reflection.........................................24
Writing Sample.................................30
References........................................37

Eveanna Broxton
409 East Howell Street, Philadelphia, PA 19120
Cell: 267-880-7294 ● E-mail: tud24203@temple.edu
Education
Temple University Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Anticipated Graduation: May 2016
Professional Experience
Project Forward Leap(Non-Profit) Philadelphia, PA
Administrative Office Assistant Intern January 2015-present.
• Developed new programs to promote and expand center’s mission
• Use computer word processing, spreadsheet, and database software to prepare reports, memos, and
documents
• Sort incoming mail, faxes, and courier deliveries for distribution
• Prepare and send outgoing faxes, mail, and courier parcels
• Forward incoming general e-mails to the appropriate staff member
• Purchase, receive and store the office supplies ensuring that basic supplies are always available
Holy Redeemer Health Systems Philadelphia, PA
Home Health Aide June 2014-Present
• Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, and problems in order to report and discuss
observations with a supervisor or case manager
• Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs or automobiles, and with
dressing and grooming
• Provide patients and families with emotional support and instruction in areas such as infant care,
preparing healthy meals, independent living, and adaptation to disability or illness
Shop Rite Philadelphia,PA
Hot Food Chef January 2014-Present
• Maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
• Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers, slicers and ovens.
• Clean food preparation areas, cooking surfaces, and utensils.
• Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook
food according to instructions.

Forman Mills Philadelphia, PA
Customer Service Associate June 2012 – January 2014
• Supervise, stock and up keep Athletic Wear Department
• Greeting customers, Increasing sales, Providing Info and answering all questions
• Handle all Returns, Exchanges, Lay-a-ways and problem solving
Temple University Hospital Philadelphia, PA
Pharmacy-Tech Intern June 2011- November
2011
• Filled bottles with prescribed medication and create labels for prescriptions
• Dispense medication to the customers waiting at the counter
• Build good relations with all the regular customers of the pharmacy
Visitation Community Center Philadelphia, PA
Receptionist April 2011 – December 2011
• Facilitated curriculum goals, objectives and monitored their development.
• Assessed of the lessons, activities and curriculum to ensure statewide standards.
• Answer general phone inquiries using a professional and courteous manner
• Greet clients and visitors to the organization in a professional and friendly manner
Criminal Justice Center Philadelphia, PA
Legal Clerk for Jury Selection Commission July 2010- August 2010
• Prepare correspondence and reports requiring the use of a personal computer and justice systems
software.
Maintains a variety of logs and files of departmental information regarding Petit Jurors and Grand
Jurors.
• Work with the Jury Commission, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Administrative Services in processing
jurors.
• Work directly with the Judges and the court staff in arranging to have jurors present for trials when
needed.
• Answer questions from attorneys, other office staff and the general public regarding jury issues.
Achievements & Awards
Home Health Aide Certification(2014)
Mathematics Honor Society(2011-2012)
Hispanic Honor Society(2011)
Holy Redeemer Health Systems, Volunteer (2007 -2009)
Computer Skills/Training
SPSS, Microsoft Office (Word, Power Point, Excel) Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, Apple Software

History
Project Forward Leap has a vast history that which was founded almost 25 years ago. “PFL was
founded in 1989 in Lancaster PA by a successful businessman and university professor, Dr. Melvin R.
Allen, PFL’s current President/CEO. One of twelve siblings who grew up in a North Philadelphia
family where education was not a priority, Dr. Allen understands from personal experience that the
academic needs and learning environments of disadvantaged inner city and minority children are often
considerably different from those of affluent suburban students. PFL’s core components consist of
annual summer Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) residential institutes on college
campuses and the local school-year Saturday Academy program of tutoring and enrichment.”(Project
Forward Leap) Project Forward Leap is an organization striving to enrich students who have the
potential to do well and succeed in college. These students need a push and a platform for better
education and Project Forward Leap gives its students that.
Mission
Project Forward Leap is a non-profit organization geared towards the advancement of
educational values. Their mission statement is “Project Forward Leap (PFL) is a non-profit seven-year
program committed to closing the gaps of academic achievement and developmental opportunities
between students with academic promise put at-risk by serious socio-economic disadvantages and their
advantaged peers by serving as a catalyst for raising achievement standards in their schools “(Project
Forward Leap). The mission statement is basically saying that the program is meant to keep kids in
school and have them graduate up to the college level or more. The mission statement is focusing on
children who are in low-income neighborhoods because those neighborhoods have the schools that
need the most help with educational enrichment.

Goals
Project Forward Leap has a few goals that they strive to achieve every year of the program.
“What differentiates PFL from other education intervention programs is that PFL (1) reaches out to
children in the sixth grade before they begin a downward spiral; (2) provides services to them
throughout each year of participation until they graduate from high school; (3) prioritizes the teaching
of science, technology, engineering, and math presented earlier and at more advanced academic levels
than inner city public schools; (4) includes character building strategies that focus on personal growth
and academic achievement; (5) encourages students to remain in their home schools and works with
participating districts to help them raise educational standards; and (6) requires the active involvement
and support of parents. Students who complete the middle school program continue to be served by
PFL through high school and the transition to higher learning facilities by continued monitoring of their
performances, referrals to successor programs, college/career counseling, college tours, leadership
development workshops, and other activities designed to support their educational achievement.”
(Project Forward Leap) Project Forward Leap hopes to show students what there future could look like
if they were in college. The program is meant to keep students encouraged, involved and ahead of their
academic game from middle school through high school.
Funding
Project Forward Leap is a nonprofit organization which means that they get their money from
various sources. Because this organization is private the government does not fund this organization.
The money that Project Forward Leap does receive is used as so many different things so it is vital that
a specific amount is met every year. Project Forward leap receives money from different sources like
grants, donations, foundations, fund raisers and even its students. The only money that is given to
project forward leap from the students is a $100 fee that is used to help the program with any

incidentals the students may need later in the program. This money is given back to the student in full
once they have graduated the program.
One of the biggest way project forward leap gets money is by entering in grant contests that
gives money to different charities or non-profits. The contests may require the organization to submit
an essay or a video that explains something unique about the program. There is also a lot of online
grants that the program applies for in which all the program has to do is fill out an application. The next
way the program makes its money is by holding fund raiser events. The parents of the students at
project forward leap come together and share ideas for how they can make money. Sometimes they
have cookouts, bake sales or auctions. Project Forward leap also has events in which they invite
wealthy donors to come and see what the children are learning and how they are benefiting from the
program. This helps the individual donors to see where their money is and if they want to continue to
give.
The other way project forward leap gets money is from foundations. This is a private entity that
derives its money from a family, an individual, or a corporation. There are many different foundations
that project forward leap receives money from. There are also many companies and banks that give
project forward leap a set amount of money each year. The hard thing about getting money from all
these different sources is being able to meet deadlines and hoping that the company will chose project
forward leap to give to. It is vital that PFL gets a certain amount of money each year otherwise they
may have to cancel different things within the program in order to cut back on expenses. There are so
many things that have to be paid for such as the employees, venues, supplies, room and board, food and
much more. Sometimes when there isn’t enough money the first thing project forward leap might have
to do is cut back on staff instead of something for the students. Nonprofits have the hardest job of
trying to raise funds each year to get everything they want to do done. They have to make connections
with different people and businesses so they can continue to get the funds they need to continue the
program.

Community
PFL has a website that gives an over view of their program which says they are a seven-year
program committed to closing the gaps of academic achievement and developmental opportunities
between students with academic promise put at-risk by serious socio-economic disadvantages and their
advantaged peers by serving as a catalyst for raising achievement standards in their schools. The
program coordinators speak with counselors in middle schools within Philadelphia, Chester, Harrisburg
and Lancaster about recruiting students who may fit well into the program. The point of the program is
to gear towards high academically achieving students in schools which are in low-income areas.
Unfortunately the population of students in most low income areas is predominately African American
and Hispanic in Philadelphia. Project Forward Leap expanded its clientele to Lancaster and Harrisburg
hoping to achieve a diversity of students.
The program PFL takes the students who complete admittance and send them to a college
campus in the summer to basically live the life of a college student. Some of the college campuses the
students live on for 3-5 weeks are Bryn Marw, Millersville and Messiah Universities. The students are
taken out of their low—income neighborhood and are set in a more middle to upper class neighborhood
where they can experience different people and just a different area in general. The students are also
placed in a college dorm with a roommate and attend college classes with other classmates in the PFL
program. The students are taught a wide variety of classes such as Latin, Literature, Mathematics,
Science and Technology. The students are also exposed to the campus cafeteria and landscape with all
the outdoor/indoor activities such as the swimming pool or tennis courts. This exposure to the students
may give them an experience with some free sources they never had access to where they live. The
library and tech lounges with free computers a media technology is available for the students and they
are able to explore technology as they may not have living in a low income area.

One of the main reasons PFL is placed in the low-income areas of Philadelphia, Chester,
Lancaster, and Harrisburg is because of the continuous increase in high school dropout rates in these
cities. These cities are known to have high numbers of high school drop outs and very poor
neighborhoods. The students who are dropping out of high school the most and lowering the college
attendance rates are those who reside in these low-income areas. The purpose of having this program
placed in the areas mentioned is so that the coordinators have easy access to the counselors of the
students who are doing well in these poorer neighborhoods and can give those students a chance to
achieve above and beyond so they can graduate high school and go on to graduate college.
Bureaucracy
Rules and policies are important to any organization who wants to stay organized and maintain
order. There are a lot of different rules that Project forward Leap has for its students, staff and parents.
The program is designed to take a student in steps of educational programs to lead to a graduation
point. There are many different rules to get a student in the program and have them graduate. There are
three main programs that have their own goals and policies that students must follow in order to move
on to the next stage of the program.
The first rule is that in order for a student to be chosen they must live in the area of
Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg or Chester. The student must be enrolled in a public middle school
located in a socio-economically deprived area. The counselor of the school must give recommendations
of students who are achieving a grade point average of 3.0 in 6th
grade. The program starts with
students in the 6th
grade level only. If chosen the student must then attend a meeting with the counselor
and their parent that explains the program in detail. If the student chooses to be in the program they
must then fill out all the necessary paper work to begin the acceptance process. After the paperwork is

complete the student and parent attends a series of orientations which are mandatory for information
for the program.
Look at the projectforwardleap.org website and click on programs to see the rules for how the
programs are run throughout the course. The first program which is known as the middle school
program begins in the summer. The website explains how PFL targets students from underprivileged
backgrounds with academic promise typically enrolled in under performing school districts.
Intervention begins in the 6th grade when students are introduced to college life in a multi-week
residential Summer College program which they attend for three consecutive summers. The summer
program is complimented by a Saturday program during the middle school years. While the student is
still in middle school it is a rule that they must attend the Saturday program in which the parent must
also attend for a certain amount of hours. The point of the Saturday program is tutoring and learning for
various classes that the student will take in their next academic year of school.
After the student takes the middle school program and graduates high school they are officially
a graduate of that program and can go on to the high school program. The rules is that the student must
attend certain workshops and college tours in order to prepare them for college. The website explains
the high school program as a four year non-residential high school enrichment program that transitions
PFL students to college preparatory studies through: Placement in advanced classes, dual enrollment,
high achiever programs, or magnet schools,Academic support and mentoring,College planning and
tours, Career counseling and Leadership & Service Learning. It is a policy that students keep in contact
with the program and their decision to participate in the activities offered otherwise the program will
discontinue their application.
A policy that is extremely important to PFL is the involvement of the parents of our students.
Students have to succeed with their education and parents play a huge role in their child's motivation
for success. PFL encourages parents to be involved in the program with their students by participating
in activities we have available for them. This is a good policy because the parents can be aware of how

the program helps the students and also be apart of their success in their educational goals. The website
explains that the parents/guardians of our students are required to participate in 50+ hours annually in
school and community service and attend pertinent workshops offered by PFL. These include computer
skills, literacy, and financial counseling which are held simultaneously during the Saturday Academy.
In addition, they are expected to show a willingness to learn new parenting strategies to help break the
cycle of poor school performance.
Laws and Ethics
There are many laws that are in place to protect the students that attend Project Forward
Leap. Many of the laws are carried out by staff so that students are not discriminated against or
have their privacy exposed. Students as well as staff need laws and ethics to keep a sense of
peace, balance and safety among everyone. Some of these laws can make it easy for staff and
students to communicate and can cause situations to arise. On the other hand, Project forward
Leap has these strict guidelines to keep the students safe and secure while they are away from
home and family.
One of the first laws that come into play when considering employment with students at
Project Forward Leap is undergoing a criminal background check. The employee is screened to
make sure they do not have any history of abuse or neglect to others that could be a hazard to
the children in our program. This process is an important because many employees can lie
about their criminal background and can put the students in danger. One other flaw to this is
that the employee may have all the right credentials to work with Project Forward Leap but
they may have made a mistake in the past which labeled them as a criminal and can effect their

chances of getting hired. Another law that Is very important is the 1st
amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. This law is meant to give students the right to speech, the press , religion and
peaceful protest. The staff at Project forward Leap have to respect the students whether they are
Muslim, bi-sexual, transgender or atheist. The only situation with this is that the students are
typically young 6 graders whose minds should not be bombarded with what other kids are
pressuring them with. The main goal is for the students to focus on learning and educating
themselves through the program and not bringing home conversations that could upset or shock
their parents. The only issue is that parents may feel their child may pick up negative habits or
words from other children, and this may reflect on the program and its initiatives.
Another law is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
amendment. This is a law that
means that students no matter what their sexual preference is should be protected by the staff
from harassment under any circumstances. Sometimes kids are very taunting and like to bully
other kids. This is a problem for Project Forward Leap because we have to protect these
children like they are our own when they are in our care. There is a hard balance between
disciplining a child and protecting them.
There also has to be a consent form signed by the minor of the parent who will be
attending the program to allow that child to be in our care. The teachers that work with the
students must all be properly certified to teach. The re are also the main civil rights that are
guaranteed to all the students who apply for the program that we do not discriminate against
them based on race,disability,age,sex and religion. The only difficult part about this is if we did
have a student that was paraplegic it may not be possible to accommodate them and their needs.
These are some of the basic laws in place to keep the program in order and respect the rights of
the students that attend.

Power Structure
Power is very important in Project Forward Leap. Those working with the organization can use
their power to determine how the organization runs. The person who has the most power is the head
CEO and direct of the program. The director of the program has the power to say who gets hired, fired
and promoted to work for the program. The director determines the goals, aspirations, and development
of the program as well. With this power he can not only determine what audience he wants to reach out
to when it comes to students picked for the program but, the locations of these students. This
specifically effects the community because kids from areas outside of Philadelphia, Chester, Lancaster
and Harrisburg cannot participate in the program. The students who do live in these areas have the
chance to participate in the program and hopefully have a good experience.
Another way this power effects the community is because the program is meant to lower the
rates of high school drop outs and raise the rates of college attendance. The students participating in the
program are able to graduate high school and attend college, this result allows these areas ratings of
high school drop outs and college attendance to vary in a good way. The more students that are
motivated to graduate high school and go to college the more they can be a motivation to their other
peers to do the same. This effect may in turn make a bigger impact on many communities children.
The site directors in each city have the power to recruit students. The site directors use their power to
get in touch with certain middle schools in selected areas. The site directors then speak to the
counselors of those schools and tells them about the program and what kind of students they are
looking for. The counselor then uses their power to select certain kids for the program. The only group
that does not have much power in this situation are the students. The students can not apply for the
program unless they are given a personal invitation. This is also something that gives parents no power.
Parents are usually the first ones to get their kids involved in programs and extra activities, but parents

cannot just sign their kid up for this program without permission from the site directors. Parents may
get discouraged if they here about the program and cannot get their child in because their children does
not qualify.
Project Forward Leap needs students every year in order for the program to keep running. The
program also needs money. The senior staff in charge of the funding for project forward leap uses his
power and intelligence to get the money needed for the program to happen every year. Sometimes the
staff who have the most power have the most responsibility and it makes them stressed. The director of
the program has to meet the standards and proper regulations every year for the program to be safe and
legal to run. This is a huge responsibility which calls for many meetings with professionals, many bills,
many emails, contacts and late night research. The person in charge of financial responsibilities has a
huge agenda which calls for many writing proposals to win grant money and fund raising event
initiatives. Sometimes the people with power working for the program become discouraged when they
do not meet their mark for the year.
Structure and Identity
Identity plays a huge role in Project Forward Leap. Project Forward Leap is an organization that
does not intentionally discriminate but when it comes down to the type of students that are picked to be
a part of the program there seems to be a pattern. Project Forward Leap is an organization that selects
its students from schools in neighborhoods that are socio-economically disadvantaged. Those
neighborhoods are in different parts of Philadelphia, Chester, Lancaster and Harrisburg. Many of these
students can come from a background of low to middle class income because they are living in a
neighborhood that is of a low income status. Most families who live in a neighborhood of low income
status are predominantly African American and Latino. The program does have diversity among

different races but majority of students who attend Project Forward Leap are African American. There
is not a specific gender that is preferred for the program there seems to be equality between the number
of females and males that are in the program as well. There does not seem to be any children who are
disabled that attend the program maybe for the simple fact that the program is not adequately trained to
handle students with disabilities.
The staff that work with the organization look for students in these underprivileged
neighborhoods who are achieving high and can benefit from the program. The staff realize that they are
going to be dealing with families who do not have the highest income and they need to be sensitive to
the needs of their clients. The program involves students living on a college campus for a couple weeks
so they have to buy supplies and many other things to take with them. IT may be difficult for the staff
to have to turn down families if they can’t afford to pay for their child to get the necessary supplies in
order to attend the program. There is also the role of gender that comes into play when thinking about
how males and females are attending this program together. Some parents may feel uncomfortable with
their child living on a college campus away from home with the opposite sex. Staff must be able to
insure the safety of the children to the parents.
When it comes to funding for project forward leap identity plays a huge role. The clients of this
program are children who are of a lower income status. It seems that donors and organizations who
donate are more inclined to give money to poor children rather than adults. Donors are attracted to the
idea of educating youth because they know that the youth is the future. Donors also donate to programs
who are trying to educate youth and give them a chance to focus on staying out of trouble in these
underprivileged neighborhoods. The organization gets a substantial amount of funding because of the
fact that they are trying to lower the rate of high school drops out and increase the rate of college
attendance with the young adults.
The larger community is affected by this program because the students who are attending this
program are coming from the under privileged neighborhoods. These students are able to set an

example for the other students in the community by telling them about the program and how it
influences them to do well in school and go to college. The students can help other kids in their
community who are of low-income status and pass on the knowledge they have learned to help others
to get ahead. The program gets parents and families if the student who attends a chance to experience
college tours, field trips and etc. This exposure can surely affect the community these families live in
because they can spread the words of knowledge they have learned from the program to help other
students and families.

Challenge Exercise
Project Forward Leap is a non-profit organization seven-year program committed to closing the
gaps of academic achievement and developmental opportunities between students with academic
promise put at-risk by serious socio-economic disadvantages and their advantaged peers by serving as a
catalyst for raising achievement standards in their schools . I work in the Philadelphia regional office
and help organize a lot of their paperwork and data files. Most recently I have been looking at their
social media platform. The organization is on many different sites such as Facebook., Twitter, Youtube
and have their own website as well. The only thing about these social media websites is that they are
not being updated every week actively. I told my supervisor I would work with the Facebook account
and try and get the students involved more in some weekly posts.
The Task
My project consists of getting the students who are actively or alumni of PFL to become
engaged with our social media web page via Facebook. I am going to have to find all of our students by
name on Facebook and add them to our PFL Facebook page. I already have the list of names and I am
going to think of something every week to post. The posts will have to be educational or career based.
By keeping the students engaged with the programs social media they can stay connected with us and
updated on current information and events.
The Preparation
My supervisor has given me a long list of names of the students who are in PFL. I already have
the log-in information so all I have to do is log-in to the PFL Facebook page and start searching these
students names to add them to our Facebook. After adding as many students as possible I will then have
to think about 1-2 Facebook posts that I will write per week that will cause the PFL students to “like”

or “comment” on them. Depending on what the students reply to most I can infer what the students are
interested in. The first post I plan to make is: “Attention all PFL students and alumni please “like” this
status if you still out there”. This is a basic start to see if I can even get the attention of the students.
The Execution
The difficult part about this project is the fact that I have to wait for the students to add the PFL
page and allow it to befriend them. If students do not want to have the PFL page on their Facebook then
they will not add it and this may cause it to have less of an audience. Another situation may arise with
students being afraid to even “comment” or “like” any of the posts that PFL will posts. This project all
depends on how interesting the posts are going to be to the students and if the students will actually add
them PFL page. Hopefully the students will actively participate on the PFL page and maybe PFL can
create fun incentives for the students to engage. I am hoping to get as many as 20-30 students involved
in each posts that I make whether they “like” or “comment” on it.
The Assessment
I am hoping over the next 2-3 weeks to get a reaction from the students to see if they can really
pay attention to our social media. Maybe then we can make PFL go viral with all their updated news
and events. I am also hoping to keep the students minds set on PFL so they can stay involved with the
program even when they are not participating with it. We need to keep in touch with the students in
more ways then one so this is a start to get their attention. I am hoping to learn what students appreciate
about the program and what they want from PFL as well.

Reflection
This internship has showed me a lot about how business runs in a non-profit
organization. I have learned professionalism, organizational skills, office organization and
confidentiality. I have always wanted to work with a non-profit for my future career because I
like the idea of helping the community without taking their money. I have also wanted to work
with children and helping them see the importance of education. Project Forward leap has
showed me the importance of challenging young students to reach a high potential of learning.
This organization has showed me that working with students and parents is something I would
like to do in the long run. I also have learned many office skills that I can use in the future with
other businesses. I have made good connections and great references. I feel as though my
journey with this organization is not over yet.
Looking back at my contract I realize that I have completed everything I set out to
complete. I was always on time and showed up to the office when I said I was. Whatever task
that had to be done I did the task and completed it in a timely manner. I always asked my
supervisor questions when I was unsure about certain things and was ready to learn new things.
I completed projects that I did not even set out to complete. I also helped out the other staff
members when they asked for my help. I adapted pretty easily because I already knew about
the organization. I fulfilled my contract and am very grateful for the experience. I have a lot of
feelings and opinions I would like to further discuss about my time with Project Forward Leap.
I believe that the best thing that has happened to me during this experience is the feeling
of completing a task and ending up with success. There was a lot of work to be done when I
first arrived at the office. Many things were disorganized and misplaced. I realized that I was

brought into the office at the perfect time so that I can help them become more organized. I
was able to file many documents in their appropriate places and clean up a big pile of
misplaced papers. After I organized many of the paperwork the office looked a lot cleaner and
more professional. I also worked with the social media of the program. I really enjoyed being
able to control the social media of the program because it gave me a feeling of power. I know
people are really influenced by what they see on social media and it was my job to put
meaningful and educational posts. I realized that my main goal was to get a small response
from the face book page when I would make a post. The first post I made I expected to only get
maybe 20-30 likes because I was not sure people actually payed attention to the face book posts
because there hadn't been any for several years. To my surprise when I did the posts I got a
huge reaction. I got three times the amount of likes I expected. This reaction made me feel
good because it made me have hope that people from the program are still engaged and still
watching what we have to display on social media. Take a look at one of the post I made on the
Project Forward Leap page named Melvin Allen, who is the Founder and CEO of the program.
I was surprised to get a reaction this big only because no one has used this face book page in so
long. It just feels good to know that the students are still watching.

There are a couple of things I did not like about working with Project Forward Leap.
The first thing that was the hardest to accept was my communication between the Director of
the program and I. It seemed as though we played phone tag for a long time and we never were
really able to have a sound conversation. Never the less I was able to point all my attention and
questions to my supervisor who worked in the Philadelphia main office. Another thing I did not
like was the small space of the office. The office consisted of one room with two desks and file
cabinet and a printer. There was hardly any room to walk around and every time I needed to get
something I had to ask the administrative assistant to pass it to me so I don't invade her
personal space. It was just one of those offices not meant for leisure but to get work done and
get out of. Compliments that I received from my boss were mainly for the organizational work
that I completed. I was able to clean up and organize a huge pile of files. This pile had been
sitting there for a couple of months so I had to put in a lot of effort to make new folders and
label new files to make sure everything was put away in the proper place. My supervisor saw
my completed work and said, “good job it is starting to look better in here already.” The
compliment made me feel good and useful. I guess it made me realize that they could really
use my help around the office. At the same time I felt like I was doing work that no one else felt
like doing. But regardless I still enjoyed helping clean up the mess.
I feel like the only thing that I have changed about myself in this experience is realizing
that office work is something that I am good at but maybe I also enjoying being out of the
office and with the public. I guess being cooped up in an office is not my type of environment.
I do enjoy office work But I just feel as though being stuck in the office I am missing all the
action outside. Maybe I need more of a hands on type of job where I am interacting face to face
instead of over the phone and over email. I also feel as though I am interested in working for a

non-profit but maybe not as an office assistant but a recruiter or program development aide. I
want to do work that allows me to interact with people more and get a real feel for what the
needs of the community are. I feel that by learning the needs of the community I could be able
to develop programs to suit those needs within a specific organization. One way I have changed
by working with this organization is by learning that I might want to put non-profit
organizations at the bottom of my career list. I have mentioned before that I want to work with
a non-profit and I still do but I am also interested in other career opportunities after realizing
the potential I have. I realize that non-profits have strict budgets to work with and sometimes
that can lead to many changes within the organization. I am looking for a stable career in which
I can grow as a professional and financially. I feel as though because most non-profits are
always looking for funding and do not have stable income it makes it an unstable environment
for me. I just want to know that my career can always pay my salary and I won't have to take a
salary cut because we couldn't get enough grants for the year. I learned that the people I work
with are always learning new things everyday. It seems that with non-profits unless one has
been working with the organization for an extended amount of time there can be many things
that are in the dark. The administrative assistant started the job the same time as I did and she
hardly knew anything about the organization. She told me she just learned something new
everyday she went along because it is one of those jobs you can not really train some one for.
I feel like this experience has made me enjoy working in an office but has helped me
realize what I may not want to do in the future. I like working in an office because it is easy,
quiet, safe and un-stressful. I am so used to being in direct contact with customers and
managers because of the past jobs I have had. I do enjoy being able to hide behind a phone and
a computer once in a while. But, hiding behind a phone and a computer is not who I am. I

enjoying being out in the public setting and talking with people where I can see their faces and
listen to their concerns. Whether it may be a harder task to face people in person or not I am not
a introvert and I enjoy engaging with people on a more personal level. A new skill I have
learned from this job is just being able to speak politely and use proper English while talking
over the phone. I learned how to take messages and respond to business emails. I have also
learned that in a business where money is always an issue it seems that there is always a sense
of stress and push for deadlines. I say this to say I really enjoyed my short time with this
organization but I want something that is more stable with more customer/client interaction.

Beauty and it's connection to Race,Media and Work
Beauty is a term which can be used to define the essence of pleasure in or of something.
It is a term used, abused and often misplaced in society. A woman's beauty can be all an
individual sees when they look at her but, there is more to a women that can create her beauty.
Race, Media,and Work all play a huge role in how women view beauty and how beauty
becomes gendered. Women and men have knowingly and unknowingly created a stigma in
society for what beauty constitutes as. It has so many levels and layers that have caused women
to be subjected to a certain identity. Individuals use beauty to see women not as a whole person
because of all her attributes, but as one kind of identity based off of her looks, her race, and her
job.
First, I will explain how various authors have defined beauty as being gendered and how
that effects the way women are seen in society. A quote by Michael S. Kimmel said, “Our
bodies become social texts that we construct to be read by others”(Kimmel). This is describing
how when women dress or look a certain way there are giving others who see them a pre-
conceived notion of who they are on the inside. People are looking a woman's bodies and
thinking about all the different things that make that women who she is without even asking.
One way that women are subjected to this discrimination is by the size of their bust and
hemline in the work place. One of the studies resulted with women of higher class have smaller
breast are more attractive in society because they can move easier with them and they don’t
look as different from males. Kimmel talked about how in the U.S. depending on the economy
men view woman's attractiveness by breast size and skirt hemlines. The results were when the
economy is good bigger breast sizes and shorter hemlines are more attractive. Vice-versa, when

the economy is bad smaller breast sizes and longer hemlines are more attractive. The
distinctions between men and women are minimized when the economy is bad because both
need to work to make ends meet. Consequently, beauty for women is classified through breast
size and weight because they establish the noticeable difference between male and female.
A woman's beauty is also used as a prevalent factor in the work place as well. I just
mentioned how it can show economic trends in society, it can also reveal some patterns in the
work place. As I mentioned about the breast size and hemlines, it would make sense for why
women have been segregated from men in the work place. Women have had a long history of
being hired to do clerical and secretarial work. Kanter stated, “In 1974 in one division, women
constituted 87 percent of the clerical and office workers, 21 percent of the professionals, and
only 2 percent of the officials and managers.”(Kanter) Men felt as though women were meant
to be put in lower positions and separated from men because they were not of equal status.
Kanter said, “Many men at industrial Supply corporation seemed more confused than hostile
about the trickling in of women into management, professionals and sales positions:but there
were those who were also openly angry.”(Kanter) This just goes to show how unusual it is to
men that women can hold a higher position. It was a huge issue that women were climbing the
corporate ladder because of how men viewed them. Men felt as though women who did get a
big promotion just used their good looks and charm to do so. On the contrary, I think because
women had breasts and hips men felt as though they could not work as hard as them. This
could be looked at in many different angles, The most important thing to notice is that men just
can not imagine women in a place of power and use every excuse to explain why. Woman's
beauty in the work place is really seen as a method for advancement but also a burden in this
case scenario.

Race and beauty are constantly contradicting one another in society. Some races are
looked at as beautiful and exotic because of the different ways they make a persons body look.
For example, some people say women from the middle east have an exotic beauty because of
their skin tone, eye color, curvy body and long silky hair. One can also look into how Black
women are viewed by society. They are known as having double jeopardy because they have
the lowest status in society. Some individuals look at black women in different ways when it
comes to beauty. Some black women have been identified in society as a mammy. A mammy is
a faithful obedient servant. Black women have been put into this identity and it has caused
them to question their beauty and self perception. Collins says, “By loving, nurturing, and
caring for her white children and 'family” better than her own, the mammy symbolizes the
dominant group's perceptions of the ideal Black female relationship to elite white male
power.”(Collins) How can a woman feel like she has a particular beauty and identity if she is
placed into a role in which she loves and cares for another family more than her own. This
history of the treatment of black women can cause black women today to feel they are less than
the white race which can in-turn make them feel subconscious about their own beauty.
The media has one of the closets connections to the betrayal and ideal of beauty. Beauty
has been displayed in the media in the most interesting ways. Just because I said interesting
doesn't mean these ways are good for the identity of women. I came across an article written by
Baumgardner and Richards called, “ManifestA”. This article talked about how women have
been used in the media as adds to gain profits for different business. These adds are not
displaying women for their intelligence or personality, but for their bodies. This has caused a
problem for women because it has showed millions of images for what woman's beauty should
look like. One main reason why women aren't able to get their stories across in the media about

these issues is because they have never owned many media outlets. In the past different
journalists and writers used what they could to get their stories out whether it was journals,
pamphlets or newspapers. They soon were able to publish their own magazines hoping to get
attention of women around the world. This movement set a platform for feminists to get their
stories out and touch the lives of their readers to portray woman's issues in a better light.
The idea of beauty has changed so much over the centuries because of these ads and
commercials and how they display women in them. An article written by Michael S. Kimmel
called the Gendered Society talked about how beauty can be dangerous to obtain because of
society's standards. Some of those standards of beauty for women and men include dramatic
thinness, masculinity and buxomness. Standards of beauty can lead to health problems such as
anorexia and bulimia just to stay thin. Men standard of beauty is their strength. Men prefer to
work out and look stronger in times when there not even using their strength. Men try to live up
to societies idea of beauty just as much as women do. Kimmel mentions,“Mens bodily
anxieties mirror those of womens”.(Kimmel) Men go to the extreme to look muscular just as
women go to the extreme to keep their breasts full and stay thin. Men take steroids; Women get
breast implants. All these alterations and examinations for what?
People are really trying to look like what they see the people on TV and magazines look
like. They want to look like these people because these people must have been so attractive that
they are on display for the whole world to see them. This is a bad issue for women because
women are more than just a body. The dove campaign was supposed to be a campaign that
expressed beauty as being all different things. An article by Verta Taylor that is her critique on
the Dove campaign expresses that understanding ideology helps women recognize how the
beauty industry constructs a body which women feel comfortable and also identify the

symbolic violence it perpetuates. It also says how Corporate beauty industry perpetuates and
institutionalizes gender inequality by placing emphasis on woman's appearance. This is seen as
a big issue because women live up to that appearance falling deeper in the gender trap. Taylor
writes about how Dove campaigns connect politics to products by making women feel beautiful
while selling the product. A quote from Dove campaign for example is, “Lets make peace with
our bodies.”(Dove Campaign, Taylor) Dove campaign promotes beauty by refusing to
challenge ideology of gendered beauty as an essential part of a woman's identity.
Looking at these three different aspects of a life a job,someones race and the media I
can really see the relationship they have to beauty. It is imperative that we as a society see these
connections and make these theories so we can start changing the face of beauty for women in
the world. The face of beauty in the world is not creating healthy nor encouraging trends for
our young developing women. The society needs to be more fair with the way they treat
women in society and not base every judgment on looks, social class and race. The more we
can get to know our women from the inside before the outside, the more we can tell whether
they are truly a beautiful person.

Reference Page
Kimmel, Michael. (2011) The gendered society. New York. Oxford University
Press.4th Ed.
Kanter, R. M. (1993). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic
Books.
Taylor,Verta. Lorber, Judith. Whittier, Nancy. Rupp, Leila. (1983) Feminist Frontiers.
New York. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.7th Ed.

Professional References
Anthony Heath
Hot Food Manager
Shoprite, Philadelphia, PA
215-224-7501
Chavar Hollinger
Director of Development and Marketing
Project Forward Leap, Philadelphia, PA
215-847-2607
chollinger@projectforwardleap.org
Audra Ruane
Store Manager
Forman Mills, Philadelphia, PA
215-695-2073

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