Like Thunder: Stepping Strong Into My First Week at Aventiv Technologies

Starting a new job or internship has always been an uplifting experience for me. Typically, I am overwhelmed with enthusiasm when trying something new, whether for my career or personal development. This first week at Aventiv as an Instructional Designer Intern has been infused with that same positive feeling of starting a new chapter in my life and a strong eagerness to learn and apply practically in a corporate environment the skills I have been honing throughout my career.

My first week as an Instructional Designer Intern started on the right foot, despite the strong storm that hit the DFW area and caused significant damage to power lines and internet connections. Thankfully, there was no significant damage to people or their properties. Since my role at Aventiv is remote, I had to search for a coffee shop in the area that had power and internet access. Thankfully, I was able to find a place, which, by the way, was packed with other remote workers trying to get their jobs done.

First things first, I needed to access my company’s laptop using my new login credentials. Due to the storm, I couldn’t complete that part of the process successfully and had to use my personal laptop to report the issue to IT. I also missed my first training session on that Tuesday morning, but my team at Aventiv was understanding of my situation since the headquarters is in Plano, and most workers were experiencing the same technical issues as me. After a few tries, it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to use the company’s laptop and access Aventiv’s systems. Fortunately, my personal laptop allowed me to connect through Aventiv’s Teams channels and make my first introductions to other co-workers and interns.

On day two, I was still without internet at home, so I went to the same coffee shop as the previous day. The place was packed with busy remote workers, and I was glad to see some familiar faces from the day before. Not because I knew they still had issues with electricity and such, but because we unintentionally created a collaborative working community, and everyone was helpful by providing extra space on tables and sharing power outlets to connect our electronic devices. That day, I was granted access to my Aventiv credentials and was able to use the laptop provided by the company. More Aventiv people continued to welcome me through emails and virtual meetings via Teams, and that day I was also assigned my first project.

My project consisted of editing training material for HR created in PowerPoint. The training material was in the original slide deck, but the content needed to be reorganized and enhanced using the official branding of Aventiv. The person who assigned me that project was Julie Berry, the Sr. Director of Human Resources, who was also present at my second interview. Julie welcomed me warmly to the team and explained in detail the requirements for the project. During that virtual meeting, I had the opportunity to ask questions and share my initial ideas on how to approach this project to achieve the expected results.

This first project was right up my alley in terms of the design features required to make the content visually appealing and easy to navigate for the trainees. As far as the content itself, I was unfamiliar with most of the jargon and terminology in the training modules, but Julie provided me with examples and resources to use as references to complete my work. I have to say that this project was enlightening, as I was able to integrate instructional design principles and my visual design skills into something that employees at Aventiv would benefit from. I was able to complete the first phase of the project by Thursday afternoon, and I am still awaiting feedback.

Thus far, I must say that all things considered, it has been a welcoming and productive first week at Aventiv. I understand that the learning process is ongoing, even for those in senior roles, and I am ready for the ride. I am eager to take advantage of this opportunity as an Instructional Designer Intern to learn from experts, share my skills and knowledge, and work collaboratively to produce quality content that helps learners experience meaningful learning through engaging content.