Walking into my first day of the Kenan Fellowship’s internship portion, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew that there would be some nerves, a bunch of questions, and a whole lot of learning.

After a discussion with Human Resources in which I learned extensively about the company culture and values, the next step on my schedule was to meet with the CEO of Livingston Haven, Clifton Vann IV. Little did I know I would be walking into a conference call involving Ghana, in which a proposal for adding solar power to the Catholic schools of the country was being discussed. I can not imagine a better way to become fully immersed in the workings of the company, and see the up close and personal ways in which I can take lessons from the STEM business world, and say to my students, “this is why I’m teaching you this.”

I watched as very high level employees of the company communicated flawlessly with other individuals who were based around the globe, and thought quickly while adapting their audience. This is a crucial piece of our ELA curriculum, as students must learn to write persuasively, tweaking their composition to suit the needs of various audiences.

The rest of the day involved a tour of the facility, lunch with the CEO, and meeting with the director of sales, with whom I’ll be spending some time over the next few days. If I learned this much on Day One, imagine what is to come over the next three weeks.