On the positive side, I believe I showed a good understanding of the organization’s mission and goals, demonstrated a good ability to identify issues and solve problems and an ability to work well independently, and communicated effectively through writing. From the feedback I received from Brett, it seemed like I was getting the foundations and principles of organizational ombuds work right, and was successfully answering the questions she asked in the worksheets.
On the negative side, I would say I did not demonstrat a good ability to follow through on assigned tasks or to meet schedules or deadlines. I underestimated how much energy it would take for me to keep up in my internship obligations through law finals and working full-time at the Oregon DOJ in Salem. As a result, I struggled to complete the seventh assignment and ended up submitting it several weeks late. I worked on it during my commute to Salem, but most days I was too tired in the morning and the evening to be able to focus on it well. Then the eighth assignment was a review and more difficult than the previous assignment and it took too much mental energy to get done on the commute. Because it was already so late, completing it felt even more overwhelming than it otherwise might have. Working on it felt stressful, so I put off stress by avoiding working on it. This was made easier because I did not have much contact with Brett after the first couple assignments.
So yeah, that was all a bad thing to do. I should have been more realistic with myself before the term started about how much work finals and my job were going to be and designed a process to keep myself focused on finishing the internship. Instead, I ended up juggling too many balls and the internship was the easiest to drop.