It’s hard to believe that I have completed over half of my Bulldogs in the Bluegrass experience. With only four weeks left its safe to say the idea of leaving Louisville pains me. I do not want my fun-filled here summer to end.
This past Sunday, a couple of friends from the Teach Kentucky Program - a program where recent grads agree to teach in the Louisville Unified School District in exchange for a Masters degree at U of L after two years - decided to play outdoor volleyball and invited a couple of Bulldogs.
As we were going down the 64 East freeway, I realized we were taking the route I normally take to work everyday. Sure enough, the park was literally less than a mile away from V-Soft. On our way there, I asked my friends to drive by V-Soft to show them where I was interning.
At first, we only had eight players – enough for a small volleyball game of 4 v 4. Realizing how close we were to V-soft, I messaged my supervisor Casey to come out and join us. When she arrived, I introduced her to my friends and we all had a blast hitting the volleyball in the sand – something I hadn’t done in ages. Having my feet in sand, serving the ball, and throwing my body for the name of the game never felt better or livelier. It made me miss my home in California.
At the end of the day, playing volleyball with Casey and my friends really demonstrated how working at V-Soft has not only provided me with great working experience for the future, but also with a great support group of cool supervisors and mentors who are willing to:
"play volleyball with the intern."
I really appreciated having a great time conversing and exercising in the great outdoors outside of the usual working environment that allows the supervisor-intern relationship to become a mentor-mentee one.
This past Friday through the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass program all 24 Yalies toured the normal tourist locations: Louisville Slugger Museum, Kentucky Science Center, Muhammad Ali Museum, and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. From 10am to 5pm we walked around these numerous landmarks in awe.
Since this “downtown tour” was originally not in the schedule provided at the start of the program, I jumped the gun and explored all these locations previously during the first week. Nonetheless, Friday was enjoyable especially with all the Yalies together. During lunch break I saw a very talented Jazz band perform in a courtyard on third street that really ended the week on a positive note – the music playing evoked the state of mind I found myself in after my fifth workweek: relaxed, happy, and complete.
This past Wednesday I went to the waterfront for a second time in two months with friends to eat some Italian ice, listen to great music, and interact with other native Louisvillians. Once again this experience proved fun with each new day providing new experiences!
By the middle of June, my marketing boss Michael suggested scheduled lunch every Thursday at a new BBQ place every week. Our first week location as FDKY BBQ and this past week’s was Jucy's Smokehouse Bar-B-Q.
These Thursday lunch BBQs with my boss provide a great opportunity to get to know each other better and talk about life, our personal beliefs, goals, aspirations, or anything that establishes a stronger mentor–mentee relationship than a boss–intern one. After trying two BBQ places in Kentucky, I definitely look forward to each week's lunch conversation and eating.
Above all, V-Soft allowed me to grow and develop as a well-prepared and well-experienced college student not just inside the office environment, but also outside as well through constant interactions in the office, my work-life balance, and the positive role models I have found at V-Soft. As a result, in addition to gaining beneficial work experience, having a strong support system at V-Soft has provided me with many golden nuggets I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
If so, no problem because here they are:
Misael Cabrera is a 3rd year student at Yale University studying economics. He spends spare time working for the Yale Daily Newspaper, playing club soccer, and working at the grad school. Misael hails from the sunny beaches of Los Angeles, California where upon graduation hopes to further his education and join the ranks of economics movers and shakers in New York. He recently joined the V-Soft family for the summer as an intern and we're thankful to be apart of his journey.
