Moreover, I had to follow all safety rules and regulations, including cGMP and EHS guidelines, to ensure product quality and consistency. As well as maintain line speed and packaging standards including bottling, capping, labeling, and packaging products into shippers and forming pallets. Other tasks included weighting products and counting containers to ensure proper fulfillment of each order. Overall, I had a painful and challenging learning experience.

Overall, I didn’t like my experience. Some days I had blisters on my fingers and suffered from back pain due to bottling and capping different types of mouthwash. However, I did learn a lot about the manufacturing industry and all the work it takes to make a final product. In a bigger perspective, it made me reflect about how I only had to do this during the summer but that most of the workers there had to do this to make a living (or try to). Hence, my experience made me appreciate my education even more because possibly with an education I don’t have to work as physically as other people do. My summer job experience also made me appreciate the work it takes to make a product.

Overall, my job experience made me become humbler and more understanding of what factory workers go through to be able to get a paycheck.  I’m glad that I worked there, even if I didn’t like it, because it made me more humane and knowledgeable about factory working conditions. Hence, working at a factory led me to achieve the SUMMIT learning goals of being exposed and gaining an appreciation for different cultures, critically examine the relationship between marginalized cultures and their work environments, probe a fundamental question of value and meaning, develop effective time management skills, identify and asses one’s own values and abilities, and construct a personal definition of human rights.

Credit: “Illustration of a factory” by “Tomtheman5” is licensed under Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

One thing that I reflected upon arriving in New York City was that I saw many individuals relaxing during “normal” weekday’s working hours. For example, a lady was sunbathing in Central Park. Her free time and that of others, made me ask, “don’t they have a job?”. However, after reflecting I concluded that they could be tourists or that their work asks for different working hours. For instance, they could be dancers, singers, actors, bartenders, etc., that work during the evenings or in the night. For instance, an article called “State of the Artist: Challenges to the New York State Arts & Entertainment Industry and Its Workforce” states that “New York is a world leader in the production of arts and entertainment, one of the United States’ strongest growth and export industries.” Thus, if I were to see this again in New York, I would not respond the same way because I now have an idea of the culture and environment of NYC.
Moreover, New York is known for being the city that never sleeps because there is always something to do. For example, in an article called “Nightlife,” it states that “NYC is rightfully known for its nightlife. Whether that means sophisticated cocktail dens, friendly dive bars or bottle-service-only dance clubs, the City’s after-dark entertainment is just as electrifying as it ever was”. Also, Spivack and Musumeci mention that during an interview “When asked about his sleep schedule, Manhattan construction worker Jonathan Cole, 34, threw up his hands and said, “Oh, forget it.” In all, questioning the freedom of people, I saw in NYC, made me learn more about the city’s culture and lifestyles.

Explicit connections to the SUMMIT or significant learning outcomes that these experiences helped me develop:

Being able to learn from thinking critically led me to gain exposure to and appreciation for different cultures. For example, being exposed to New York City’s lifestyles led me to understand its residents’ culture. Lastly, my experience from visiting New York led me to analyze human behavior. For example, I questioned why individuals were relaxing during “normal” working hours.

References:

“Nightlife in New York City | NYCgo.” NYCgo.com, 27 June 2018, www.nycgo.com/things-to-do/nightlife.

“State of the Artist: Challenges to the New York State Arts & Entertainment Industry and Its Workforce.” Cornell University – ILR School – The Triangle Factory Fire, www.ilr.cornell.edu/worker-institute/new-york-state-projects/state-artist-challenges-new-york-state-arts-entertainment-industry-and-its-workforce.

Spivack, Caroline, and Natalie Musumeci. “New York Really Is the City That Never Sleeps.” New York Post, New York Post, 3 May 2018, nypost.com/2018/05/02/new-york-really-is-the-city-that-never-sleeps/.