My BART Internship Experience – Miuson Chi

Name: Miuson Chi

School: UC Berkeley
Major: Media Studies

Year: Senior

My little background before coming to BART: 

I grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the Bay Area in 2007. Studying in the United States has revolutionized my perspective of the world and my life. Being an International student has been a life changing experience, it has made me mature and realize that the world is bigger and different. I am now more aware of things that I have previously not considered. I am more open minded regarding religion, cultures and even FOOD. The experiences that I encountered, the people I have met, and all that I learned in here is something I would never change.

My working experience at BART: 

I am the Multimedia intern for the BART Communications Department. Through this internship, I have met my fellow interns, who share the same interests as I do, and have plenty of on-hand skills through filming and editing videos for the BART internship program. These jobs give me experience of how to work in a team and how to be a good follower.  I am involved in extensive amount of editing, planning, and filming. This opportunity working at Bart is definitely an invaluable experience that allows me to strengthen my technical ability, communication skills and creativity.

West Dublin/ Pleasanton Station opening - Photo Blog

The outside of the new West Dublin/ Pleasanton Station.

BART employees wait for the special train to the grant opening.

Refreshments are provided by Safeway.

This BART cake looks so yummy.

BART Multimedia Producer Cheryl Stalter records video
of BART Board Vice President John McPartland
as he begins the ceremony.



Ribbon cutting led by BART Board Vice President
John McPartland and former BART Board members.



What did BART interns do during the grand opening of West Dublin/ Pleasanton Station?

Chin Wing Li

Interning at BART makes the West Dublin Station Opening meaningful to me!


As a new comer of the Bay Area I feel so special to be able to attend and to help in such an awesome local event. I didn’t feel like I was just a small intern but instead I got many chances to get involved in different tasks. When assisting with the talking points of the speaker I met a person from another department of BART who shared her stories of being a speech writer with me. It was an amazing conversation to me because I longed to be a professional speech writer when I was young. Also, what I enjoyed most in this event was the experience to work with other interns together to make things happen. To get the most out of the event we decided to do something special and so we set up two interviews with both BART Police Officers and safeway Inc. I really enjoyed the companionships with the fellow interns who brought a lot of fun and support in this event!

Johanna Oh

Being able to see the final product (West Dublin/Pleasanton Station)of years and months of hard work and being able to share in the celebration was seriously an awesome experience. Although the day was cold, there was little time being cold as us interns took on various tasks such as tracking down reporters and photographers as well as interviewing a number of attendees namely the BART Police Chief and Safeway. The feeling of having been able to tread the grounds of this new station before the general public got to has really let me see just how vast the opportunities are that this internship provides. I can't wait to see what else is ahead for us interns!

Jessica Chang

The Grand Opening of the new West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station proved to be a rewarding and exciting experience for me. Prior to the event, I was expecting to simply listen to speakers and explore the new station, but quickly I found a chance to challenge myself and learn something new.


At 9:45, I boarded the employee train with my fellow interns, Li and Miuson, at the 19th Street Station. BART employees swarmed the platform so I was glad we arrived at the station early and got to board the train first. As the train filled up at the 19th Street Station, Lake Merritt station, and one other station, I could feel the enthusiasm and pride among all the BART employees. I felt so thankful to be part of their excitement.


When we arrived, I was so impressed by how modern and clean the new station looked. I had a chance to take a lot of photos of both the new station and my fellow interns at work. At 11am, when BART Director John McPartland began to speak, I stood with in the back behind all the news cameras, shivering as I tried to pay attention. Thankfully, Linton came over and told us that he expects a story. “Stories don’t happen standing back here,” he said. Immediately, Li, Johanna, and I gathered to brainstorm ideas for the blog. We went back and forth between many ideas—from interviewing the former Board Members who voted to build this station to doing a photo collage of the different speakers. As we looked around, we decided it would be most opportune to try to get an interview with them. The three of us jotted down a list of questions and Li stepped up to ask the Safeway employees and BART officers if we could speak with them. We ended up speaking with Safeway’s HR Representative and conducted an interview together. Of course I wish I would have been more prepared and more professional, but I am so proud of all of us for thinking fast and getting work done.


Overall, I had a great morning and afternoon at the West Dublin/Pleasanton station, despite the weather. Rather than just standing around for two hours, I was able to challenge myself to think on my feet, meet new people, and gain invaluable communications experience.

Miuson Chi

As being a new comer of BART communication department, my experience on the Grand Opening of the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station has been rewarding. I believe it will be more convenient because I used to commute from Dublin to Hayward but I think the new station will definitely decrease traffic along Interstate 580.


During the grant opening of the new station, the Multimedia team recorded this spectacular event. My job was to assist the shooting process and make sure the preparation was done smoothly before the ceremony starts. Working with our Multimedia Producer, Cheryl, was nothing but an exciting and an exciting challenge. I was impressed by her professions and skills. Working with Cheryl allowed me to gain first-hand experience and I believe this opportunity was priceless. I found interning at BART a chance to challenge myself and explore my vision. I am glad that I can be part of the agency that provides convenient services to the Bay Area community.

My BART Internship Experience - Chin Wing Li

 

Name: Chin Wing Li
School: UC Berkeley
Major: Media Studies & Political Economy

Year: Junior

My little background before coming to BART:
I moved from Hong Kong to Los Angeles and finally came to Bay Area. Moving from place to place I went through different cultural challeges and also I met a lot of people from different places, to learn from their goods and bads and to widen my horizons.

My working experience at BART: Working at BART is one of my greatest highlight in my journey. It has been a very rewarding experience for me. As an international student, working at a local government agency like BART has given me a great opportunity to learn about the Bay Area and also how the specific role of BART in the public transport system impact people's lives locally. I am glad to be able to work in a relaxed but motivated environment which pushed me to touch base on a lot of different areas from writting blogs to doing makreting research. This experience definitely colors my journey and equips me with an amazing working experience.

My BART Internship Experience - Jessica Chang

     

Name: Jessica Chang
School: UC Berkeley
Major: Business Administration & Education minor

Year: Sophomore

Why I want to work at BART: BART takes me places. BART took me places throughout my life, growing up in San Francisco and it continues to take me places now as I go to school in Berkeley. Hence, I was thrilled by the opportunity to work here. As a public transit agency that serves 335,000 passengers a day, BART has high standards to meet and maintain. What I find most impressive about the agency is how it serves Bay Area residents of so many diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. It takes a lot of hard work and talent to reach out to such a wide span of different people but BART Communications has always been a leader in doing so. 

My experience working at BART:

Since I started my internship, I have learned so much about the complex processes and projects that employees work on everyday to ensure that BART riders are safe and satisfied. I am so thankful I get to work with these friendly people and learn from their experience and knowledge. Each time I come to work, I get to choose from numerous different projects and I have the option to work independently or alongside my fellow interns. What I enjoy most, however, is how I am constantly challenged to work hard to surpass my goals. BART Communications continually gives me opportunities to accomplish great things and I encourage all students interested in gaining experience to apply for an internship at BART 

                                                                                      

My BART Internship experience- Johanna Oh

Name: Johanna Oh
School: UC Berkeley
Major: Political Science & Sociology
Year: Senior

Background:
I grew up in the Bay Area and cannot imagine living anywhere else! I consider myself extremely blessed to be able to attend a university in the Bay Area and to have the option of commuting to and from school (commuter student for two years!). Also I am hoping to one day become a professional for justice in a world that suffers from all sorts of injustices.

Why do I want to work with BART?
I have always felt that communication is one of the keys to success in any field on any level. Where else could I better learn and develop skills in the area of communications than at BART, one of the major transportation systems in Northern California? I am looking forward to gaining valuable experience from working with BART in order to better serve the community in the future!                                 
                                                                                               

My BART Internship experience- Jordyn Lee

                     

                                                                    

Name: Jordyn Lee
School: University of Delaware
Major: Mass Communications
Year: Freshman

My working experience at BART:
I am a student intern for the BART Communications Department.
Interning at BART; I have gained tons of hands on experience as well as learning more about the industry. I am enjoying my duties as an intern and look forward to even more rewarding experiences to come!                                                                                                                             

SPRING 2011: BART INTERNS



Jordyn Lee



Chin Wing Li

                   

                                 



Jessica Chang





Johanna Oh