UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Norman Lee Chan

A Dean’s List student from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., Norman Chan was a senior in college when he applied to the Washington Internship Program in early November 2005 seeking a placement to run from late January through early May 2006.  Norman was a senator at Gallaudet’s Student Congress, he participated in the men’s handball team at the Second Deaf Olympics held overseas, he was voted “most all-round student,” and he served as captain of the men’s soccer team and treasurer of Kappa Gamma Fraternity. Norman worked as student manager of campus activities at Gaullaudet – the world’s premier college for the deaf, as program assistant for the Office of Campus Life, and as a visitor coordinator in the Office of Admissions. He requested an internship in economics, marketing, management, human resources, or public relations, and WIP placed him at the U.S. Commerce Department within the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, which is part of the International Trade Administration. Norman’s internship on Constitution Avenue, N.W. was scheduled at a time that did not conflict with his academic classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Throughout the internship, Norman continued to live at Gallaudet’s campus on Florida Avenue, N.E. Norman’s final paper describes the research he conducted:

“After accepting an internship at the Department of Commerce, I had an excellent experience working within the federal government. The Office of Travel and Tourism Industries is headed by a busy director who attends conferences, meetings, and other appointments, so I was closely supervised by the deputy director of industry relations. I worked at least nine hours per week by going to the office for three hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The deputy director happened to know some sign language because she attended Gallaudet University in the past. She and other workers assigned me several projects that involved Internet research. I was given a small booth with a computer on which Microsoft Office software had been installed, and I used Word and Excel programs. Staff members provided me with an E-mail account as well as notepads, pens, pencils, and post-its so I could communicate effectively with them at all times. The employees were so friendly that a person might think I had known them for a long time. This semester was difficult for other reasons, including the death of a close friend, but the office staff supported me through bad times. They were so nice that they even sent me a ‘thinking of you’ card.”

“The first project I completed involved the Travel and Tourism website. For its improvement, I provided feedback and suggestions in a written report. Then I rewrote sections with editing assistance from the Washington Internship Program. A market research analyst was one of the people who offered me a warm welcome upon arrival. He was quite a funny person. The only sign language he knew, and used with his son, was for ‘more crackers,’ and we made fun of it. His work at the time entailed analyzing how far a dollar will go in the United States for visitors from other countries. He relied heavily on tax research and assigned one of his projects to me. Initially I got lost, but soon I learned the ropes. As I completed more projects, I was given better ones. Another assignment I completed dealt with databases and statistics from tourism budgets for each state.”
 
“An international trade specialist asked me to generate a Travel Industry News piece about Shanghai and China as a whole. I learned how to write such a report by reviewing template of previous TI News. It was an awesome feeling knowing that I achieved this objective, and the supervisor was quite impressed with my work. Next she gave me a project that required information from online sources pertaining to travel from and to Japan in preparation for a conference with Japanese people. It was nice to know that my work was useful to this busy office.”
 
“I was also assigned research on taxes for each state – specifically associated with hotels, car rentals, entertainment, groceries, and similar expenses. Not all states provide this kind of information, and many sources were unreliable. Before I could finish this task, I was told to categorize onto spreadsheets a list of subscribers for TI News. Lastly, I was asked to make a marketing brochure for the office, and I used Microsoft Publisher for the job. What I created was both attractive and marketable.”

“In conclusion, I enjoyed my spring semester in an office where I quickly became comfortable. I did my best and completed most projects before the associated deadlines. I learned something about myself, which is that at my age I like to move around and would prefer to travel rather than conduct research on the subject. Perhaps in the future I would appreciate returning to government when I am older and have a family that requires more stability on my part. However, I’m thankful for the wonderful experience I had at the Department of Commerce.

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