Blog post written by Jennifer Swartz
Packing. That seems to be all we are doing these days. I am currently packing up our room in Vietnam, and I cannot believe that we are leaving this beautiful country in just a few short hours. Moreover, I cannot believe that CAP is over. These past few months seemed to go by at a glacial pace, but the past couple of weeks in country flew by. So what now?
Well, in an attempt to keep CAP going as long as possible, I want to reflect on the trip and provide three key takeaways, or pho for thought, that future first years can hopefully benefit from.
First, it is essential to set up regular meetings with your client from the get-go. The format of these meetings can vary from Skype to phone calls to another form altogether. However, setting up regular meetings throughout the semester provides structure and deadlines for both parties, paving the way for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to overall expectations. Additionally, it allows you to better develop a meaningful relationship with your client. Because of the time and effort we exerted up front, we had a great working relationship with our client by the time we got to Vietnam. In fact, our client took every opportunity to express how much they appreciated our regular meetings and communications.
Secondly, make sure your repeatedly ask your client if there is anyone else at the company you should be talking to other than your point of contact throughout the semester. We asked a couple of times towards the beginning of our project, but then dropped the matter altogether. When we got to Vietnam, our point of contact changed, and the colleagues we were working with had a wealth of knowledge we would have benefited from much earlier on in the semester. In retrospect, we should have asked if there were any other contacts to connect with once our project was a bit further along, as that would have been the best time to touch base. But alas, hindsight is 20/20.
Lastly, carve out time to get to know your teammates. We started doing this back in January, scheduling out one team event a month in addition to our team meetings. Team events varied from happy hours at Circa to lunches at local Vietnamese restaurants. These team events enabled us to get to know each other on a more personal level and ultimately work better together throughout the semester. It even resulted in our amazing team of four seizing every chance to spend time together in Vietnam, whether it was hanging out in the pool, learning how to salsa (THANK YOU BORJA :) ), or exploring trendy speakeasys. Overall, these team events helped make us a true team. And my team – the Pho-tastic Pho-r as we jokingly called ourselves – they made my CAP experience one that I will treasure pho-ever.
