From the week of July 3-7.

What went well?

• ​​This week I played catch-up a bit, like cleaning up the transcript from the interview with Rory O’Hanlon last week to get it ready for journal publication. Personally, this week allowed for some more time to visit sites significant to the Troubles. We toured the West Belfast political murals, which are intimately tied to the Troubles but outside the main tourist areas. In West Belfast, it was much more obvious that the 12th of July was approaching, given the sheer number of Union Jack flags on the streets and the unease of my taxi tour guide. When walking home from dinner in the City Centre one evening, we witnessed an Orange Order march, which helped to put all our work in perspective (around the local political and social situation). We also visited the Stormont Parliamentary building and Belfast City Hall and learned more about their respective workings.

What could have been done differently? 

• My fellow intern Hari and I weren’t assigned much work this week with any report summaries or interviews, but I think that’s a reflection of the middle of July being a temporary break period for many people. We worked on our Rory O’Hanlon interview transcript and prepared it for journal publication, but otherwise just assisted with little tasks and projects. This week, however, was good for visiting many memorials and sites of significance.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

• I found myself really overthinking my edits to the journal article we were editing, trying to figure out the best order to the end product (we jumped around a lot during the interview). This is a habit I do academically, but I think it would be good to tackle this and ask for more help or bounce ideas off others to prevent each project from taking over my life.

What did I learn about leadership?

• I think it’s important to remember that I can initiate conversations at events, start a particular practice, or make a small change to start changing the culture. Each and every person can start and learn and lead, and it doesn’t always have to be others to start.

What do I want to develop / focus on next?

• As I’m approaching the end of my time in Belfast, I’d like to make sure the connections I’ve made here aren’t for naught. So, I’d like to establish how to keep in contact and up to date with the organization’s work.