Week 7: Day 1

During my seventh week working at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, I found myself in the middle of a unique situation. On Monday morning, Meridel came into our office and informed us that the Bureau was having another training session. Apparently, the BEA was having another training session that was going to take up the entire week. The thought of everyone being out of the office again, like my second week at work, upset me. I was upset by the information because it removed the option of continuing forward with our few remaining process maps. I immediately thought of ways that I could keep myself occupied. Before I could complete my thought, Meridel threw a curveball at me.

Meridel explained to my teammates and I that the class was on Program Management. She told us that she talked it over with Brian, convincing him that the class would help us with our coursework and professional development. She caught us all by surprise when she asked us to attend the class. Jeff and Laura immediately decided to attend while Eric and I committed to staying behind. Meridel and my two partners were astonished to discover that I would say no to more learning. I explained to them that I was already enrolled in 3 classes for the summer and was “all learned out”. Eric repeated those sentiments, explaining to the rest of our team that he is in class as well. It is funny how graded classes can be a disincentive for leisurely learning.