A Day in the Life of a Program Manager at Minds Matter Southern California
Alex's role as a Program Manager involves a blend of remote work, requiring "self-discipline, organization," and in-person Saturday sessions where they interact with students and volunteers in a "really engaging, lively environment." The work is cyclical, focusing on "student recruitment" throughout the year and program planning for weekly sessions, making each day unique but always centered around the organization's student programming.
Project Management, Remote Work, Nonprofit, Student Interaction, Event Planning
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Alex Moses
Program Manager
Minds Matter Southern California
Reed College, 2018
n/a
English
Education, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Education
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. A Program Manager's day-to-day tasks vary, requiring self-discipline and organization for remote work.
2. The work follows a school-year calendar, with a focus on both immediate Saturday programming and long-term planning, such as annual student recruitment.
3. The role blends remote work with in-person interaction with students and volunteers on Saturdays, offering a dynamic work experience.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a project manager look like?
Every day is a little different. I largely work remotely during the week because we only have student programming on Saturdays. When I'm working during the week, I'm working remotely from home.
It takes a lot of self-discipline and organization to keep myself on task and moving forward. I'm not in a typical office environment.
Operating on a school year calendar means we're always thinking about what's happening on Saturday and how we're planning ahead for it, most immediately. But then I'm also thinking long-term.
I think about things like student recruitment, which happens on a cycle every year. Depending on the time of year, I might be giving recruitment presentations at high schools. If it's summer, I might be scheduling interviews or interacting with students in that way. So it kind of depends on the time of year and what's happening at our nonprofit.
Saturdays when I'm in person are my favorite days. I'm interacting with students and volunteers in a really engaging, lively environment. Those days are really fun.
I'm on my feet a lot on those days, running around, troubleshooting, and helping in whatever ways I can. I'm also facilitating sessions sometimes. So, it's not quite a typical day, but in general, it's remote work during the week and facilitating sessions on Saturdays.