Alaina Semler

As an individual coach I teach on private ice that is not run by a large skate school. I teach private individual and group lessons to the same and rotating skaters multiple days a week. I have been skating for 15 years, and am a 5 time gold medalist as I passed the test series in paired/solo ice dance, pair/solo free dance, and moves in the field. This gives me the credential of understanding the technical applications of figure skating.

At Premier I coached multiple 30 minute classes with a rotation of students every week. Premier is a fast paced skate school that requires coaches to coach on the spot rather than knowing what each class and level will be taught that day. As a coach I am expected to watch each skater carefully, explain skills, and correct skills. Most classes are mixed levels so it is important to make sure each skater is practicing the correct skills. Skaters get tested every 4 weeks to determine if they pass.

North Star Skate School is a program that is run through the Maplewood Figure Skating Club. The program teaches toddlers, kids, teens, and adults the basics of figure skating and hockey. I have been helping with this program for about 8 years as a volunteer, but I became a coach about 4 years ago. As a coach at North Star Skate School, I teach 30 minute classes ranging in levels and ages. The classes consist of the same skater each session. Throughout the session I clearly communicate how to do each skill on the level, as well as, give them the proper corrections in order for them to advance. On the last day of the session, I test each skater and fill out a sheet that lets them know if they passed or need to work on the moves longer.

Planogram team members set up the rotating displays sent from corporate Target. I began working on planograms during July of 2024, and was a part of it off and on until April of 2025. During this time I worked my way up from helping take away the old merchandise to be sent to donation centers to setting the new merchandise. The new merchandise was scattered throughout the back, so I had to search the truck line, the top shelves with a forklift, back aisles, and miscellaneous unmarked spaces. Once I mastered merchandise, I then learned how to read and properly set a planogram. This involves taking down old fixtures then setting the new fixtures with the proper measurements, prices, and display cards. I worked with a group of 2-5 people, but I also worked this position alone. Some of these planograms were week projects whereas others were quick daily tasks.

General Merchandising (GM) encompasses all the roles below management at target. The primary goal is to restock and clean the store throughout the day. As a GM you are responsible to take the front end returns to their spot on the shelves or to find the proper place for it to be backstock. After, GM’s are to stay up to date on the Zebra, which tells you what needs to be properly scanned out of backstock to be placed on the floor based on sales of the item. GM’s are assigned zones of the store and accompanying stocking GM’s must maintain zoning the store (which is making sure all items are placed in the proper location and not empty/dirty). GM's assisted guest when find items and answer their personal questions. GM’s are backup for all positions in the store. Two of the teams that need a lot of help are the front end cashiers and the fulfillment team, which is online and pick-up orders. When they need help, they communicate over the walkie talkie for quick responses from the GM team. The GM team is expected to keep up with a specific percentage on the device everyday before clocking out.

I also was a trainer for GM and inbound team members. They start out by following me for a little, after I explain and teach each duty of the position, then I watch them work besides me before they work on their own. This process takes about 1-2 weeks. I was chosen to be a team trainer because of my passion for the job, as well as, my experience with being a figure skating coach. By being a coach, I am experienced at guiding people with patience and clear communication.

Inbound team members are responsible for unloading the truck and stocking the store. This shift had a consistent schedule of 4am-12:30pm. We would arrive and be designated our spots on the truck's conveyor line. I operated all the spots which were truck unloaders, pushers, and sorters that placed the boxes on the correct U-boat or flat. In order to know the proper location you had to match the same number on the corner of the package sticker with the same U-boat number location. This task requires you to read and move fast in order to keep up with the line; as well as, be physically able to lift boxes that could be over 70 pounds on your own. After we unloaded the truck, we took out the pallets and flats that contained larger items such as paper products and pet food. Then we split up into individual or small groups to get each section of the store stocked. Once we finished the section, we used our zebras, which were electronic devices, to scan in our backstock based on previous location and section. This position was a fast paced job that was team oriented.

During this time, I received a high achieving team member award that was rewarded to 3% of the members at each store.

Readex Research reached out to offer me another job as they needed extra help and enjoyed my work drive from the previous summer. I put physical mail-in survey kits together, worked the tab matching, worked the cutting machine, and worked the meter/stamp machine.

Readex Research was a summer job. I worked on 2 big out-of-state survey projects. I was on a small team that helped put over 75,000 physical survey packets together to get mailed out by the mailing deadline. My days consisted of placing 3-4 stacks of paper together in an envelope extremely quickly in order to get the quota set for the day. This job required a tremendous amount of organization as each packet had papers with corresponding numbers, so it was vital to make sure each paper went into the correct packet.

As a host at keys I checked customers out. I took to-go and bakery orders (through DoorDash, Chow Now, phone calls, and in-person). I helped put to-go orders together. I helped servers and bussers when they needed it. I sat guests according to the proper server sections. I restocked the warped and re-stocked bakery goods. I restocked the disposable items needed to run the restaurant.

As a busser at Keys I cleared/cleaned tables, gave guests water, cleaned any spills, cleaned the bathrooms, put clean dishes away, and restocked anything that was needed.

As a dishwasher, I sorted all the dirty dishes, washed big and small restaurant tools by hand, as well as with a dishwasher, and put all the clean dishes away.