Institute for Leadership and Service Blog

I spend most of my days working inside the Historic Barker House sitting at my desk with my computer. When I had originally thought about working at an environmental non-profit I had imagined myself spending most of my days outside. I never would have thought that I would be sitting at a desk. However, in order to have the nature that I long to spend my time in, there needs to be people doing the desk work. Over the past month I have spent most of my time sifting through member data, making sure data is transferred over properly, and emailing members to make sure their information is up to date. This is important work, because in order to help preserve and advocate for the Dunes we need financial support and these memberships are one of the ways we progress toward that. There are multiple tiers of membership depending on […]

It’s been a month since I started at Heartland Alliance, and I’m so thankful for the experiences I’ve had and everything I’ve learned so far! Since completing my training, I have started working with some participants within the Refugee and Immigrant Community Services program. Some of my responsibilities when working with participants include reaching out to each participant and talking to them about their current employment situations, searching for jobs that participants are eligible for/interested in, and helping participants apply for jobs. If a participant gets a call-back for an interview with a job placement, it is also my responsibility to accompany them to the interview, if necessary. Each time that I interact with a participant, whether that’s over the phone or through messaging or in-person, I also have to file case notes. As I’ve started getting to know each situation and learning about how I can best serve the […]

With Week 2 of our summer program nearing an end, it’s safe to say that I’ve had ample time to settle in here at the Grünewald Guild. I’ve absolutely loved the opportunity to work here in the beautiful Cascade Mountains for the summer and be a part of this inspiring community. I have the privilege of meeting new people every week, and the connections I’ve made here at the Guild are so valuable to me. I’ve learned a lot from our guests as well as my fellow staff members and supervisors. While my primary job is communications work, I’ve been doing a variety of other tasks to help around campus. Whether it’s preparing the spaces for our next group of guests or helping someone pitch a tent, there’s always ways to be helpful. This summer the Guild found themselves in need of more support in the kitchen, which means I’ve […]

As I started my internship this past week I Full of questions and eagerness to learn the behind the scenes aspect of this non-profit organization at Erie Neighborhood House. Since the kids aren’t in for programming yet, this week and last have been a blessing for me to get oriented and get a deeper dive into the summer program. Probably my favorite project so far has been building a new math lesson plan from the book “If The Shoe Fits” to teach students how to use measuring devices and their importance. Right before beginning this internship in my last semester of my undergraduate degree I decided to make a big shift from having studied economics and Spanish to then pursuing education and receiving my teaching certificate. During this time of transition there has been a lot of concern and uncertainty of whether I was making the right choice and whether […]

I wish I could see in the dark. The thought has crossed my mind many nights walking in the dark after I’ve heard an unsettling sound nearby. While the sky wasn’t too dark last week on our staff night hike, I thought of campers who might also experience heightened fear when darkness comes along. The past two weeks I’ve been in summer staff training at the Dunes Learning Center inside the Indiana Dunes National Park. We’ve been learning the intricacies of camp while also trying out activities we’ll lead with campers. Last week we practiced the night hike we take campers on, and I was reminded how limited my sight is at night. Being a camp based in environmental education, we also learned about nocturnal animals like bats, raccoons, and owls. They all are adapted to the dark: bats use echolocation, racoons feel especially well with their paws, and owls have eyes built for the night. Each […]

This week marks my second week working with Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services Program! As I’ve been reflecting on the start to my internship with Heartland, it seems like every day has brought new learning, new challenges, and in particular, new excitement. At the beginning, all I could think about was how nervous I was as I tried to navigate a different environment. The first challenge that I faced was driving through Chicago alone – which, up until last week, I had promised myself that I would never do. I remember setting my alarm super early on that first day, to plan in advance for the fact that I would probably miss at least 2 exits on the expressway. But even with the extra-early start, I quickly realized that Chicago traffic is way more unpredictable than I had planned for. I swear I could hear the traffic’s evil laugh as I […]

I have officially been at Save the Dunes for 2 weeks. My office is tucked away within the woods in the Barker House in Michigan City, IN. As you pull into the driveway, you are greeted by a beautiful house surrounded by trees and native plant gardens. My office is at the top of the stairs. It is floor-to-ceiling wood paneling with three windows looking into the tree canopy. My desk directly faces the windows, and I love to watch the leaves sway in the wind with the light shining down on them. Laughter and talking fill the air, making for a very homey feeling in the house. Starting an internship can be a weird spot to be in. Imposter syndrome is hitting you from left and right. You are caught in the middle, not quite a full employee, but you still have a job within the organization. I struggled with this for my first few days. […]

From the ecstatic moment a person arrives at Holden Village, an iconic retreat center located in the heart of Washington’s North Cascades Mountains that offers visitors a unique opportunity to step into the wilderness they are greeted with a “Hosti”. This person designs a sign with your name on it to welcome you to the village and answer any questions you may have. From the moment the school bus with Holden Village written on the side was in sight of the village entrance all the way to the time I stepped off said bus I was greeted by most, if not all, of the village waving at me and cheering for my arrival. Before even getting to the village I was required to complete a Child Safety Training which is crucial to the safety, comfort, and well-being of the children that reside in Holden Village.  I realized that I’ve been […]

It’s now been almost a week that I’ve been at the Grunewald Guild here in the mountains of Washington state, and I’m thoroughly excited for the months ahead. I’m staying in what’s called the Riverhouse, as it directly overlooks the river flowing 50 feet away from the back porch. This porch is one of my favourite places so far to sit and enjoy the area, as it’s fully screened in to keep the bugs away (mosquitos remain my arch-nemesis) and is beautifully lit with string lights in the evenings. The quiet rush of the flowing water is a constant and peaceful sound, and a wide range of birds fill the trees and air with their calls too. (There’s one critter that makes a fascinating little clicking sound sometimes and I can never find it, but it intrigues me.) I was surprised by how windy it gets here in the side […]

My first week of internship at Opportunity Enterprises was successfully completed this Friday and I am already looking forward to coming back after the weekend! Opportunity Enterprises offers inclusive opportunities for work, transportation, leisure, among other opportunities, for people of all abilities, opening doors to a more equitable and fairer world. In this first week I met incredible people, felt extremely welcome, felt a good sense of home, and learned valuable lessons. This first week of training included several lessons, such as First Aid (CPR) and Crisis Prevention (CPI), which are essential for ensuring the well-being of the children who will be spending the summer with us. However, what was most significant for me was learning about the company’s history, how it arose and why. For many years, people with disabilities were neglected, excluded and mistreated, kept in isolation within institutions with no intention of re-socialization and under abusive “treatments”. […]

The unflinching memorist Dorothy Allison writes, “Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that telling a story all the way through is an act of love.” A thorough and full accounting is indeed an act of love, and even an act of service.    Following a meaningful spring break service trip in northwest Indiana several weeks ago, I might amend Allison’s formulation a bit further: telling a story all the way through is an act of love and service…and so is attending to that story–listening compassionately, for understanding, and then figuring out what it means to hold and carry that story forward.    In a week spent criss-crossing northwest Indiana and south-southwest Chicagoland, we (Anna and Kat from the Institute for Leadership and Service) joined eight Valpo students on a journey to hear story after story–some ecology, some art, some history, some activism, some […]

I have seen a saying around campus in the past few weeks, in the Student Life Administration window, in the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts Box Office: “Fall is proof that change is beautiful.”  It’s true, fall is beautiful.  However, I was thinking that perhaps we need the reminder by way of a catchy saying because we don’t often feel that change is beautiful.  In fact, it can be downright scary. Everywhere I turn, people are reflecting on change.  The Institute’s Listening for Purpose podcast Season 2 Episode 2, an interview with Valpo senior Reahlyn Bryce (which was released on November 12, 2024), is all about change and beauty in inspiring songs.  Reahlyn and Listening for Purpose host, senior Simeon Klepac, discuss the impending transition facing seniors as they finish out their time at Valpo and make plans for the future. Whenever I attend higher education conferences, colleagues discuss […]

Twenty-one Octobers ago, I was a college student hovering over one of life’s many threshold moments, poised between what seemed at the time like teenager-hood on one side…and the yawning gap of “adulting” beyond. It was fall of my junior year at the University of South Carolina (yes, Go Gamecocks and especially their women’s basketball team, but I digress). Beginning my fifth semester of college, I found myself right at that halfway moment in college where things start to seem more real and people begin to ask you a little more about what you might actually do after graduation.  And I….I did not feel like myself at all. I felt like I was trudging through molasses. Everything seemed foggy and gray, as though I was peering through a grimy, smudged window at other people, who cheerfully and purposefully strode through sunlit spaces, while I remained ineluctably apart, unable to access […]

I would like to invite you into a journaling activity this week.  We at the Institute for Leadership and Service like to promote reflection.  We think of it as a muscle we can exercise.  You know, how strong muscles are just kind of “nice to have” until one day when you need to move a couch or pick up a child, and then those muscles become absolutely necessary.  Similarly, reflection may seem superfluous, until the day we kind of just need to know what we think about a subject. OK, the reflection activity.  Get out a writing instrument and your journal, or a piece of paper, or the back of a napkin. First, write down where you are from.  You decide if that means, city, state, country, etc, but I mean a geographical place. Next, think of something about that place that is meaningful to you.  Spend a little time […]

Over the course of this summer and my internship at Erie House, one thing has became ever more clear to me each time I wake up and head to work: any number of individually insignificant factors can decide whether or not it’ll feel like a good day. For example, it could be cloudy but not raining, my bus is on time, and I have an extra minute to grab coffee before I clock in. That’s already a good day. Just as much, if it’s raining without an umbrella, both of my bus rides get delayed, and I have to show up twenty minutes late, that’s kind of a rough start. Any one of those single elements shouldn’t be enough to make or break a day, but taken together, they pile up quickly. And, of course, that’s just the first hour or two of your standard weekday. If you’re in the […]

As my internship continues, I continue looking for a purpose big enough to dominate my life. I’ve always loved reading and since childhood, narratives of grand proportions filled my head, so much so that I’ve come to expect my purpose to be similar to the same characters that had populated my life. Frequently I find myself looking for a purpose big enough to dominate my own life or appear on some metaphorical horizon. I had expected to see something like a summer thunderhead marching across the sky, or maybe something far away but with a promise of grandeur like the Chicago skyline as seen from the Indiana Dunes National Park. This summer, and especially the CAPS internship has set my mind on a future that I am typically happy to ignore. My previous blog post mainly talked about my refusal to truly think about vocation in a real sense, but […]