I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in many different facets of the non-profit world during my internship at EMPOWER Porter County. I’ve done research, developed an initiative with co-workers, and presented ideas to possible collaborators. The majority of my time spent at EMPOWER was in the office, scrolling through existing youth development programs and filling my mind with case studies and facts. This was an extremely valuable task, as it taught me how much time it takes to really understand and become knowledgeable on a subject. It also taught me that research and Google searches alone are not enough for me to be inspired or to get my brain (0r heart) moving. I learned that communication and meetings are absolutely essential in the non-profit world to generate ideas, share experiences, and provide incredible insight that will ultimately make the project you’re working on a success. The meetings didn’t […]

You will be the one connecting people one day – that day is closer than you think A good manager should be training their team to take his/her job The difference between humility and humbleness / ignorance and stupidity Be confident in your abilities, but do not be arrogant Constantly balance between your wants and your needs Dream big but be realistic One organization cannot do it all These nuggets of wisdom were casually, but carefully, stitched into the fabric of conversations with the CPO, CSO, CFO, CEO, Directors, consultants, and other members of the NLCS family. The ‘life lessons’ listed above come from a very long list of things I learned during my 8 week CAPS Fellowship at National Lutheran Communities and Services. (I would love to share the stories that accompany the bulleted list above, however I do not have space in this forum. Please ask if you […]

My last full day at EMPOWER Porter County was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze, and beautiful cotton candy clouds littered the blue sky. My supervisors, Heather and Kaye, decided to take me and my coworker, Faith, to lunch in order to celebrate our last day together as a staff. Panera in hand, we sat outside to enjoy our meal. It was at this time that Heather asked us the question: “So what do you two think you learned most from your time with us?” I mulled the question over in my mind as I chewed my flat-bread. I looked out at the businesses across the street from us. Parking lots filled with nice cars and people with full wallets, ready to spend their paychecks on haircuts, electronics, mac n’ cheese, or some craft supplies. If my time at EMPOWER had taught me […]

It’s now been a week since my internship at Concordia Place ended and now that I’ve spent a few days sleeping in and watching Netflix instead of working, I’m starting to prepare for my senior year at Valpo and also the years ahead.   Throughout the whole summer, I was asked the typical “What do you plan on doing with your degree?” or “What are you doing when you graduate?” You know, the questions that people ask you from the moment you start looking at schools. For years, I have felt like I’ve needed to tailor my responses more to what people want to hear like “I’m thinking about becoming a teacher” or “I’m thinking about law school.” Because with a History and Latin double major, those are the job options that people expect from me. And I convinced myself that those were my future career options. But I realized […]

      Yesterday was the last day of my fellowship with Water to Thrive (W2T) and tomorrow, I’ll be boarding my ninth plane of the summer headed back to my family. Did you get that? Nine planes. Now, I wish I had recorded the exact airtime that amounts to, but a rough estimation comes out to just short of two full days above the clouds. For anyone who hasn’t seen what I’ve been up to this summer, I’ve been in the wonderful heat of Austin, Texas. Before settling here for the summer, however, I went on a two-week trip to Ethiopia with W2T where we toured the country and experienced the results of enabling and empowering rural communities through the gift of clean and accessible water. It’s fascinating for me to think of the amount of time I’ve spent in planes this summer, because it wasn’t so long ago that […]

What do you want to be when you grow up? This question rings through the days of childhood and is littered with the hopeful responses of “doctor”, “fireman”, “teacher”, “astronaut” – all things big, bold, and exciting, with the promise of a new adventure around every turn. I personally aspired to sing and act on Broadway…a dream that was somehow transformed into the world of health care. I suppose that dancing on stage and “dancing” into a patient’s room are one in the same, right? What are your plans after graduation? Similar to the question presented in childhood, this question is also saturated with curiosity, hope, promise, and adventure. It can be daunting when faced with the prospect of formulating a response that meets the expectations of the asker. One may feel as if their path of study is a step towards life changing work, or at least the fulfillment […]

In times of uncertainly and confusion, a person desires nothing more than the calming kindness of a stranger or a neighbor, who generously offers assistance, support, and understanding. This is the ministry of hospitality. I experience this ministry every Friday when I spend my day at ICDI’s House of Hospitality, where I help the men living there with school assignments and learning English. The house, located in Cicero, IL, is for men who have been released from detention and have no other place to go upon their release. Upon hearing this process for the first time, I was awestruck by the unpredictability of it all. Dropped off on the corner of 101 West Congress, these men, uncertain of their surroundings but certainly confused on what to do next, are approached by a stranger who knows their name and nothing else. The stranger ask them to get in the car so […]

In the opening introduction of the book Road to Character, author David Brooks makes an important distinction between two kinds of virtues, résumé and eulogy virtues. Résumé virtues are the list of items typically seen on your own personal résumé, the skills you bring to the job market, the ones that aid career success. Eulogy virtues go deeper. They are those virtues that get talked about at your funeral. What relationships have you formed, whether you are brave, honest, kind, faithful, or patient. They exist at the core of your being. Most of us would agree that these eulogy virtues are of greater importance and worth than the résumé virtues. Yet, I know that I focus more time on my résumé virtues and developing those than my eulogy virtues. I also believe our education system and society put a greater emphasis on those résumé virtues. As my internship has come to a […]

Narratives and storytelling has been a long standing tradition in the Latina/o community. It is often in that way in which we learn; by hearing stories from the elders in our families or communities telling us of our long standing traditions from our ancestors before us, events that have occurred when the thought of us was not even conceived, still in our mother’s womb or too young to remember. I grew up with story telling and learned the importance of narratives. To my family and to our community, narratives gave a platform to the unheard. But throughout the existence of our community, we have been shamed and conditioned into believing that we should not speak up for what we believe in due to fear or retaliation of what the majority in the United States could do to us. I’ve slowly seen this fear stripped away by the courageous acts of many in […]

My roommates and I keep commenting on how quickly this summer has gone by. Two months seems like a lot at first, but now it feels like hardly any time at all. I’m entering my final week at Lutheran Services in America, which means I’m working on finishing up the projects that were assigned to me. A few of the projects I have been working on won’t be done by the time I leave, so I will be preparing those to be handed off to future LSA interns. Outside of various smaller tasks, my two main projects at LSA have been donor analysis for the 2015 fiscal year and managing their social media platforms. The first project has involved a lot of compiling and organizing numbers in order to understand where the donations are coming from, evaluate donor trends, and formulate a new development strategy for the 2016 fiscal year. […]

My work at the Federation is all about details. From the exact responses to survey results and their connotations, to document formats, to the placement of questions in each email, each project forces attention to every miniscule detail. And every single detail has been important and critical to the success or outcome of each project. Working with an immense group of 56 councils around the country and in partnerships with organizations like the NEH and Pulitzer, the Federation’s effectiveness in these relationships relies on having each fact or detail correct.   However, our effectiveness is also measured in the work each council puts in to provide humanities programming to everyone in their state or territory. As the national branch, we are the promoters, advocators, and cheerleaders for the individual councils. For all of the work the Federation completes in Washington, DC, negotiating and advocating on Capital Hill, communities around the […]

The Region is as diverse in its problems as it is in its population. You do not have to wander too far to see the poverty that is plaguing some of the largest metropolitan areas in “the 219.” My placement is in one the cities that has been, by and large, forgotten by the rest of the Region and left to its own limited resources to rebuild itself. The progress that the city of Gary makes can seem slow but it is truly amazing to see the good that is coming from the organizations and citizens within the city that refuse to give up on each other. I’m proud to say that the Urban League of Northwest Indiana is one of those organizations. During the second half of my internship, I noticed that many people began to call in for rental and/or utility assistance. Unfortunately, the ULNWI does not have the […]

Since first stepping foot onto Valpo’s campus as a freshman three years ago, the infamous “What are your plans after graduation?” question has always been daunting.  My typical response provides a semi-decent answer, as I mention my aspirations of a career in the nonprofit world. Yet, the follow up question—“What do you plan to do in that field?”—is more challenging. My 21-year-old (male) instincts tend to kick in at this point, and I reply with a simple, “Not sure. I still have to figure that out.” I’m realizing, though, that things need to be figured out fairly soon. Over the past month, my time at Legacy Foundation provided several opportunities for me to realize three key organizational characteristics that are essential for the nonprofit in which I will someday work. Whether observing a diverse group of area residents rally behind Legacy’s collective impact initiative known as “Neighborhood Spotlight”, conceptualizing hurtful […]

As I come to the end of my fellowship with LULAC of IL in Cicero, I had a great opportunity to attend the National Convention that was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. WOW! This place was amazing. The view of green, breathtaking mountains behind the city really blew my mind. The weather was perfect. You know why? Because they were little to no flies and mosquitos, the sun set around 9:30pm, and low humidity. The city was like the ocean on a calm day with a nice breeze. The convention catered to around 5-6,000 LULAC members during the week long convention. It was a nurturing weekend because I was able to spend time with LULAC State officials on the plane, over dinner, dance floor, workshops, and have intellectual conversations. I really bonded with the LULAC of Illinois State Director, Jose Lopez. I would ask questions and he would have answers, […]

In my last post, I talked about the exciting opportunities I was given right out of the gate at the United Way of LaPorte County, I have been able to dive deeper into the great work that this organization is behind. After my last post, I was able to aid local youth, of the Michigan City Police Youth Academy, in building cardboard boats for the Annual Boat races on Lake Michigan. The race was this past weekend, a beautiful Saturday for the community to gather to watch not only kids, but also adults put their cardboard creations on the water. (I have attached photos of both the building and the race day). It was fantastic to be able to work with some of the youth, just being able to watch them work together to get a task complete has made this experience worthwhile.   The community garden that I previously blogged […]