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 begin until the last third of my internship but it was certainly the most encouraging and exciting time. I, along with my supervisor and co-worker Mychal, met with numerous community leaders and professionals, all giving us extremely valuable feedback that helped shape our youth initiative. A meeting that sticks out in my mind was with Garner Tullis, the founder of Our Greater Good and former pastor of Bethel Church. After our meeting with him, I felt a renewed excitement for our project and a refresher reminding me why this project is so important to our community. His passion and heart for people was infectious and uplifting. He shared with us about his mentoring program with Our Greater Good and gave us some insight into how the mentoring process develops. While I learned a lot about how to proceed with our project and where we might have hurdles, I was overwhelmingly encouraged by the meeting. I think that’s how non-profit work is so rewarding. Yes, it is hard work and sometimes the payback is few and far between. But working collectively with other like-minded people towards the benefit of others is the most fulfilling position to me. I most definitely want to continue work in service when I graduate.

Here are a just a few realizations that I’ve come to over the past few months at EMPOWER:

• It is sometimes hard to stay motivated in an office environment when it’s YOUR responsibility to get work done. Put your phone away, make some tea, and stay focused.
• When presenting an idea to an individual or group, it usually takes several “tries” to refine your presentation so that people understand and respond well to it. Sometimes you have to have a few rough “pitches” to learn how to read people and tweak the communication style appropriately.
• Both using research and conducting research are both persuasive elements in the non-profit field.
• It takes a lot of different brains and experiences working together to formulate a proposal. It’s all really confusing and fuzzy for a while until you begin talking to people and putting more organized elements into the project.
• Ask for help and direction (sooner rather than later).
• Lastly, I realized that the non-profit world is full of extremely kind and passionate people are have a heart for others and I truly am blessed to have met so many of them.

• 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 are curious!)

Behind the scenes of our video shoot. I was able to help interview the Chief Philanthropy Officer, Kathryn Baerwald.

 I developed many skills because of my work with NLCS; some of which  include – producing a video, researching end-of-life care, creating donor profiles, communicating with grantee sites, etc. It was through these tasks and wonderful conversations that the purpose of the CAPS Fellows Program became wonderfully clear – we are ALL called to a life of service. This fellowship program calls students to  action and provides a pathway to discern that call.

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”  ~Woodrow Wilson

Throughout my time at Valparaiso University I have had a myriad of opportunities that have called me to action – alternative spring break trips to Washington D.C. and Selma, AL, studying abroad in Costa Rica, SALT projects in Fall and Spring semesters, a variety of classes, and this fellowship program. Each of these opportunities, and countless others, have identified a need and challenged myself and others to get involved in that cause.

The CAPS Fellows Program is unique. It enhanced an internship into a discernment process, simultaneously connecting me with distinguished alum and building my resume characteristics. I learned the power of listening and how to ask difficult questions, during ‘Reflect-ins’ with other fellows. I gained confidence in my abilities but was humbly reminded of my reliance on others’ expertise. And I gained a deeper appreciation for the opportunities and experiences I have had and how those have shaped my Calling And Purpose in Society.

One of NLCS grantee sites quoted the hymn We Are All In One Mission in their grant application and I have been continually impacted by the following verse:

We all are called for service
   To witness in God’s name;
   Our ministries are different,
   Our purpose is the same:
   To touch the lives of others
   By God’s surprising grace
   So every folk and nation
   May feel God’s warm embrace.

This theme has extended through every aspect of my summer. It holds true in my work, in the mission of NLCS, the work of all the CAPS fellows, my conversations, and what I hope for in the future. We are all called to some form of service – those forms are unique and different but we all hope to affect change and do it with grace, love and compassion.

Hiking in the Appalachian mountains with other CAPS Fellows and wonderful friends!

The delicious cake from our send-off party on the last day at National Lutheran Communities and Services.

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 anything, it’s that not everyone has those opportunities, and as I finished my lunch and felt my stomach filling, I remembered the stories I had heard of kids going to school hungry, or being made fun of for only having one T-shirt. EMPOWER made me aware of my own privilege and blessings in my life. I had a great education, great parents, and great mentors. But not everyone has those gifts. Some people have to work hard everyday in order to learn, care, and survive. And some of them have to start learning these difficult lessons when they’re no older than six. When I was six, I worried about which episode of “Rugrats” would be on when I got home from school.

My point is, it’s easy to forget that people struggling to succeed actually exist. In the Valpo campus bubble we get caught up in getting a good grade on a paper, or getting that one really cute girl to notice us, when down the street there is a seven year old kid who has to take care of his/her younger siblings because mom is at work. My time at EMPOWER made those struggles tangible for me. I learned not every character is the same. Not every story has the same starting chapter.

I also learned that people can be more interesting than any character I could ever come up with. In the many meetings we had as a staff, we met with CEOs, program directors, professors, doctors, pastors, and parents. It was easy to assume what each meeting would be like, how everyone would behave, the pleasantries, the facades. But what made the meetings exciting to me was how every person was such a character. They told jokes and stories that made me understand why they do the work they do. They made funny facial expressions and asked questions. They were real people. It’s always so easy from the outside looking in to identify somebody from their title. “I’m the CEO of the local YMCA.” But his name is Bob, he likes to wear polos, and tell a lot of jokes and talk about sports. He’s not just a CEO, he’s a person with feelings and motivations just like anyone else. The superintendent isn’t just in charge of the school district. She cares about each and every kid. She is a Green Bay Packers fan and when she couldn’t find her flyswatter, she chased a fly around the office with a toy baseball bat. It’s these unique stories and quirks that made my experience at EMPOWER so rewarding. I think it’s so easy for us to forget that people are people, and not just the positions they hold or the profession they follow.

So as I swallowed my last bite of flat-bread and cleared my throat, I looked at Heather and Kaye and said:

“Ooof…where do I begin?”

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 that I really didn’t want to be a lawyer or a teacher. I don’t want to settle for what people expected of me. I want to do what I want to do.

Some members of the wonderful Advancement team and myself.

This past year I spent a lot of time learning about social injustices in our country. I participated in events and discussions and tried to figure out what my part in the fight is. During this searching, I started to think more seriously about working in a non-profit that serves the community, but I wasn’t quite sure how that would work.

The reason I’m so grateful for this fellowship is that it gave me the opportunity to figure out how I could follow what I was being called to do. I watched some of my friends struggle this summer with figuring out what they were called to do while I found myself reaching a clearer and clearer picture just by going into work every day.

Working at Concordia Place I learned more about what it means to run an organization. Not just becoming educated about the issues, but what it really means to work in the non-profit sector. I found myself doing a little bit of everything during my internship- things like researching foundations, writing grant proposals, designing signs, entering donor information, helping with volunteer events, social media- anything and everything that did something to help the organization grow. I worked on a lot of projects that had more to do with the day to day running of an organization and I really enjoyed doing all of that work.

A sign I created that more importantly has some statistics about Concordia Place’s year.

One of the conversations I have had with a few of my peers is “What if we don’t feel like we’re changing anything?” And this summer, I was lucky to live out these questions. Concordia Place, as an organization, does wonderful work, and while I wasn’t directly working with the kids or teens or seniors, I was contributing to the overall mission. Some days, it didn’t always feel like I was doing anything. But I was. I had the unique experience of entering the CEO/president’s donor interactions which was a bit tedious and boring, but I got to see what a CEO/president does on a weekly basis, and this information was also important for advancing Concordia Place as an organization.

I’ve always been a firm believer in the fact that every bit counts, and this summer, I got to live that out. Large change isn’t going to happen without all the people on the ground- in the offices, on the streets, wherever and anywhere there is some work to be done. We’ve got to start there and then work our way up, and I feel called to be one of those people.

One of my last days, my alumni mentor and I visited the Chicago Botanic Gardens. She took me to the Japanese Gardens and walked me over a bridge that was a zig zag because according to some Japanese folklore, evil spirits have to walk in a straight line so they can’t follow you over this bridge. She took me there so I could start my senior year fresh and ready to go without any evil spirits behind me, and I am. I’m ready to go and do what I feel called to do and what I want to do. I’m ready and the CAPS fellowship is to thank for that.

The bridge at the Botanic Gardens.

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 I had little interest in traveling. I was comfortable with the environment in which I grew up, and I guess that explains why it’s less than a three-hour drive home from school. I am beyond joyful that I ended up at such a fantastic university that made me aware of and prompted me to go to places I hadn’t considered before.

The cover sheet for the BPD.

In my last post, I reflected on the idea that being partially immersed into another culture, especially in another country, can influence your perspective and how you understand and share that perspective with others. I have continued to grapple with that idea this summer through discussions with other CAPS fellows and conversations with those in the office. I have been especially fortunate to consider this through my work on a Best Practices Document for W2T’s implementing partners. The BPD, as it has been conveniently named, will serve as a guideline for implementing partners of W2T. Its purpose is, in part, to “ensure efficient and effective service delivery while maintaining desired quality standards.” Thus, it is a resource that will be available to NGO partners as well as a way for Water to Thrive to evaluate the quality of services that their partners provide to rural communities.

Thomas and I on the last day.

The idea of the document might sound really great, and in our research this summer, Thomas (another W2T intern) and myself have seen that there is a whole network of great resources out there for non-profits and NGOs that aim to accomplish something similar to ours. However, we have come to realize that those who work in international development must be very mindful of the role that we can play. Thomas has a saying that goes: “Never do for somebody else what they can do for themselves.” It has become something that we keep constantly on our minds as we write the document because in the area of rural water supply, failure to work by that saying has caused many water projects to fail far sooner than they should. Many good-intentioned and qualified people have worked, individually and through organizations, toward providing clean water to those who need it, and have failed to fully grasp that it is community initiative, not just expert outsider influence, that allows for sustainable projects.

As we’ve proceeded with the BPD, we’ve wrestled with identifying areas where we are at liberty to require, or should rather just recommend. We’ve also come across areas where we ought not try to offer anything because either we don’t know, can’t understand as Americans, or need to leave it completely open for the community to decide. To try to account for this, the above mentioned idea of community initiative has formed the basis for the BPD. From the selection of the location to the long-term maintenance of the project, the community is to be fully involved. The communities to be served are chosen by Water to Thrive partners based on their need, but also on their willingness and ability to manage and maintain the water point. All beneficiaries of the water are required to pay, if they are able, a small monthly amount of money that is saved toward a maintenance fund, as well as used to pay a guard who ensures that the water point is not abused. All W2T projects are required to have Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) committees. These committees start to form before construction even begins and members take on different roles to manage the water point, as well as prompt community members to make decisions that are in the best interest of all. The community is expected to contribute to the construction of the project in different ways. That may include providing laborers or even paving a road for construction vehicles. In the experience of Water to Thrive, these initiatives along with many others have led to successful and sustainable projects.  My hope is that Thomas and I were able to communicate humbly, accurately, and clearly and that the BPD may become a useful resource for W2T’s partners.

Working for W2T this summer has been invaluable to me in many ways and taught me countless lessons. I’ll just write about a few. I’ve learned how to be a better team member, as Thomas and I have needed to come to mutual decisions about the best, yet realistic, procedures. I’ve learned to struggle with a tough task, to make a plan and make deadlines, to improvise when information is lacking or an email response won’t come. I’ve learned about the constant need to put aside initial perceptions or ideas that I feel like should be used, and rather place focus on what may really be best for communities. I’ve learned that success is sometimes found in the process more than at the end. I think this last one has been the most encouraging, since we didn’t write all we wanted to into the document. It’s been an incredible journey this summer, though, as I’ve worked with great people in the office and in Ethiopia. I’m sad to leave so early, but excited to see how the experience and lessons learned this summer guide me forward.

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 of a personal passion that will also pay the bills, until met with the response of “oh…that’s nice…and what do you plan to do with that?”

Having embarked on a path towards nursing, I cannot say that I have ever received the aforementioned response when sharing my career choice. Instead, I am often greeted with comments of approval, head nods, and smiles. It is invigorating to have found a profession that I am passionate about and proud of, one that seeks to serve in a multitude of ways.

But the question still remains, is this my calling? Is this my purpose?

During my fellowship at National Lutheran Communities and Services I was surrounded by an array of intelligent and impressive people who each possessed a contagious passion for the mission and ministry of the organization. Each staff member was equipped with a unique set of gifts and traits that enabled them to contribute to the service of our communities and beyond. It was here that I observed the beauty that is found in the convergence of differences, of the powerful things that can happen when individuals learn to share their talents and rely upon those of others as well, acknowledging that no one person has all that is needed to complete the mission – be of an organization, or in life.

It was here too, that I was reminded of the multifaceted layers of all people. Our Chief Philanthropy Officer is an avid angler, and a great sports fan. Our Chief Financial Officer has a passion for 80s music and singing through the halls. Our Chief Strategy Officer is most at home at sea, and can often be found sporting a colorful bow tie that relates to his love of the water. At first, some were surprised to learn of these characteristics, amazed that a lawyer would be found knee deep in waders, or that an accountant could possibly have an upbeat personality. And yet these enjoyed pastimes are only glimpses into the entirety of the people who became my family for the summer, mere glances at the intricacies that compose the ones who invested in my life and taught me more than I could have ever imagined.

Just as we have a tendency to silo off the abilities of the people we meet, I believe that we have the tendency to isolate the definition of one’s calling or purpose. It can be so easy to categorize – he is a researcher, she is a sales clerk, he is an artist – all the while failing to realize that who the person is, and the way in which they influence others, extends beyond far more than the title of one’s profession.

Yes, it is true that I hope to gain the title of a nurse. I also hope to invest deeper into health and human rights policy and work in population health. But these ambitions are specific directives. They themselves are not the overarching calling or purpose of my life.

Discovering the joys of sailing with my summer family.

This summer has helped me to see that calling and purpose are not static concepts. Rather, they are fluid, and will change and grow as does my life and understanding of it.

While I hesitate to assert a specific calling over my life, such as a calling to a career, I do believe that there are core aspects of my calling and purpose that will always remain, even if the expression of them changes. Three of theses characteristics were made evident this summer as I was enveloped in an atmosphere of stewardship, community, and life-long learning.

Regardless of where I may be or what I may be doing, I will always be called to be a steward of the time, talent, resources, and relationships that I have been given by God. All of life is a gift, and as such, the calling follows to make good of what I have been given, to be responsible in all that is placed before me and around me. The circumstances will change but the responsibility will remain that all of my life may bring glory and praise to God.

Following in this is the call to community – to live in community, to create community, to recognize the community around me. The summer has been filled with reminders that who I am is a compilation of the countless individuals who have had an influence in my life, both positively and negatively. It is impossible to claim sole responsibility for any aspect of my life. Rather, each step that I take is one linked to community, the communities I am a part of, and the communities I will help to create. Our calling is embedded within the network of human relationships, and the community that I found at National Lutheran Communities and Services helped to reiterate the incredible things that can be done in a supportive, empowering, and loving community.

Breathtaking views of the Appalachians

Finally, I believe there is a call to life-long learning. To claim complete knowledge is an impeding arrogance that will prove destructive in any endeavor. NLCS taught me the value of admitting ignorance, of pursuing curiosity, of recognizing that there are endless opportunities to learn, and individuals to learn from. A life of constant learning creates a forward momentum that is contagious and dangerous – dangerous in the endless possibilities that await.

The questions of life will always continue. After graduation the queries will shift into that of what do you do? What is your vocation? While I will never have a concrete answer as to what my calling and purpose in life is, my fellowship this summer helped to reveal that such an answer is not required. My calling and purpose will always be fluid, carried forward by dynamic and overarching traits for which I am responsible. The questions will change, but so too will the answers. And for this, I could not be more grateful.