By this time, I have just completed my third week of interning, and to say it has been a constant learning experience would be an understatement. This summer I am working at Ingenuity, an organization that not only raises awareness about the importance of a good quality arts education in the Chicago public schools, but also, it works to make sure that arts education stays in the schools and that everyone is benefiting from it from the research and data they collect from over 600 schools and 1,000 arts partners. Sounds simple enough, right?

At Valparaiso University, I am a Criminology and Political Science double major (and a theatre minor, but most people forget about that when I tell them my majors).  When I told everyone I planned to spend my summer working at an arts education organization, many people were confused. I got a lot of interesting thoughts on my decision, but the one that came up most frequently was “wow, your major and your internship are so different; why would you chose to do that with your summer?” To be honest, at first, I would just say I wanted a change of pace, but deep down I knew it was more than that. Recently, I have been working to get more involved in the theatre department at school, and the more involved I was the more it made me wonder if I wanted a career in the arts rather than the criminal justice field. As a result, I decided choosing an organization in the arts would help me decide.

At Ingenuity, I am the public affairs/advocacy/communications and media intern (they’re virtually the same thing, but I have been called all of them). With this task, I am not only in charge of helping with Ingenuity’s social media presence, but their public presence as well. In addition, I have been given the task of working to update their website this summer. This has been quite an adventure for me personally because I have never really done anything in either field. Nevertheless, I was eager to learn how to help the organization.

I am not going to lie, the first couple weeks were a little overwhelming. The Friday before I started, my supervisor called me to give me a basic run-down of what I would be doing in the office, but she also told me that the person who was set to be my supervisor had switched jobs and was no longer with the organization. Although she was incredibly kind in explaining to me how she was now going to become my supervisor and my tasks, I was terrified. Not only was I in a big city when I had pretty much spent my life in only suburbs, but now I wasn’t really quite sure where the summer would lead me. Luckily, my supervisor and the office I am working in was incredibly. Everyone has been welcoming and I could tell as soon as I walked in I had joined a really close group.

Everything in the office is very fast pace. Because the organization is ran by only seven full time employees and the population they serve is the third largest school district in the country, there is always something going on. I think that was one of the hardest things for me to adjust to—the other being working forty hours a week. When I started this internship, it had been about a month since I left my internship at the Federal Probation and Pretrial office. There I only worked five hours a day, three days a week, and for the most part, it was usually pretty relaxed. I would be given daily tasks, some I could finish that day, and others I couldn’t, but overall, it was pretty peaceful. Coming into a fast-paced office after having that tranquil experience was difficult at first, but I think I am finally getting the hang of it.

I will only be spending nine weeks with Ingenuity, and with the completion of my third week, I have completed one-third of my time. Since beginning, I have learned how to handle social media and how to organize the office to have a bigger social media presence. I have also learned how to edit the website and how to create the monthly newsletter.  In addition, I have been working in the advocacy field and have been doing research on possible topics for the advocacy institute that will occur in October. While it is a little weird to think about all I have done and how much time has gone by (time is really flying by!), I am excited to see where the next six weeks take me. If I have been able to complete all that I have in the short amount of time, I am eager to see what I will accomplish by the end of it.

“My name is Aaron, and I work for a lobbying firm”

I have always cringed when I heard that word. My teachers, parents, CNN and basically everyone had resolved to decry a whole profession as “unethical” and “corrupt.”

Even now, as I rushed to tell family and friends about my new job in D.C., veiled smiles said “you’re one of them now.” Upon my arrival in our nation’s capital, I had resigned to embrace my new role: a puppet, ruled by special interest.

Only Venn Strategies isn’t like that. There are no smoke-filled, back room meetings. The office isn’t filled with power-hungry D.C. elites or slaves to special interest. We don’t work to control government, we work to understand it.

The federal government is an incredible complex machine with lots of moving parts. As a government affairs firm, our job at Venn is to keep tabs on what’s going on and report the results to our clients. Weekdays days consist of tracking legislation, attending and reporting on congressional hearings, and compiling research at our clients’ request. I’ve come to view our work as not only necessary, but fulfilling.

Venn’s clients are primarily based in the healthcare and finance sectors. I am currently working on the health team (a nice non-controversial topic), conducting research into the field of healthcare and producing memos for our clients. After a few days of research I came to a realization: I am so glad that there are people that do this work full time. Having met with congressional staffers, I’ve more often than not found myself face to face with an individual my age; somebody with nearly identical levels of education and experience. There’s a poorly kept secret in Washington: congressional staffers, while underpaid and overworked, run this town.

Single lines in 80 page bills have the capacity to affect the lives of millions of Americans. Among those millions are not only my family, friends and neighbors, but people I have never nor will ever meet. Having experienced what analyzing policy looks like, I am relieved that experts like the ones at Venn do the work that they do. Using a heavily researched argument, Venn exposes these staffers (again, the “real” rulers of D.C.) to the fact based stances that they would never have the resources or time to discover themselves. With legislation passing through the halls of congress on a daily basis, I find myself more and more confident that our policymakers are being exposed to well-researched arguments as diverse as the constituents they represent.

“My name is Aaron, and I am proud to work for a lobbying firm.”

Never underestimate the power that the nine-to-five work day can exert upon your daily routine; this is one of the many lessons that I have learned over the course of my first three weeks in Washington D.C., the place where politics meet reality.  It is a place where a small-town Midwesterner such as myself can easily fall victim to the overarching tones of rapidity and competitiveness.  It is a place where one can find that there exists a clash of understandings.  You see it everywhere; the Metro, the workplace, the restaurants, even the monuments.  From the outsiders’ perspective, there exists a great divide between how people engage with the world that we share.

It starts as nuance, watching as some individuals rush down the left side of the escalator while others stand idly on the right, not daring to puncture the median threshold for fear of being rebuked by those in much more of a hurry.  Those hurried folks then turn into paradoxical figures upon entering the Metro train cars, cramming in so that the car is far over optimal capacity to avoid running late, all while expressing clear body language that indicates a certain distress that comes with the impending burst of their personal bubbles.  Yet, once the tranquil humming and shunting of the train begins, trance overtakes the awkwardness of proximity, and once you reach your stop, the mentality takes over again.

These observations are an attempt to place you at the core of my reflective process as I adapt to this perplexing and invigorating city.  It would also be fair to admit that I have adapted to my surrounding environment; some of the very strategies that I initially found to be so odd have now become commonplace in my routine.  Much of it is concerned with wanting to understand this “East Coast” mentality that I have only briefly grappled with in the past.  This place is so different from home, but why?  Why do people find it so odd to smile at one another while walking down the street?  Why is starting a conversation with a stranger such a rarity here?  With my inherent differences, where do I fit into this jigsaw?  It leads me to wonder if the “East Coast” mentality is more of a culture centered around getting from point A to point B, whether those points be set in the short term or the long term.  It seems odd that one can sense the hallmarks of cross-cultural immersion while within the confines of their country of origin.

This clash of cultures that I am surveying, however, comes secondary to the true reason that I have taken up residence in District of Columbia.  My niche here has been found within the ranks of the International Research and Exchange Board, also known by the catchy acronym, IREX.  Here, I serve as a member of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) team.  Currently, all of my work has been to support the Operations department in organizing the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship, a program that has been conducted since 2014 and aims to bring 1000 young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa to experience a summer of coursework at American universities in specialized fields all pertaining to some facet of sustainable development.  This is done in an attempt to empower the next generation of African leaders and promote economic and social development at a grassroots level.

As for my part, I had never realized how many moving parts exist in an international non-governmental organization.  Our team alone is comprised of nearly twenty incredibly proficient individuals, and there is still an immense amount of work that must be done by each of us to manage 1000 Fellows.  Considering that there are many other programs implemented by IREX, one can only imagine the complexity of such an organization and the synergy necessary to ensure that obligations are met and that programs are implemented smoothly.  Perhaps it is the high-stakes nature of working with such important programs with such ambitious goals that assist in the formulation of the aforementioned culture that I have begun to adapt.

It goes without saying, but my time in Washington D.C. thus far has been incredibly fulfilling.  Working with wonderful people certainly aids in process of acclamation.  However, I have found that many of the small changes that I have made in my daily routine coalesce in the constant pursuit of happiness and the staving off of time.  For example, riding a bike to work each day has therapeutic and physical benefits; access to museums and historic monuments opens up opportunities to acquire knowledge and understand history; living with impressive individuals doing equally important work is simply empowering; and proximity to politics affords chances to get involved and feel as if you are actually making a difference.  Admittedly, I am still unsure of where my time here will lead me, yet the confidence and happiness that I find in a simple day is evidence enough to convince me that I am headed in the right direction, towards a life of leadership and service, underpinned by tenets of truth and justice.  I anticipate a fulfilling summer with IREX and my fellow peers, and I can definitively say that it off to an amicable beginning.

About a week into my internship with Lutheran Services in America was when I had my first “CAPS Moment”. I am not sure if this is a real term, but I think it best describes a moment in which a CAPS fellow feels a deep sense of purpose in their called location. I began my internship on a Wednesday and those first few days at Lutheran Services in America were spent with lots of cursory research. My fellowship has a goal of researching the trends of the nonprofit sector, so I therefore began much like I would have begun if this was a research project at Valpo. I read widely and broadly about the nonprofit sector and the organization’s role in it using websites and  journal articles. Even though this was not a university setting but the real world, due to the similar processes my mindset was one of intellectual curiosity, not delving too much into the meaning behind the work. That was until the first Monday.

Within the first few hours of this day I got an offer from one of the supervisors to go with her and one of our member CEOs to a “Hill visit”. Lutheran Services in America acts as an umbrella to 300 Lutheran based nonprofit organizations around the world, working with them to provide financial assistance, advice, connections, etc. and ensuring these organizations are running well.  This CEO was one who had volunteered to advocate for the protection of Medicaid.

Myself, this CEO, our supervisor, Kim, and another intern, walked over to the Congressional offices. It was a supremely imposing building, both inside and out. We made it to the office of the representative we were visiting and got a sit down with one of his staff members. There I was, sitting on a regal couch in one of the offices of a member of Congress, sitting next to a CEO of an important social services organization, and sitting across from a well-dressed staff member. I suddenly felt very out of place and acutely aware that I was an intern who was not even out of college yet. What on earth was I doing here?! I became very self-conscious and awkward. What do I normally do with my limbs when sitting? Do I cross my legs or not? Is my shirt tucked in? Who do I look at?

Then the CEO began talking. He talked about the services his organization offered in its respective state and the incredible work they were doing. He discussed a few heartwarming stories about groups of siblings who found their way safely into loving foster families and whose lives were forever changed for the better by his organization. He also talked about how much his organization and those they serve, rely heavily on Medicaid.  Kim mentioned how much this affected, not just his constituents, but also the constituents of so many other organizations in the Lutheran Services network.

Sitting on that couch I received my CAPS moment. Suddenly, the work I was doing for this network was not just some other paper. All at once I realized, perhaps for the first time since I got there, the real extent to which this was indeed the real world, and the extent to which this work that I was doing could affect these people.

Please understand, I am under no delusions of grandeur that the report I will have written by the end of the summer will fix all of the growing issues in these programs. I realize that I, just a lowly intern and 19 year old undergrad, will of course not be able to fix all of these issues. But that didn’t really matter right then and there. What mattered was that I had, and have, an opportunity, just like that Congressman and his staff, and just like that CEO, to make a difference for people, however small it may end up being. I have a purpose here in DC.

I returned back to the office and sat down at my desk. I opened my laptop and continued my research, seemingly just like before. But, this time, I had a sense of purpose that this work matters and that I may be able to in some way make a difference.

 

I never thought I would have the opportunity to see Jesus’ face so many times this summer– until I was introduced to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC) at The Center in Donaldson. The Sisters reside at what they call “The Motherhouse” tripling as an apartment complex, an executive office, and a chapel. Next to The Motherhouse lies the Catherine Kasper nursing home and Catherine’s Cottage (a unit reserved for Sisters). About 2-3 times per week I make my way down to The Center in Donaldson with my boss, Terry, and the trip through the rural town seems more beautiful each time.

I serve on the development team at Ancilla Systems Incorporated (ASI) otherwise known as the administrative branch for the Poor Handmaids. Through my work here so far at ASI, I am beginning to realize that what seem like the smallest tasks still contribute to an incredible goal. Whether it be applying for grants, sending invitations, conducting interviews, or planning programs, each action has a tremendous purpose.

To elaborate on my tasks, I am currently planning a speaker program in September featuring Keynote Speaker and Chief Diversity Officer at Walgreens Corporation, Steve Pemberton. After growing up in an abusive  family within the foster system and working his way to success, Steve will be sharing his impactful story with childcare workers at the brunch in September. His story parallels backgrounds of children in one of the PHJC ministries, Nazareth Home. At Nazareth Home in East Chicago, child trauma victims aged 0-6 years old who must be placed in foster care find respite and much-needed medical care. Having been founded by Sister Kathleen Quinn of The Poor Handmaids, Nazareth Home is a haven for children who need constant nurturing and a tenacious, loving presence from caregivers who tirelessly give their efforts.

Another task I have been granted was helping with the fundraiser walk for Sojourner Truth House (STH), another PHJC ministry led and founded by Executive Director Sister Peg (also co-founded by Sisters Joan, Loretta, Kathleen, Ann, and Wilhelmina). Sojourner Truth House in Gary, a fantastically powerful non-profit organization, offers over 25 services to homeless women on a daily basis. From food and clothes to transportation, showers, and classes, women have the opportunity to return to a financially stable life once again. At the walk in Gary this past Saturday (6/11), I witnessed over 500 supporters give generously and without hindrance; raising almost $100,000 in donations to the ministry of STH.

I feel humbled to be doing this work. And my work, at times, feels miniscule compared to the Poor Handmaids, who devote their entire being to serving others. I am grateful, additionally, to have the opportunity to apply my understanding of health care to this position. Nearly a quarter of the sisters I have met currently dedicate or have dedicated their life to serving others in the clinical sphere and I will soon be interviewing them for PHJC fundraising appeals. I cannot wait to see the wealth of wisdom they hold and to hear about their work either within the country or internationally. The sisters here give effortlessly, love unconditionally, and serve others without a second thought. This position at ASI is already giving me more knowledge than I can contain and I am filled with joy knowing I have the opportunity to contribute to such a wonderful group known as the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.

Wooh, let me breath out and relax for a second; it’s been almost 2 weeks since I began my CAPS fellowship with Heartland Alliance’s Youth and Family Services (YFS) and each day has been a new, challenging, but most importantly exciting adventure. Let me retrace a few of steps to the beginning and get a running start (get ready for some running metaphors!) into some of the experience and takeaways that I’ve already experienced in my first two weeks as a CAPS Fellow.
 
 
First and foremost, what exactly have I been doing? Since you’ve taken the time to read this blog I feel you’re entitled to know what I’ve been up to, so let me explain. My primary role as an intern in the YFS division of Heartland Alliance is to work with other interns and staff to plan, coordinate and finally carry out “Summer Program”; a 6 week long day camp for newly settled refugee children ages 8-14 that runs from the beginning of July through the middle of August. So then it would follow that the month of June is sort of like a warm-up for when the race actually begins at the beginning of July. However, this warm-up is more like one of those warm-ups where you’ve decided to try something new every step of the way, and at first it seems like, “woah this is really scary!” and you don’t know what to do, but then you look around and realize that everyone around you is super awesome and passionate, loves the work that they’re doing, and genuinely wants to make the world a better place. Pretty much right away you settle in and think “man this is going to be a great run” and you start to feel comfortable excited in a really great new environment. That’s what working in YFS is like.
 
 
Currently YFS has a set of tasks we need to complete before Summer Program begins that range from organizing our supplies, creating binders for each of the locations where we pick up students, reaching out to families about participating, and everywhere in between. One of the big things I’ve taken out of this experience already is that in order to plan such a major event, like our summer program, is that there’s a whole lot of behind the scenes work that nobody realizes is absolutely vital for having a successful program. For example, as I’m writing this I’ve just finished a day where I spent a great deal of time reaching out to local restaurants and grocery stores for summer program snack donations (absolutely crucial to keep costs down as a non-profit) and talking with bus companies about transportation for one of our field trips during the program. What I’ve come to take away from all of this is that in order create something truly great, like our Summer Program will undoubtedly be, you’ve got to put the time in during training to have a winning product.
 
 

Running metaphors and pseudo-sports reference aside, there are a few things that have really struck me about this sort of really purposeful work that I’ve entered into. One, at the end of the day, when 5:00 rolls around, and the work day ends, it’s not at all the end of the day for the families coming through our office. While I get to go home at the end of the day to hangout and watch Netflix, the families who we work with don’t get to just check out from what happened during the day, because while this might just our work, it’s their whole lives. That’s the kind of thought that when it hits you makes you start to appreciate the incredible importance and purpose of this sort of work. Second, the people who work at Heartland Alliance, and organizations like it, are truly amazing human beings. Being surrounded by people who everyday live out the values of leadership and service is inspiring and really drives you to work harder and do good things. Lastly, pre-school children are absolutely adorable. Okay, everyone know that, but still. After spending just a few hours in the preschool room a few days okay I’ve had kids running up to me at my desk, with the biggest smiles, yelling “teacher, teacher”, and I think you can get the picture, it’s a pretty great feeling.
 
 

I think that’s where I’ll leave it for this time. I am super excited to continue my summer with Heartland Alliance’s Youth and Family Services, and I look forward to checking back in once we’ve started the race that is Summer Program. (Of course I was going to leave you with one more running metaphor!)

A few things I have learned as I start my CAPS Fellowship in Maryland:

1. I am capable of driving 13 hours straight.

2. Being a tourist in Washington, D.C. for a day and a half is exhausting. There is simply just too much to see and do that you ultimately cannot fit it into that kind of time frame. Good thing I have all summer to metro down to D.C. and explore!

3. Moving into a cottage provided by The Village at Rockville (TVAR) is exciting! You also get very creative when 3 girls get ready in a home with ONE bathroom.

4. Sometimes starting the washing machine is not as easy as pushing a button and you have to get creative with that as well (had to let the washer figure out its attitude first….).

5. When 3 girls walk into a restaurant looking utterly confused and clearly are first timers you just might get free bagel bites and a big piece of chocolate cake.

6. Attending a Welcome Cookout at your supervisor’s house the night before orientation with 4 other interns really puts butterflies at ease and shows you just how gracious and kind the staff are that you will be working with and for throughout the summer.

 
 
While some of those things are comical, moving out East for the summer has really allowed me to grow as a young adult (and that’s just been in the first week of living out here) and also excites me for my future professional career and the opportunities I have and will be given.

 
 

I started working in the office at TVAR on June 5^th so I have officially been in Maryland for one week. In this first week I have had the opportunity to attend two full days of orientation, learning much more about National Lutheran Communities and Services and the mission and values the organization functions by. NLCS’s mission of customer service focused care for residents at the community and constantly exploring new ways of further impacting and improving the surrounding community is inspiring. It motivates me to jump into projects and use my skills and knowledge to help them reach the goals they have set.

 
 
This past week, I have met numerous members of the leadership team both from corporate and also internally at The Village at Rockville. They are all so wonderful and so eager to assist me with projects and show me the ropes of the organization. I am starting to meet many of the residents who live in the community.

 
 
The favorite part of my day is walking upstairs and visiting with the residents on the memory care floor. There is so much history, wisdom, and stories that I lookforward to hearing from all the residents while I am here.

 

This summer I will have many opportunities both in nursing administration and in nursing care that each day will be full of learning and growing, and I am eager to reflect on those opportunities at the end of these 8 weeks in MD.

The Precision Medicine Initiative, am I a doctor? No, I’m a CAPS Fellow. My first few weeks interning at Venn Strategies have been many things. It has been challenging, informative, exhausting, and so much more. I have found myself working on issues that truly matter to the betterment of our society. One of these projects is the Precisions Medicine Initiative. The Precision Medicine Initiative is a program started under the Obama administration. It is designed to expand the scope of medical testing to traditionally underrepresented communities to design new treatments that take into account gender, ethnicity, and environment. The PMI has already changed the way in which certain cancers are treated. But what about me? I have never attended medical school, let alone been exposed to precision medicine. My role has been to help in a different way. I have been assigned to the team that has helped to roll out the Mobile Engagement Unit. The Mobile Engagement Unit is a bus that has been modified into a mobile testing center that will be driving around the country to get people involved in research for the project. A bulk of my work has been preparing logistics as the MEU will be traveling starting its trek across the country in August.

The CAPS Fellowship has given me the opportunity to explore the diverse nature of the DC area. My roommates have developed a plan to eat at a restaurant representing a different part of the world every Friday night. As I write this blog I am quite full after our Ethiopian food extravaganza. In the future we plan on sampling Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, and Mongolian, just to name a few. This an opportunity that is unique to Washington DC. Outside of London or New York, it is difficult to find such a diverse group of foreign diaspora living in one place.

These two experiences are a mere sampling of the activities I have taken part in during my first few weeks in Washington that have facilitated the introspective nature of CAPS. I have found myself reflecting deeply on what my future will look like. For a long time I did not know whether I would pursue something in the non-profit sector or something business related. I had always held the two as distinctly different. I have seen through CAPS and my time that Venn Strategies that despite the fact that is not a non-profit, the work we do is changing the lives of those in America the better. There is a phrase written on one of the walls in the office that says, “act like the work you do matters, it does.” This phrase describes how I feel when I go into work every day. Whether it is helping the Precision Medicine Initiative or researching infrastructure improvement, I have learned that work in policy can truly be fulfilling work and give a purpose for getting out of bed each day. I look forward to the rest of my time at Venn Strategies and the rest of the CAPS Fellowship.

I wandered through the stairways and hallways of the center, I was given the task to find three things that stand out to me in the Harrison Center for the Arts from my supervisor. Art hangs on every wall; while, materials and supplies are stacked and ready to be turned into something new. It is a creative’s dream.
 
 

The building itself is old and shows its past through many periods of renovation and additions. Rooms vary from cinder block to brick to limestone. As one room is utilized for gallery or event space, the next will be an artist’s den filled with their work and supplies. There are old wood floors that transition to concrete with paint marks showing marks of the artists here. It feels like a maze in which each corner leads to something new. However, the building serves the purpose to house the artist’s space and their work as well as give a space for the community to gather and be inspired by art. The art covers the walls and amplifies the variety of textures and materials within this place. I sit in front of a painted copper piece while I recall the pieces I passed made with oil paint, beeswax, collage, wood, and more. These textures of the building and the art develop a sense of collectivity. It is a place where different talents and stories combine to create the atmosphere of the center.
 
 

It’s evident that this buildings has delivered a place that many artists find the freedom to create, the ability to try new things, and have instant feedback from the large community within the center. They art can be hung in any open space. The floors can get messy, and whimsical additions can be added to the cracks (as little wire men are found around the center helping ‘fix’ it up).

 
 

You can walk through this place and feel inspired, challenged by new ideas, and joyful because of all that surrounds you.

 
 

This place has developed into a center for continuous production and creation, and I have gotten the chance to experience and partake in this activity. Working here, you do not stay on one consistent assignment, as there are many going on at one time. In my first two weeks I have researched the history of pea shake houses and mortuaries to see their roles in a neighborhood that we are working in. I have interviewed an artist and resident of the community to hear his stories of the place. I have written blog posts and done more research finding clever ways of bringing art into neighborhoods. Eight other interns have arrived at the Harrison Center since I came, and we each are finding our place in the beautiful commotion of this place.

 
 

We have worked together to create a wall of butterflies with the neighborhood’s hopes and dreams written on them. This coming week we are planning to make yarn and leaf luminaires outdoors in another neighborhood. These project may seem simple, but they have connected us with these neighborhoods and have made people curious. And these are only several parts of my internship! It has already taught me so much and has given me an incredible community in which I get to work. I am very excited for whatever the next months have in store for me and this place!

 

 

-Regan Weber

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fully packed car that went from Fort Wayne to Rockville. The first two things that occurred to me when signing up for this blog were: 1) I really should sign up to do this blog at the same time my roommate does her blog so that I remember to do so! and 2) This blog follows my first week… that’ll be easy. I can talk about all the things I that I have learned.           The first point was perfect because I nearly forgot, and the second point was more difficult than I originally thought. It’s not because I haven’t learned anything, but because I have learned so much.  I have been inundated with information.  This information is both overwhelming and also thrilling.  I have felt the rush of wanting to dig into my project as well as the… “where do I even start?” feeling.  As one of the three fellows residing at The Village at Rockville (TVAR), the experience has already proven to be the start of an incredible fellowship. We have the privilege of living on the campus in one of the independent living cottages. Not only does that make for a great conversation starter, but ironically, two former CAPS fellows live across the street from us as well. We have been abundantly welcomed to the community. Not only have we had a chance to try out the local favorite eating spots, but we are also being exposed to a growing community that is taking steps to expand and flourish.           Our first week has been jam packed with things to get us oriented and acquainted with the community.  We completed a two day new staff orientation. We learned policies, safety, and what it means to be a team member at this organization. The rest of the week has been spent with Jason Gottschalk, the executive director, and Cyndi Walters, the COO, and many other members of the TVAR family.  The meetings we have attended have allowed us to meet and  get to know other leaders as well as introduce us to potential projects.  We have spent downtime researching various projects in order to hone in on the one or two that interests us the most.  We have also spent a great deal of time exploring the building and getting our bearings! Katie, Michelle, and I at Billy Goat Trail.           Outside of the office, my cottage-mates and I have encountered many of what we refer to as: “cottage lessons”.  Basically, they are pretty much life lessons we have come across as we adjust to living in Maryland. Some of these lessons are funny stories such as putting clothes in the dryer first as opposed to the washer.    Others are slightly more serious like visiting the minute clinic at the local CVS which is open 7 days a week.  This came in handy after an encounter with poison ivy.  Katie, Michelle, and I know that there are probably a thousand more cottage lessons we will encounter before our time here comes to a close.         The excitement I have for the upcoming adventures in both Rockville and D.C. is immeasurable.  We are set up for a summer of career growth, learning, leadership, great food, and memories.  I’ve never been so thrilled to be part of such an inspiring organization.   A picture of the scenery we saw while hiking.

It’s already been a whirlwind time here in Indianapolis. From moving in during the biggest racing weekend known to man (the Indy 500 for those who are not car inclined) to starting my internship with Charitable Allies to learning the logistics of this beautiful, vibrant city, it’s been a challenge. What I was not expecting, though, was the largely impactful beginning to my time in Mooresville, the town that currently houses Charitable Allies. CA is itself a nonprofit law firm that represents nonprofit organizations through not only the formation process but also educational and administrative support, training, and legal services. Charitable Allies works to see nonprofits through various obstacles whether that is simply filing for tax-exempt status, working better with their board of directors, or being present in court for various legal needs.
 
 

When I first arrived at my internship, I was tasked with updating the website for not only Charitable Allies but also for my site supervisor’s other firm. This firm in particular focuses on Adoption law, interstate and international. Within the first week of me being in the office, an international adoption case blew up and my supervisor was flying to the east coast to participate in an emergency hearing. It was incredible. I was watching him and our office’s paralegal furiously finish all of the required paperwork in order to help the client.
 
 

Through this hectic situation, I realized just how fast paced real time can be. In the working world, things have to get done in an instant and they have to be done correctly. There is no margin of error in the law and Charitable Allies and the work that they are doing has shown this to me. I hear legal jargon thrown around like it’s water cooler talk and I watch the printer spit out hundreds of sheets of paper per one case. Working with a group that splits their time between the nonprofit sector and the adoption law world has shown me just how important it is to be versatile in the world of law. Of course a firm itself tends to focus on one, maybe two different types of law, but as an individual it is imperative to be ready for whatever is thrown at you.
 
 

My supervisor woke up that morning not knowing that he would have to file emergency paperwork with a court in a different state; he probably expected to wake up and grab a cup of coffee before heading into the office. This is what I mean by being versatile. Cases can move at the speed of light, similar to the way life can. One second you’re prepared to do one thing and the next second you’re accomplishing something you never thought possible. If CAPS has taught me anything so far, it’s to be completely open minded to anything that an internship may throw at you. Even if you are not directly doing the work, just watching the others in the office tackle a situation far larger than themselves can be a learning experience. Taking the time to truly analyze and pay attention to your surroundings in an office space can change the way you look at the world around you.

I started my college career at Valparaiso University as a Spanish and Secondary Education major, but through the various experiences I’ve had over the last four years, I’ve discovered a calling to teach English to speakers of other languages. I’ve spent years in TESOL and education classes and countless hours in the classroom working with elementary and middle school English learners, so a CAPS fellowship in this field seemed like a logical next step in learning to apply what I’ve learned in the “real world”. This summer, my internship in Chicago with the English Language Training department of Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services will give me a glimpse of another branch of what I am now exploring as my vocation.
 
 

Over the past five days, I have learned about assisting in adult English classes, filing paperwork, inputting data, testing new participants, and making coffee. Assisting with English classes is how I spend the biggest chunk of my day, and it is the best overall description of what I do, but making the coffee is arguably my most important task, depending on whom you ask. All jokes aside though, it is nice to feel like I am contributing to this organization. I enjoy data input and find filing to be relaxing, and the tasks will save my supervisor and the other English teachers a few hours of their time. Besides learning about my daily responsibilities, the experiences I have had at Heartland have already taught me more about myself than I expected this early on in the summer.
 
 

The position I am in now is much more relaxed than what I experienced as a student teacher. Students come and go from class as needed to go to appointments and get one-on-one help from tutors, and they frequently speak to one another in their native languages during class. While this commotion was hard for me to adjust to during my first few hours of observations, I have come to appreciate the environment in ELT classes. I have learned to go with the flow of this new style of classroom, and it works well for the participants. The students and teachers all enjoy themselves during class, and the students are there because they want to learn! They frequently express their thanks to me, the teachers, and the other volunteers at the end of a lesson, which is a welcome change from most high school students’ attitudes.
 
 

I have also learned to be much more outgoing and friendly! Well, I’m working on it. The environment that Heartland employees create in the office is similar to the atmosphere that exists in the classrooms. Coworkers always greet one another with a smile and by name. It is so refreshing to be in such a positive place every day. Even as a relative newcomer, I can tell that the people there really care about what they do. I can only hope that by the end of the summer, I will have adopted this passionate and welcoming attitude. I may be teaching English lessons, but the people I interact with every day are teaching me to be a better person.

As the first CAPS Fellow to officially start her placement, I am already entering my third week at my placement site. I work at Heartland Alliance Refugee and Immigrant Community Services under their Resettlement & Placement department in Chicago, which works with refugees and immigrants during their first 90 days in the country. I entered the experience 3 weeks ago both excited and nervous to work with a population I have never worked with before, and in not knowing completely what to expect, I tried my best to keep my mind open.
 
 
On day 1, I was already diving in head-first. Within the first half hour, I was on my way to visiting a refugee’s home with my supervisor to make sure they felt properly accommodated. By day 4, I was conducting these home visits on my own, without supervision. The general pace and dynamic of the office seems to be “Do first, learn after.” My supervisor would send me on errands with the refugees – such as applying for food stamps and social security cards, obtaining a State ID, and teaching them the public transit routes – with little to no prior instruction, and then sit down with me to debrief and teach me the process. Hands-on is my favorite way to learn, and I love not having to sit at a desk all day, but even the people most fit for this kind of work would find it overwhelming at first. I’ll spend three hours with a Syrian refugee family resolving their State ID processing issues at the DMV and be greeted at the door upon my return by a young Burmese man who needs to be taken to the bank immediately to open a bank account. Most of my tasks are stacked directly on top of each other, and they sometimes even overlap.
 
 
The fast pace is definitely overwhelming at first, yet the most difficult aspect of this position, I’ve learned, is the language barrier. Refugees come to us speaking languages I’ve never even heard of before starting at Heartland: Rohingya, Tigrinya, Oromo, and so on. We have translators available in the office and over the phone, but speaking through a translator in itself is an art form that takes practice. Even speaking English now takes much more thought and deliberation; I must make sure I am speaking clearly and slowly enough for a refugee who speaks little English to understand, and I have to catch myself from using American figures of speech that they may not recognize. It has definitely reinforced the fact that having foreign language experience is crucial in this field (I suppose it’s common sense, but now I’ve experienced it first-hand). I’m trying to learn common words and phrases in each major language used by our participants, and I plan to take some foreign language classes as electives when I start graduate school in the fall.
 
 
Despite all of the overwhelming pace, stress, and sometimes frustration of the position, I come home every evening feeling a sense of fulfillment. All of my energy may be spent, but I know I spent it on directly helping and supporting a population that needs it desperately, especially in the current political climate. I think back to the many heartwarming experiences I’ve had so far – when an Eritrean refugee considered me enough of a friend to share with me his poetry and songs about his horrible experiences before escaping, when a Syrian woman tried to teach me Arabic and spent the whole train ride home telling me about Ramadan while her husband took my hand and smiled in gratitude for my company, when a Burmese family invited me to sit on their only couch and offer me hospitality while the 4-year-old daughter shouted the English words she knew with a smile – that make it all worth it. I know I have a purpose to dedicate my life in service to God’s most vulnerable children, and although I’m not convinced that this exact line of work is for me, I know that this summer, I am doing the work God has called me to do. I look forward to all of the growing and learning yet to come. Now that I am (finally) not alone in the city anymore and almost all of the other Chicago CAPS Fellows have arrived, I am excited to do that growing and learning alongside a community of peers that truly feel like home. Here’s to an amazing rest of the summer!

Two Saturday’s ago, I left the comfort of my home (and bed) to make the trek to Indianapolis to start at ArtMix—a new, albeit short, chapter in my emerging adult life. While I was sad to cut my time short with friends and family, I was extremely excited to get going on this new adventure. At this point, we have likely all moved ourselves in or out of a space at least once—not the most fun part of the experience. Nevertheless, I packed the next nine weeks into one car and headed south. I am extremely fortunate that my parents and two best friends were spirited and supportive enough to help move me in; that made the transition much easier. From there, I said my goodbyes and looked around at what is now my space for the next nine weeks.
 
 

As quickly as I found myself moved into the apartment, my roommate Kate moved in. A few days later, my third roommate Regan joined us. If there is anything I have learned in the past week, it is that this experience would be drastically incomplete without people to come home and vent to. Whether it be about a terrible night’s sleep, first-day jitters, or exciting accomplishments, my roommates are proving to be vital resources in my reflection process. It may be our unique and laid-back dynamic, but I consider myself living with friends rather than having roommates. We give each other an open space to say everything there is to say about our days—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and quickly found genuine solace in having people who listen and engage.
 
 

On top of all of this, there is also a social component to the experience that cannot be overlooked. While I am here to embark on a new professional journey, I am also simultaneously and inseparably creating a social life with my roommates and with Indianapolis itself. I will say that the transition from small town to city is not a necessarily easy one—it’s surprisingly easy for the logistics of parking and one-ways and finding a grocery store to put a damper on diving into a city’s culture. As I reflect on the obstacles I have encountered trying to make Indy my place, I realize it is more an illustration of the growth I have yet to do as a person rather than the limitations of Indianapolis itself.
 
 

My first week at ArtMix has been relatively eventful; I have learned quite a great deal about the organization, the upcoming events and future plans, and the staff. One of my first tasks was to memorize the company’s mission: ArtMix transforms the lives of people with disabilities through the creation of art. This is, in a nut shell, what the organization does. Beneath that umbrella, there are many programs, events, and opportunities ArtMix organizes that helps them optimize their commitment to that mission. ArtMix provides community art classes, paid internships to young adults of all abilities that work on vocational skills through the production of art, and more. A large part of what I have been working on so far deals with outreach and development, including designing advertisements for an upcoming fundraiser, cross-checking donor and email lists, and placing phone calls to previous attendees at fundraisers to elicit their continued support. Through these tasks I have already gotten a large taste for what it means to be a nonprofit, from fundraising to community development to directly engaging with those we serve. I’m also getting the opportunity to be surrounded by art and artists every day, which I am so grateful for! There is a lot coming up quickly at my internship, but the staff is very supportive of myself and everyone around them, so I’m confident the coming weeks will be equally as rewarding as they are challenging–that’s the goal!