I was given a tour of a normal looking office building, with tall grey cubicles and sounds of fingers steadily typing in the distance. With the pandemic, only a handful of employees are actually in the office. My lovely supervisor brings me around, introducing me, and I try not to show my nervousness. Amongst the chaos of this year, this is the most new people I have met in a really long time. At one point, I say thank you to someone after introducing myself, and I think about it for the next few days hoping she doesn’t remember how awkward I was. I have to remind myself this is part of the process, and it is okay. 

At this point in my experience, I have been with Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) for three-ish full weeks, but it feels so much longer. I have the mission statement stuck in my head, and remember to consider it in everything that I do (hence the title). I have met everyone and no one at the same time. I have conducted interviews, written articles, and created flyers and social media posts that will be then sent to the rest of the company. I feel useful. I feel connected in what I’m doing. There are times where it’s difficult to feel like I’m a part of something bigger, working half at home and half in the office. But as soon as I hear a “they really liked what you did” or being mentioned in a staff meeting, I realize how worth it it is. Everyone I have met at LSSI so far has only admiration for their place within the organization and their fellow employees. It’s inspiring. It’s a great work environment to be a part of. We have weekly coffee chats in the morning, my preferred choice of drink is apple juice, and it’s an informal way to get information out to the team. This has been especially important during remote working, and it has been a great way for me to put some names to faces over emails. 

Last week I visited one of the facilities that they are shooting a Youtube virtual tour of, and it was great. After talking with our tour guide, I recognized what sacrifices non-profit organizations have to make in order to do their job well, consistently well. My supervisor took note of some things that need fixing, hoping to bring it to her people and get a donor who could contribute. I loved seeing that initiative take place. Constantly thinking of others and potential solutions. 

With COVID-19, facilities are a little more hesitant to offer tours or meet and greets. Working with the communication and advancement team is exciting because I get to talk to lots of different people across the organizations, taking the time to learn about many different programs, as opposed to being in one branch. Throughout this experience, I’m recognizing how much I like being backstage to the operation, versus being completely hands-on. There’s potential for opportunities where I could be a little more hands-on and compare, that I’m looking forward to. I’m very grateful for the social media and graphics experience I am receiving, because it lets me explore my creative side in a productive way. 

There is so much potential to be had and I can only gain new and exciting learning experiences from here.