Over the summer, I’ve attended various online meetings with Community Renewal Society (CRS) staff as well as staff and volunteers from other organizations with a social justice focus. Although each of these meetings was important, there is one meeting in particular that stands out to me. This was a meeting that was hosted by CRS staff in light of recent acts of gun violence in Chicago. During this meeting, a coworker shared with all the meeting participants his gratitude for his breath and ability to be present at the meeting and in a space that welcomes conversation and change. I find that from this meeting and my internship overall, I also have a newly developed gratitude, not only for the blessing of breath but also for the opportunities CRS has provided me. I’ve recognized that while advocacy may be demanding at times, it is a privilege to be able to […]

This has certainly been an amazing experience! I knew that the CAPS program was special, but I could never have foreseen just how much of an impact my time at The Bridge Teen Center would have on me. Now that I’m just one short week away from the end of my internship, I feel that this is an excellent time to reflect on what I’ve learned about myself as a person during the past three months. Before I joined the CAPS program, I had never taken much time to think about what the words “calling” and “purpose” mean as they apply to my life and career. Having reflected on the work I’ve done at The Bridge, I have come to define “calling” as the external force that draws you toward a particular line of work and “purpose” as your internal driving force, i.e., the reason why you are drawn to […]

Like many other students during the 2022 spring semester, I began wondering what my summer would look like. I started applying for internships and jobs, and I was offered a job I was more than content with. I was then advised by someone I value very much that I wasn’t living up to my full potential. Honestly, I was not happy about that; I had my summer planned and I was now being told that I needed a whole new plan. Nevertheless, after a lot of reflection both internally and externally I decided to put myself in an uncomfortable situation. I turned down the position and started applying for new opportunities. When I began my search I honestly had no idea which ones I would be accepted for or if I would receive any of them, but that’s not the confession… Truthfully I had not given much hope to the […]

As the summer comes to a close, it is now time to wrap up projects that I have been working on as an intern in the advancement department at Concordia Place. Since my last blog post, I have done a lot of short term projects and a couple of long term projects. One of the highlights from a short term project that I worked on was creating flyers for a gala that Concordia Place is having in November. While I was creating the flyers, I surprised myself because I didn’t think that making flyers would be something that I would enjoy. I actually put flyer making as the last thing for me to do on my to-do list, ironically. I had no idea that I would like it so much! I loved being creative and being able to create different looks to advertise the gala.  Additionally, in relation to the […]