Surprising just how fast a month can go! In my earlier post, I had just finished working with a veterans event in which I got to see amazing people beating all kinds of adversity. In talking with everyone, they all seemed so happy to be pushing themselves to such a high bar and it felt really cool to see them as I was handing out water and sandwiches to people who wanted any. Life did not slow down, as on the week of the 5th, the American Red Cross opened up a shelter in Merrillville to help with a condemned apartment building. It was open for a few days and not a lot of people used it, but the important thing is that the Red Cross was there ready to help people if they needed it. The next week was less hectic: doing some admin work and planning to teach about […]

It has been over a month since I started interning at The Bridge Teen Center and I have loved this experience so far. I was drawn to The Bridge because of the work they do in the community they are a part of which happens to be the one I live in! The founder, Priscilla, felt called to make a place for teens in Orland Park and this summer, it celebrated its 13th birthday. The Bridge provides free programs for students in grades 7th-12th and the programs allow them to develop holistically in five ‘buckets’: community connections, educational support, everyday life, expressive arts, and mind/body. These programs allow students to learn more about themselves. There are also Friday Night Live programs which are every other Friday and these are where students can hangout and have fun throughout the entirety of The Bridge space. The first Friday event was the celebration […]

It’s a busy time at Concordia Place! The 3rd Annual Golf Outing is under a month away, and I’ve enjoyed creating content all about it. The Annual Golf Outing happens each summer and is a fantastic fundraising event for Concordia Place.  Participants can decide if they’d like to play as an individual or foursome, and their registration fees become funds for the organization.  My latest project has consisted of making a series of raffle prize reveal posts. There are all sorts of exciting experiences, items and excursions raffle participants have the potential to win. My latest reveal post was for two Xtreme Xperience Full Throttle Passes. Xtreme Xperience is a company that offers all sorts of race track experiences and thrills. This Full Throttle package consists of unlimited in-car videos, digital photos, spectator pit passes and a t-shirt.  To post the graphics I create, I use a website called Constant […]

This experience for me has truly been life-changing. I have met many wonderful people and have crafted memories that will last a lifetime. So far in this internship, I have received invaluable information and wisdom that I will carry into my future career in healthcare administration. On June 7th, I was able to participate in an engagement event in the Altgeld community in Chicago.  I was able to share information with children and parents about By the Hand Club for Kids and provide them with fruits and organic popsicles that were both delicious and nutritious. The children loved them! BTH is highly geared towards providing kids with nutritious food options and I am very blessed that I was able to be a part of serving them. Another project I am working on is making sure that every child visits the dentist and eye doctor at least once a year. At […]

On my first day about a month ago, I was welcomed to HealthLinc by people with open arms and smiling faces who all had at least one thing in common: a passion for service. HealthLinc is a non-profit community health center with several clinic locations across northwest Indiana. HealthLinc provides quality, affordable healthcare through a variety of health services. While their services are for everyone, they mainly cater to underserved populations. They do this by identifying barriers between patients and their health such as finances or transportation and work to break down those barriers. Serving nearly 30,000 patients, HealthLinc’s impact is undeniable. Although direct treatment of patients is helpful, disease prevention is more effective for population health, but is often overlooked. One of the ways HealthLinc is able to augment disease prevention is through grant-based programs. A couple of these projects that I am currently working with are Food as Medicine […]

Going to Girl Scout camp was always a special experience. In elementary school, we would pack up our cars after school let out and drive to one of the nearby Girl Scout-owned camps. We usually ended up in a creaky old cabin that we would try to convince one another was haunted, but I’m sure I was the only one who was ever actually scared by the ghost stories. Nevertheless, I have fond memories of hiking, doing crafts, and getting to spend time with my friends. I hadn’t thought about Girl Scout camp in a long time, until I heard about Shirley Heinze Land Trust. When I found out that their headquarters are at Meadowbrook Nature Preserve in Valpo, I instantly had flashbacks to camping trips there with my troop. We stayed in various cabins on the property and loved hiking on the trails there. I was beyond excited to […]

I’ve officially been working for Concordia Place for a couple weeks, and am already so grateful for this experience! One thing that I’ve really enjoyed so far has been seeing how all of my different past work experiences have transferred to this role. This position has truly involved applying a culmination of many of the skills I’ve gained within my work as a Communications Intern for Valpo’s Office of Admissions, Student Engagement Ambassador for Student Life, and Photographer for Integrated Marketing and Communications.  Not only this, but as Director of Catering for Valpo Dance Marathon, much of my time was spent reaching out to restaurants and companies for potential donation requests. Now, within my work as an Advancement Intern for Concordia Place, I am reaching out to a variety of businesses to see if they may be interested in donating items for Concordia Place’s 3rd Annual Golf Outing which will […]

Going into the CAPS Fellowship, I was looking forward to something that would challenge me. There were lots of great options, however, after interviewing with Shannon from Heartland Alliance Health’s Care Coordination program and hearing about their mission and work, I knew that this experience would push my learning in a necessary direction. The field of social work is designed to uplift those most vulnerable in our society to achieve a sense of wellbeing, and I realized that I had never traveled much outside of my “bubble” of studying social work in Northwest Indiana to devoting care and time towards the needs of refugees and immigrants. As someone who aims to amplify diversity, equity, and inclusion, I felt that I still have a lot to learn about cross-cultural experiences.  I was also hoping for more first-hand experience with social services, and with work designed to support others in navigating systems […]

This summer I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve at the Grünewald Guild in Leavenworth, Washington.  What initially drew me to the Guild was their emphasis on community. The Guild has been a central hub focused on community and fellowship even before it was founded by Richard and Liz Caemmerer. The Guild was built out of an old Grange Hall that was used as a place to host community events such as markets, dances, town hall meetings, and anything that had to do with the community as a whole. The Caemmerers bought the Grange Hall after it had been left abandoned and created a non-profit that focuses on the facilitation of community through art and faith practices. The Guild hosts various programs throughout the summer that align with this focus. Through my conversations with those who regularly visit the Guild, I come to realize how many lives the […]

The experience has already turned out to be one that I will never forget! Working with the American Red Cross has been nothing short of amazing and a lot of new knowledge! Did you know that the American Red Cross has five lines of service? They are Disaster Relief, or helping out after a home fire, tornado, or even hurricanes. Blood Services, which are blood drives and assisting hospitals with clean blood for transfusions. Service to the Armed Forces, or helping soldiers and their families. Training and Certification, or teaching classes like Hands-only CPR. And finally, International Services, or helping other countries with their Red Crosses, or going to countries that don’t have an established branch set up yet. I have had the honor of being part of the Disaster Action Team, or DAT for short. This team is responsible for helping out with local disasters; mainly being home fires […]

I started my internship the week of May 22nd and was instantly greeted with enthusiasm by all the people working at LSA (Lutheran Services in America). The first week I was doing everything remotely since I did not have keys or card access to the building yet, so I was doing most of my introductions and beginning work over zoom. Susan set me up with introductory meetings with every member of LSA and then encouraged me to get involved with projects based on my own personal interests. Instantly, I was given a ton of opportunities to engage with the various kinds of work LSA does. The first thing I got to do was sit in on an interview between LSA and one of its members focused on providing a home care facility with a series of amenities on the ground floor and living units on the floors above it. LSA […]