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 take place this upcoming July. Not only will participants have a day full of fun, food and golf, but the donated merchandise and gift certificates from various sponsors will be part of the outing’s raffle. This helps a lot with day of fundraising! 

One thing in particular I have had a pleasure doing is providing input for Concordia Place’s social media. Just last week, I presented a short slideshow to my CAPS advisor about ideas of how to best utilize platforms such as Tik Tok, Youtube and Instagram. I also explained how Capcut, a video editing app, can be used to create quick and relatively easy videos, especially when it comes to keeping up with the latest Tik Tok trends. I am excited to see their online accounts grow and engagement increase! 

I’ve been so inspired the more I learn about Concordia Place’s missions and vision, and the impact that it has had on the Chicago community. I’ve gotten to know more about different programs that are offered, including the Teen Leadership program. This program offers teens a handful of different ways to develop their skills during their high school summer break. They can learn about anything from entrepreneurship to culinary activities and even sales and marketing practices by running their own skincare business. One of my favorite initiatives my advisor told me about was the home delivery program they started just a couple years ago, which involves dropping off necessary supplies for new parents right in their homes. This helps provide them with important things to take care of their babies like diapers. 

One thing unique about my CAPS experience is that it is completely remote. While I am sad that I miss some of the in-person events and more face-to-face interactions with my coworkers, something I have enjoyed recently has been working outside in the summer sun. I roll my yoga mat out on my patio, fill up my Starbucks tumbler with some lemon water and get to work! I cannot wait to continue my CAPS Fellowship and am so excited about my placement at Concordia Place! This is a professional experience, but I know I am developing so much holistically as an individual as well.

– Maiah Deogracias, Concordia Place

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 in the U.S. that were never really designed to accommodate everyone. I need to be an active ally, and a team that focuses on case management work for refugees and immigrants with a focus on mental health is a space for me to practice doing so- especially through a learners perspective, trauma informed lens, and strengths based model, which are emphasized on this team. 

I already have learned so much from this experience and from the team I have been working with. For one, the case workers at my site exemplify what it means to foster a positive team environment. Each of them come from different cultural backgrounds, most of them immigrants themselves, and each of the four of them speak more languages combined than I can count on two hands. They use these differences to work collaboratively as a team, and to support one another and a wide range of participants from all around the world. The people they serve are referred to as “participants,” as everyone involved in the program acts as a collaborator towards common goals, rather than contributing to a hierarchy of power. You get the feel through the everyday interactions of this team that their work is really a work of heart: they put in the effort because they know that it provides neighbors in their communities with tools and support through their challenges.

I will also mention that I somehow hadn’t given much consideration to the following prior to this experience: case managers work with participants so that they have what they need to maintain a good quality of life on their own. However, mental illness is often chronic and an ongoing part of a person’s whole life. Further, if you were born in the U.S. and native English-speaking, consider how confusing the programs that you or someone you know relies on are, such as the medical system, legal system, and public aid-and now imagine the layers of difficulty that would be added if you are new to the U.S. and English is not your first language. Especially given the trauma refugees and immigrants face, discrimination, and overall difficulty of navigating the U.S., the reality is that it is hard for participants in this program to reach the point of comfortably and confidently ending their services with the Care Coordination Team. Cases are typically longer here than is typical for social work, and this creates an added stressor for the program, as financial supporters for the nonprofit only will fund a case for a certain amount of time. 

I’m so lucky to be collaborating with such an incredible team this summer, and am feeling inspired and challenged by the team I have become a part of for the next few weeks. I can say that I am actively learning, both professionally and personally from my experiences. I am participating in activities such as shadowing professionals, hearing the stories of participants and their unfathomable resilience and challenge, performing administrative tasks, coordinating appointments and special events, accompanying participants, and staying curious as to how I can play a role in uplifting others.

– Cylia Srmek, Heartland Alliance Health

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 Guild, as well as the Caemmerer family, have touched and changed for the better. 

While I have been busy with various tasks that range from sorting yarn to scanning historical documents, I have had plenty of time to explore the nature that surrounds the Guild campus. A mile down from campus, right across the walking bridge, the small town of Plain resides. There are three main shops; a grocery store, a cafe, and a hardware store that is more reminiscent of a curiosity shop than a Lowes (they sell the best espresso that I have ever had, genuinely life-changing). I’ve visited Leavenworth which is a Bolivian-themed town that has wonderful “made in the cascade” ice cream. I have even been able to hang out at a campground by Lake Wenatchee that was infested with the most persistent mosquitoes I have ever encountered. 

One aspect of the Guild that I have found inspiring is the director’s portrayal of leadership. There are two co-directors that run the Guild, Julia Hubbard and Chance Voigt. They have their hands in everything from administrative duties to serving on dish team to gardening. Their leadership style is truly centered around service. They have a team mentality and consistently make sure that everyone feels supported and heard through weekly team check-ins. Their weekly check-ins with staff and volunteers allow for phenomenal communication. They aim to use everyone’s strengths while also pushing them to grow by giving them the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and try new things, continuously offering support as they go. I have the privilege of living at the Guild this summer which means I have had the opportunity to spend time with them both in professional as well as more leisurely settings. Having been around them in both settings, I have realized that there is an authenticity that comes with their leadership. They don’t change who they are depending on who they are interacting with, they stay consistently themselves. That is a trait I admire and hope to reflect in whatever professional environment I end up in the future. 

While my time at the Grünewald Guild has been short, I have already experienced an immense amount. I anticipate that once summer programming starts, I will begin to encounter firsthand the magic of the Guild.

– Erin Murphy, Grünewald Guild