When I first walked onto the grounds at Camp Lakeside, I thought I understood what “inclusion” meant. I’d read about it in textbooks, discussed it in classes, nodded along in lectures about equity and access. I did not understand it. Not really. Not until I spent my days alongside campers ages seven to twenty, all with different abilities, different ways of moving through the world, different ways of telling me who they were.

Camp Lakeside serves children and young adults of all abilities, and my job, on paper, was to support programming, help run activities, and be an extra set of hands wherever the day needed one. In practice, my job became something much harder to put into a job description, paying attention, really paying attention. To the camper who communicates through a device instead of speech, and who lights up the exact same way anyone does when you actually wait for their answer instead of rushing to fill the silence. To the small shift in a kid’s behavior that tells you a transition is about to be hard before it happens. To the parents who drop their children off each morning carrying a particular kind of hope that today will be a good day.

I won’t pretend every day was easy. Some days things felt completely out of my reach, unsure if I was helping or getting in the way, second-guessing whether I was doing right by the kids I was there to support. But the challenge itself has been some of the best teaching I’ve received in any college course. It forced me to slow down. It forced me to ask instead of assume. It forced me to notice how much of “normal” is really just a narrow definition that most of us happen to fit inside, and how much work and joy there is in building spaces where that definition gets wider.

This experience has sat right in the middle of the questions I came into this fellowship still attempting to answer, questions about purpose, about calling, about what kind of work actually feels like mine. I used to think “purpose” would announce itself clearly, like a sign lighting up over one specific career path. What I’m learning instead is that purpose might be less about a title and more about an attitude. A willingness to show up, pay close attention, and let people teach you who they are rather than deciding in advance who they should be. Camp Lakeside has been full of people doing exactly that: staff who’ve been there for years and still approach every camper with curiosity instead of routine, supervisors who model patience in a way I want to carry with me long after this summer ends.

I think what surprised me most is how much of this work is really about advocacy in small, unglamorous moments — repeating something a camper said so the group hears it, adjusting an activity on the fly so no one is left watching from the sidelines, noticing who hasn’t been asked their opinion yet and asking them. None of it looks dramatic. All of it matters.

I came to this internship hoping to learn something about disability, equity, and camp programming. I’m leaving it having learned just as much about myself, how I listen, where my patience runs thin, what it looks like to advocate for someone quietly and consistently rather than loudly and once. I don’t think I’ve arrived at an answer to what my “calling” is. But I think I understand a little better what it feels like when the work you’re doing is actually asking something real of you. Camp Lakeside has asked a lot of me this summer. I’m grateful for every bit of it.

Grace Vaughn, Camp Lakeside

Being about 6 weeks into interning at Save the Dunes, I have further integrated myself into the experience and have had so many highlights that have shaped me this summer. In any environment, it can be difficult to pinpoint where you might fit in, like one puzzle piece out of a thousand fitting into its correct place. This was something that had been on the back of my mind before having acclimated to my new environment. I thought that being in a workplace environment, I had to have one specific role. I have realized, though, throughout my experience, I don’t necessarily need to have “my place”; I can have many, and this is something that I have extensively enjoyed. One of my favorite aspects of my internship has been this kind of discovery. I have been offered several different opportunities, a number of opportunities to assist on projects that are not all one and the same. Working on projects that touch on a variety of different spheres allows me to use and develop skill sets across a wide field.

One of the most educational projects I assisted in working on was researching data centers -municipality ordinances that mention regulations for them, such as zoning, requirements, meeting certain environmental stipulations, etc. This was such an eye-opening experience, as I
did not know much about data centers or their role and place within communities. The process
wasn’t just beneficial due to educating myself, as I was enlightened to so many new terminologies and the fact that data centers can go by many names – data storage facility, data processing center, etc., but also, this research I worked on with my fellow intern will be used by
the organization in regards to data center bills being passed and for future work and advocacy
purposes.

Pivoting from this, I have also assisted in creating social media posts for boosting community
engagement and interest surrounding one of Save the Dunes’ fundraising events – Jammin.
Jammin offers event-goers great music from local bands, food, and drinks. Proceeds from this
event are put toward Save the Dunes’ mission of protecting and advocating for the Dunes, the
surrounding Lake Michigan, and the environment. I loved assisting with creating the social
media posts as I was able to hone in on my creative side while pairing that with creating for
such a worthy cause.

Something more so hands-on I was able to participate in as a project was working in the native
pollinator garden on site of the Barker House! This was such a rewarding experience as I was
able to assist with a variety of tasks for the good of keeping the garden up, such as weeding,
potting cacti, helping install a butterfly puddling station, planting bee balm (Monarda) around the puddling station – which attracts bees and butterflies, and partaking in seed collection – for the benefit of a seed library that is in the works. I enjoyed this experience thoroughly as it was
something that helped me become more in tune with the grounds of the place I work at, and
brought me enjoyment knowing I was helping with a good environmental cause – promoting a
local ecosystem.

All in all, I have been offered a plethora of projects to assist on, and it has been so rewarding. I
have gained much from each new thing, and it has felt fulfilling knowing that I have been able to
assist others in the ways that I can, for the good of the work of the organization. Save the Dunes
is involved in so much, and I have definitely witnessed this firsthand!

Isabelle Byrt, Save the Dunes

When I first applied for the CAPS Fellowship, I wasn’t just hoping to gain experience for my
resume. More than anything, I wanted to understand what life after college could actually look like. As a first-generation college student, I have not had many opportunities to observe professionals in an office environment or see what it looks like to be part of a team working toward a common mission. I wanted to learn what was expected of me in a professional workplace; how meetings function, how coworkers communicate, how projects are planned, and how people collaborate to solve problems. At the same time, I wanted my work to matter. If I was going to spend my summer interning somewhere, I hoped it would be with an organization whose mission aligned with my own passion for serving others. The American Red Cross gave me exactly that opportunity.

One experience that captures my summer better than any other was helping lead the Sound the Alarm event in Auburn Gresham. Although the Red Cross had already hosted one Sound the
Alarm event earlier this year, several residents who had signed up for free smoke alarm
installations were unable to be reached. Our team decided to return to the neighborhood to
make sure those families still had the opportunity to receive this potentially life-saving service.
However, there was one complication. The event date had already been scheduled for the last
day of my internship. That realization forced the planning team to push the event up a week
earlier. When the event date unexpectedly changed, I personally called every resident on our list to confirm they were still available. I reorganized installation routes so our volunteer teams could reach as many homes as possible, created maps for each route, and helped coordinate the logistics leading up to the event. On the morning of Sound the Alarm, I greeted volunteers as they arrived, answered questions, distributed materials, and then joined one of the installation teams as we went into the community.

Looking back, what stands out to me most is not the planning itself. It is how natural it felt to
step into that leadership role. At the beginning of the summer, I would have questioned whether I belonged in that position. Could I lead volunteers? Could I organize a large community event? Could people trust me with responsibilities that directly affected others? Those doubts that riddled my mind less than 150 days ago haven’t even crossed my mind now, and Sound the Alarm became the moment when I realized I truly have the potential to grow into the kind of professional I hope to become. For the first time, I genuinely felt competent. I wasn’t just observing professionals anymore; rather, I was actively contributing alongside them. That realization has been one of the greatest gifts of this internship.

Tyrell Frieson, American Red Cross