Institute for Leadership and Service Blog

In an instant, the summer adventure I began 9 weeks ago, came to an end. Having an internship in Chicago has given me a lot of opportunities and experiences, that has no doubt changed me for the better. As far as vocation goes, in these short 9 weeks, I have reaffirmed my passion for working in an international relations/service field. At the beginning of my internship, I didn’t know what to expect as I first entered into Heartland’s doors. I was excited to work with and help people from all over the world  but I was also anxious, as this was my first internship experience. I was able to help serve a population I had so little knowledge about beforehand and was able to grow more culturally competent while working with a population that most Americans do not come into contact with on a daily basis. Working with refugees and […]

  My time at Douglas Land Conservancy has come to an end, and with it, the summer of 2016.  As I now prepare to return to Valpo for my senior year, I have been thinking a lot about community.  When you are in college, it can at times appear fairly easy to find a community.  After all, you are living with your closest friends, and surrounded by students nearly every day.  You find those with like minded interests, and a community forms.  A consistent cautionary tale that I have heard echoed by nearly every graduate from Valpo over the past few years is that I cannot take for granted that community because when you move on from college, finding a community can be more challenging.  I have taken this advice to heart, and plan on maximizing every opportunity in front of me this upcoming school year.  My time at DLC, […]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the feeling that not many work environments take ice cream breaks together. Nor do they always wait for everyone in the office to be there before they share their stories from the weekend. If you haven’t done either in your workplace, give it a try. Seriously. You’re never too old or too busy for a nice walk in the summer sun to get some ice cream. There is also no reason to exclude someone from the excitement of hearing and telling a story for the first time. These are the priorities in life. These are the things you should make time for. At the beginning of the summer my friend asked me “What do you hope to learn this summer?” I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t think that far ahead nor imagine what I would learn from my placement. Now […]

At the beginning of this summer I remember being so nervous that I wasn’t fully prepared to take on an internship yet. And as much as I tried to be prepared, that start date approached much more quickly than I could have anticipated. I quickly learned that even when you aren’t ready, life keeps moving. And that’s what I did this summer, I learned. Working at Exodus has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. It started with the simpler things. I learned how to enter data, refine my kitschy marketing language, and I even discovered some organizational skills I thought were nowhere in my genetics. About a month in another intern and I were asked to start mentoring a new refugee family twice a week. At first I was thinking “I just learned how to use a copier, do you guys really think I’m ready?” But as […]

With my internship ending last week and me moving back to Valpo next Tuesday I’ve spent some time thinking about what I want to do after graduation. I was blessed to be exposed to the world of entrepreneurship. I think being able to reflect on the past is one of the best ways to grow and move forward. This summer was full of new experiences, places, and people. The CAPS fellows here in Chicago were great people to share the summer with. So many of us had the same questions about life and purpose. I also had the opportunity to go with Cindy to an MBA tour to look at grad schools. It seems weird to be looking at grad schools already when I still have two years at Valpo, but looking at options and new possibilities is always exciting. However, looking to the more immediate future, I had the […]

For those of you who aren’t familiar, the wonderful state of Indiana is celebrating its bicentennial this year. Or, as we like to say at the United Way office, Indiana is celebrating its “Bison-tennial.” To raise awareness for both the state and the United Way, Charlie and I have been hauling a baby bison around the city, visiting various funded partners and popular spots in Michigan City. There are two things about this project that I’d like to point out. First, and most important, is that I get to go to the beach a lot. There’s nothing like leaving the office for an hour or two so you can take pictures with a bison at the pier. Being located 3 blocks from Lake Michigan has its benefits! Spending time at the beach and near the water is fun, but in reality the most exciting part of the bison project is […]

The young woman sitting across the aisle leaned over and asked in broken English “Where are you going in Haiti?” As soon as Professor Blood replied with ‘La Victore’, a weak smile formed across her face and her eyes seemed to say ‘I understand what you will be doing in Haiti’. I realized then that this trip would be different than my previous work in Haiti, Mexico, or Nicaragua. Without internet access, I was forced to use this nifty invention called a pen and paper to record my experience in country. Here is what I wrote:   Day 1 (07/19) Ten of us piled into a minivan to start our trip from the capital, Port au Prince, to La Victore located in northern Haiti. The driver brought his whole family along for the expected 5 hour drive. Dodging weaving motorcycles and four lanes of traffic on a two lane road, […]

My time in Baltimore is nearing an end and though I am saddened to leave my work at LIRS, I am also thrilled to take what I have learned this summer and apply those lessons to every aspect of my life. I recently returned from the LCMS Youth Gathering in New Orleans, where the outreach team and a few folks from communications had a display table and an experiential learning exhibit. The exhibit, a maze of rooms and stations partitioned by dark curtains, explained the Syrian refugee crisis from start to finish. Both the youth (there were 25,000!) and pastors/chaperons were able to make their way through, starting with a refugee profile, and continuing on through simulations of fleeing from home, traveling at night amidst war, arriving in the UN refugee camp in Jordan and traveling to Greece by raft. The last two stations were an explanation of the United […]

The last time I posted a CAPS blog, I was still in the very first week of my internship with the Urban League of Northwest Indiana. I was eager but also unsure about everything laid out ahead of me. I was stumbling through phone calls and the buttons on the fax machine. Compare that to last week, in which I was the only one in the office and I was running from desk to desk answering phones, buzzing people in, and simultaneously working on my own projects. I’ve been spending a significant amount of time training new volunteers and interns (who will probably help take up some of my projects once I leave) on the basics of working at the Urban League, and just today the President told me over a phone call discussing my own work as well as my assisting other volunteers, “I don’t know how we are […]

“I love it here” is a thought I have probably eight times a day living in Washington, DC.  I think it as I run down the escalator hoping to jump on the Metro in time.  I think it as I walk past the Supreme Court and head to Capitol Hill for work.  I think it as I pick up a squealing four year in Wellington Park, Anacostia and as I see familiar faces run over to hug me as I open up the Community Resource Center (CRC).  I think it as I laugh with my co-workers over lunch and they share every post-graduate tip and mistake they have or made.  I think it as I link arms with my roommates, who weeks ago were strangers, as we head to dinner.  And I think it as I climb to the top of the Lincoln Memorial, my favorite, to sit and gaze […]