Institute for Leadership and Service Blog

My summer 2014 fellowship with United Way of LaPorte County has drawn to a close this week. In a way, however, it has continued on. For although I have officially ended, my unofficial involvement has just begun. That will be the message for this blog and that certainly seems to be a subtle goal within the CAPS Fellowship program. There are currently three full-time employees at United Way of LaPorte County. Three people serve a community of 70,000+. It would be foolish to believe that these individuals, although highly talented, can accomplish that much without assistance. In fact it would be paradoxical to the very title of their organization. A community must LIVE UNITED, and while the staff at United Way might facilitate or lead the way, the community must be committed to its own betterment. In my time at United Way I have seen the community do exactly that. […]

^Get the song reference? Yeah? Yeah?? Today is my last day at my internship. Tonight I move to Cleveland where I will start my next job on Monday. Right now I have a couple hours, so I will try and reflect on my experience this summer and what it meant to me. *deep breath* I am fortunate enough to be able to say that interning with the Urban League of Northwest Indiana has provided me with more clarity on what I want to pursue for a career. I have had a couple internships throughout college that left me feeling unsatisfied. I felt more discouraged leaving those internships because I knew what I had experienced what not what I wanted to pursue. It was discouraging because it was what I thought I wanted to pursue, so I was always back at level one: What do I want to do with my […]

  HO helps clients with foreclosure prevention: I always knew that HO provides housing for the homeless but did you know they also offer a variety of financial counseling to help people keep their homes?  For example, I got to sit in on a counseling session for a client who wanted to explore reverse mortgage. Mastering Excel is something you actually need to put forth effort to do: As a Millennial, when people ask me questions like, “Do you know how to use the latest version of this Apple product?” or “Are you proficient at PowerPoint?”  I always answer instinctively, “I’m sure I could figure it out” (never mind that I despise Macs and Presi is my right hand man).  Generally, my arrogance isn’t completely unwarranted and after a few minutes of “messing around” I’m able to get the job done.  Turns out, this mind-set doesn’t work for Excel.  So […]

Anyone that knows me is fully aware of the fear that I hold towards the “real world.” Going into my senior year at Valpo, the interrogation of what I am doing after graduation is in full swing. While I am still at the point where I cringe when I sense the conversation heading in that direction, I am beginning to feel comfortable in my answer: “I don’t really know, but I’m trying to figure it out.” I don’t hide the fact I am nervous about the future, but I know being afraid of the future will not help me figure things out. Be that as it may, this internship is serving as a stepping-stone for my career, as well as being largely empowering. During a meeting last week, my boss once again triggered my excitement to work in community development. We were discussing the upcoming focus group conversations when my […]

Just about a month ago, I made my first blog post. As my first post, it was only a week into my internships and I kept talking about things I would be doing in the time before my next post. Would you believe that the mental list of things I hope to accomplish has only grown longer in the time that has passed since then? I’m sorry Valpo, but I won’t be returning in August. I have far too much to accomplish and far too much left to change in the world of senior health. Just kidding. But no, I’m not entirely joking. At a recent CAPS Fellows Reflect-In (i.e. a gigantic Google Hangout video chat that consists of all of the Fellows and the Institute for Leadership and Service’s Program Coordinator) we discussed “The Eleventh” by Henri Barbusse. If I was to summarize “The Eleventh” in one sentence, I […]

I am Lutheran. I have always been Lutheran. I was baptized a month after my birth in a Lutheran church. I have attended Lutheran schools my whole life. I even decided to go to a Lutheran university. But I had never heard of Lutheran Services in America (LSA) before the CAPS Fellowship. I knew of Lutheran social service agencies around the country, but I was honestly surprised when I first started researching LSA and found that they are an umbrella organization for over 300 Lutheran health and human service organizations. Who knew that such an organization even existed in the Lutheran world? Because I hope to professionally work for a faith-based service organization, I was intrigued by the opportunity to work for the connector of Lutheran service around the country. The draw of living in the nation’s capital for a summer also made the position as the Development Fellow of […]

I have two weeks left in Northwest Indiana until I say goodbye to the region and state. I have tremendously enjoyed my experience at Valparaiso University, however, I have always felt a piece of the experience was missing. I loved the campus, students, and professors, yet I never knew much about the larger community in which Valparaiso University was located. After spending a semester in Chicago, being immersed into the community I lived in and exploring the different assets of the neighborhood, I always yearned to duplicate that experience at my home campus. When I was first introduced to the CAPS Fellowship, I knew right away that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to go beyond the campus bubble and learn more about the region and the communities throughout it. I interviewed and was placed with the Urban League of Northwest Indiana, located in Gary, where I have […]

“I’ve come back to life – I’d checked out.  This is a miracle…[Housing Opportunities] saved my life, honestly.  I was on the verge of giving up,” a client told me when we were talking one afternoon in her apartment.  For this client, like the majority of those we serve, unforeseen circumstances prevented her from working anymore and a woman who was once a self-sufficient, engaged mother became homeless and suicidal.  “I had nothing – everything was gone.  I was so deep in a hole and I knew I would never get out,” she said.  Housing Opportunities was initially able to help this client by providing her with a temporary housing unit, getting her approved for Social Security Disability Insurance, and offering her companionship at a time when she had never felt more alone.  Five years later, she is a part of our permanent housing program and spends her free time […]

Over the past few weeks, I have been working at The Village at Rockville here in Rockville, MD under the umbrella corporation of National Lutheran Communities and Services. The last two weeks in particular have been the most exciting yet! I have been challenged learning new skills and understanding the running of a retirement community both from an administrative side as well as a nurse manager side. So with all of the amazing experiences I have gotten so far, I am about half way through this internship with twice as many unanswered questions as when I started. Last week the Maryland state survey team was in the building. They spent the entire week walking around the facilities, talking to staff and residents, and combing through charts with a fine tooth comb looking for any harm or risk of potential harm for residents. Talk about a learning experience! I was able to see […]

Whenever someone seeks to revolutionize an organization and take it a new direction, it requires a lot of dedication and cooperation. That has been my experience so far this summer working with United Way of LaPorte County as they seek to involve their community in shaping United Way’s future. When I first started at United Way back in May, I joined in the middle of an 18 month process. At first I felt overwhelmed and unsure. Over the past five weeks, I have seen strands of this project come together in new ways, and I’ve become excited to see how the project continues to unfold. United Way of LaPorte County resides in a building shared by many other nonprofit organizations. This is exciting, because the organizations can assist each other and brainstorm about opportunities for collaboration. All of the employees in the building seem to enjoy their job and generally want to help […]

When I hopped on a plane departing from Reagan National Airport in December 2013, I knew I wasn’t leaving D.C. for the final time. After spending a semester studying and interning in the District through the Lutheran College Washington Semester, I was confident that I wanted to return to Washington at some point, but I knew figuring out my return would be a long row to hoe. It’s funny how things work out. By the grace of God, the opportunity to take part in the inaugural CAPS Fellows Program presented itself to me, and here I am – back in the District of Columbia. Okay, enough with the nostalgic romanticizing. Let’s talk about how I am actually spending my summer. My CAPS Fellows placement has slotted me as the Public Policy and Advocacy Intern at a health and human services network organization called Lutheran Services in America. LSA is a […]

I’ve been in Baltimore for nearly four weeks now and I will admit that the dreamlike state I’ve been drifting about in has started to vanish. Public transportation is not as exciting as it once was—especially considering the heatwave. Though I will admit there is still something magical about the way the Charm City Circulator (the free bus I ride to and from work every day) can accommodate a crush of people that nearly defy the laws of physics. I should also admit that living in the city isn’t all charm either. The view is great, but the noise is nonstop. And all the surrounding grocery stores criminally overcharge for cereal. And chocolate chips, surprisingly. But I’m not complaining. I’m just acknowledging that my dreamlike state is vanishing into reality. Suddenly, I feel like I’m settling in. I sleep just fine at night in spite of the car alarms and […]

I got lost three times the morning of my first day and ended up asking for directions to my office while literally ten steps away from the front door. Of course, tears were accumulating in my eyes and I was sweating like I just finished playing an intense game of FIFA soccer, but I made it on time (two minutes early to be exact). My day in the office started with a tour of our massive building along with learning all about its history (sorry, I was too focused on controlling my sweat to pay attention). However, the tour did include the discovery of free candy and coffee for the interns, which instantly made me gain five pounds. Next, my boss sat me down in her office to give me the incredibly detailed overview of what our project really was; I was excited, overwhelmed, nervous, and extremely inspired to take […]

The Federation of State Humanities Councils was officially formed in 1977 to work as a liaison between each state humanities council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Over time the Federation has been extremely busy, creating for themselves a full and interesting history. Luckily for me, they documented all of it. Well, sort of. What they did was keep everything that has come their way over the past 37 years. My job is to sort, record, and sometimes annotate documents of importance that give insight into the nuances of the Federation’s history. The task seemed daunting initially but there was little else to do but just dive in head first. My first day reminded me of an old show I watched as a child, The Magic School Bus. I felt like I was in Ms Frizzle’s class, and on a field trip that took me back to the late […]

Today marks the end of my fifth week working with the Around the Table initiative through Empower Porter County, and as I say my goodbyes and get ready to close up the office for the weekend I’m reminded again of how lucky I am to be working with such amazing people. This organization does a remarkable job of building community both in and outside of the office, and though it’s been a little over a month since I started, I’m still constantly surprised by my supervisors’ attention and interest. Empower Porter County is an anti-substance abuse campaign that focuses on preventative best practices through building community, increasing awareness and providing programming through other organizations. It’s a nonprofit organization that was founded a few years ago, and in that short time the organization has grown in both size and influence. Through the inspiration and dedication of Heather Harrigan Hitz and Kay Frattacia, Empower is expanding […]

A little over 4 months ago, I remember going to bed especially frustrated with myself. My friends were all talking about internship prospects, and I hadn’t sent out a single internship application. The next morning I woke up to find an email from the coordinator of health care leadership program inviting me to apply to be a member of the first cohort of CAPS Fellows. The road to my fellowship was not easy, but subjecting myself to the process has proved itself to be continuously rewarding. I wrote countless drafts for the personal reflection aspect of my application, trying to drill it down to fit the parameters of the requirements as well as trying to infuse as much of myself into it as possible. I mentioned in my essay that I had an interest in healthcare for seniors, but never could have imagined finding myself where I am right now. […]

We are happy to have received photos of three CAPS Fellows out serving at their internship placements! Stories from their first few weeks will be coming soon..

The inaugural 2014 CAPS Fellows Cohort will be blogging about their experience serving with regional and national service organizations this summer! Stay tuned for posts from the first weeks of their internships — coming soon!