Internship Experience
Overview of Work:To say the least, my final week was hectic. The primary advisor that watched over me resigned from her post, having been frustrated with working in a predominantly white, heteronormative space. As a queer black woman, she believed it was her time to resign. I believe that her frustrations are justified and shows issues of inclusivity and diversity in the nonprofit sector of poverty relief. In her words, she stated: “These white people in nonprofits are making money off the backs of impoverished black men”. Although this was said while reflecting on her emotions, there was some truth to her thoughts. Her and I are still friends and finished the week with a dinner together even though she no longer works above me. I greatly have appreciated the interpersonal relationships that have been formed throughout this experience. With my advisor, supervisor, the property management, and my fellow coworkers, I feel like I came away from this experience with people I can truly call my friends. As for tasks to be completed, there was not really much of anything else to do. I finished the remainder of my projects and only had the weekly tasks left. Aside from that, the same woman we had seen from Week 3 was caught again roaming the halls of the building and, having already been barred from the complex, had the cops called on her. It was very sad, since she is simply looking for shelter, but this place is not a viable option given the process by which it takes to apply for a Housing Voucher and to be a resident of this building. Final Day:Ending my internship similar to how it started, I received a card with loving notes from my coworkers and, now, many of the residents in the building. I have realized that this departure is bittersweet since I have grown fond of everyone in the building. Mr. Coleman, Mr. Cooper, Mr. James, Ms. Carolyn, and Ms. Rosalind are just to name a few of the residents I have formed a close relationship with. However, while this ending was inevitable, I am coming away from this experience with more experience of what poverty looks likes. When I first walked into the building, I did not think I would cry walking away from it. The ending was bittersweet, now that I had to walk away from many of the friends I made. My only hope is that this is not the last time I see many of the people I worked with and can now call my friends. With the SHECP Interns:I had to cut my work week short due to meetings that the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium scheduled for the D.C. interns. Our first meeting on Wednesday was with members from the National Community Action Foundation, where we had an open dialogue on our experiences this summer. During the meeting, the CEO of the organization opened questions surrounding poverty on the importance of governmental support, the extent government should support those in poverty, and how organizations like his can better uplift the voices of people experiencing poverty. From my impression, there was something off about his disposition (like owning a little league baseball team while also being the CEO of a large lobbying organization for poverty prevention). He also approached his politics much more centrist, to be bipartisan and compromise with conservative perspectives. I do not think I would be capable of conceding to Republican thought, so it was interesting to see this CEO’s disposition on domestic political affairs. Lastly, the closing conference was the last event held that I took part in with my cohort. Through the event, I got to hear everyone else’s experiences and how they grew in their understanding of poverty. I also had the opportunity to openly express my growth, understanding of Permanent Sustainable Housing, and next steps following the SHECP. After the event, I was the only intern left in the dorms since my flight had been planned for the 30th of July, a Saturday. Final Reflections:With my internship completed, I am in a state of gratitude and immense satisfaction coming away from the experience. As I write this now, I am boarding my flight back to Nashville, Tennessee. Juniata College has provided me with a life-changing opportunity to actively engage in the community of D.C. – showing the good and bad sides to the city. I have learned that whether we are perceived as good or bad, we are all still human and should have the freedoms to be treated as such. This experience has taught me that perceptions do not equate to reality.
People experiencing chronic homeless or poverty are not the problem that people make them out to be. Instead, it is the lack of institutions, support networks, and opportunities that systemically hold down people in poverty. The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium, Community Solutions, and the Juniata College Super Internship programs allowed me to gain first-hand experience as to what poverty truly looks like at, literally, face value. More important to my personal goals, I hope to utilize everything learned from this experience to better provide for the marginalized populations within my college campus community (particularly those struggling with financial inequities). My advice for any future interns coming to D.C. would be to make the most of your time here. The city is full of opportunities and potential experiences; there are plenty of people to meet and many sites to see. Make the most of every weekend. Additionally, I would recommend to not complete your bucket list, so that you always have an excuse to return to this amazing city. It is my hope that, in the coming years, more people from Juniata College utilize the opportunity of SHECP and the Super Internship to achieve a wider understanding to the deep-rooted nature of poverty. Afterall, we all have our role to play in winning the war on poverty.
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Overview of Work:This week was the second cookout, with the John and Jill Ker Conway residence. Since there are many more people living at this residence, I was working until 7:00 p.m. the day before to prepare and season the burgers. The day of, we still had to do Coffee and Conversations the same day of the cookout. In the early morning, I made the coffee and brought the donuts to the third floor space. In the afternoon, we cleaned up everything from Coffee and Conversations and brought up the supplies for the cookout. At that point, the only thing left for me to do was pass out the food by the time of all the food being cooked by the Georgetown University grill-master group. The cookout had been going smoothly with raffles, food, and music for the residents, and then it started storming. In the forecast, it had said there was a 5% chance of rain, but I guess the weather forecast is a liar. Other than that, one of the able-bodied residents had expected us to be his waiter for the evening, so we had to turn him down. I had really enjoyed taking part in the cookout. So much so that, even while it was storming, I found myself dancing in the rain. With the SHECP Interns:The countdown began for many of us this week. Since I had not left my room for much of this week, I did not get to interact with the intern group a substantial amount. This was due to the Virtual Federal Student Service application opening, which required a large time commitment from me.
Overview of Work:This was the first cookout I took part in, since I had volunteer to assist the workers at the other residential building (HELP Walter Reed). The building concerns a similar practice of reducing veteran homelessness, but it has less community partners and funding than the John and Jill Key Conway residence.
Thus, I got to see a more evident difference in the composition of the building both in their demographics and the effects of funding. Many of the residents, according to my advisor, had been dishonorably discharged from the military and, consequently, do not have access to the same benefits as those at the JJKC building. I noticed while preparing for the cookout that there was less assistance from the residents, less food, and seemingly less people in general. There was a catering service, which the JJKC did not get, but at the same time the chicken had taken so long to be made that many of the staff took the food as leftovers - when the food was intended to be for the residents (very frustrating for me to witness). They only had 27 hamburgers for a total of 80+ as well and, expectedly, it ran out very quickly. I got to see the impact of funding on the ability for the organization of basic events like a cookout. Overview of Work:This week was focused on hosting representatives from Home Depot, since they gifted us a shed that will allow us to store the garden supplies in a concentrated space. Additionally, they also wanted to interview residents so we had to go through that process once again. Aside from hosting Home Depot, I had to develop a watering schedule and find members of the community that would be able to sustain the garden following my departure. I taught my advisor about how to water it, how to look for signs of decay/disease, and what crops are most recommended for each season. I also had to develop a flier that encouraged residents to treat the plants with respect (not to litter, not to leave underwatered, etc.). While we are trying to help the residents through this garden, it is important to remember that a lot of residents do not understand that they are being helped. The garden is important in providing a path for directly helping the residents through the provision of fresh and organic produce. With the SHECP + Juniata Interns:With the SHECP interns, we had a taco night where we just talked over tacos we made. Not to brag, but mine were vegetarian and definitely the best (everyone else's looked dry). Other than tacos, we went to the D.C. Mall together to hangout and get dinner together for another night.
With Lucy, we went to the Embassy of Colombia for the South America film festival: seeing movies from Honduras, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador, etc. We also had the chance to try food and candy from all of these cultures. On another day, we went to a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony to learn more about Japanese culture. From the experience, we got to meet with a senior leader of the Universal Peace Federation - a nonprofit consulate for the United Nations (the highest title a nonprofit can hold). The nonprofit works towards peacebuilding through taking part in interfaith dialogue. After the event, me and the senior leader planned to meet separately to discuss more about my career aspirations and goals. Overview of Work:This week consisted of meeting wait the Wayfair volunteers, providing the historical background of Community Solutions and the building, setting up the community garden, and participating in a Zoom call on Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) in D.C. Prior to meeting with the Wayfair volunteers, me and my advisor were stuck with the task of moving all the donated items to the third floor community room (well over $10,000 of supplies such as bedding, shopping carts, etc.). After moving all the supplies, the volunteers arrived and began unpacking the materials and putting them into bags. The day with Wayfair was very busy, since I was tasked with distributing the bags and marking off the residents that had already been given a bag - so that people aren't given more than one. Following the distribution of the bags and potting of the plants, the volunteers left and one of the residents of the building immediately tried selling the bedding to me. This reflects that many people, while given basic necessities for life, are still struggling to make ends meet to the point they sell their gifts for money (with many of them spending the money on drugs). I also had the opportunity of meeting Roseanne Haggerty - the CEO of Community Solutions and one of the big financial donators to the building. While I only shared a brief interaction with her, it was nice to meet the person who is leading the Built For Zero movement to end homelessness. The latter half of the week I focused on constructing the community garden, which was draining to complete in the blazing sun. Upon completing the garden, we were able to plant the seeds and see the immediate success of the kale that was planted. It was very satisfying, to say the least. With the SHECP + Juniata Interns:Aside from protesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I was able to attend the PRIDE Parade and Festival. The parade was boring for the most part, since some of it were people advertising for the mayoral race that was happening. The only interesting parts were the embassies and cultural institutes that took part in the parade.
The festival was more entertaining, in my opinion. This is because we got to see drag queens perform, D.C. LGBT allies and members perform songs on stage, and met Kamala Harris as she gave her heartfelt speech on stage. After the festival, Lucy and I left the day after to meet Dr. Abdalla at his house in Maryland. Through meeting him, we got to try Egyptian brunch (fava beans and omelets). We also had the chance to catch Dr. Abdalla up-to-date on what each of our positions entail this summer, which allowed me to better reflect on how my internship relates to the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. Overview of Work:This week was focused on preparing for Wayfair's visit to the complex, collecting materials for both the community garden and the pots that Wayfair wanted their volunteers to setup. Additionally, Wayfair wanted to interview people from the building, so we had to select and inform the participants that would be interviewed. We selected three people in total with different backgrounds that could provide their honest perspective of their life since being in the residence. They all would also receive gift cards as a reward for taking part in the interview. We met with members of the community to determine which crops would be most in the demand as well as their recommended strategy for constructing the garden. They had already had a garden on the 5th floor, but there was an old worker squatting in their old room so many of the residents were unable to go up to the community garden floor. Thus, it was my goal to coordinate the installment of a new garden in the 3rd floor outdoor space. While gathering supplies, we at first thought it would be impossible to start the community garden with our $500 budget. This was because the wood the residents had requested costed a total of $200, but we didn't know that at first and drove away without any of the garden supplies. After thinking about it though, me and my advisor agreed that the total price ($700) was too fishy and we went back to check the prices. Eventually, we got the garden supplies and the potting materials for the Wayfair volunteers, which concluded my work week. With the SHECP Interns:This internship gave me the opportunity to participate in the organizing and protests following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The decision was long predicted, given the leaked documents that rapidly spread throughout the press; however, it was still surprising - given this early warning - that there were unsuccessful efforts to codify the protection of abortion into federal law.
At the protest site, the Supreme Court building, there were a lot of men and women from all walks of life fighting for the same freedoms. This was where a majority of my weekend was spent, having been very frustrated with the current state of the country. There was a sense of immense disappointment, but I was not in the least shocked by the outcome of this decision. Since this decision came out on the last day of this internship week, the following week consists of much of the same activity. Overview of Work:This week someone week someone broke into the residential building. Not exactly broke in, but was violating the visitor protocols of the complex. For each resident, they reside in a single room apartment; in these apartments, they are allowed to host a visitor for three days maximum. As many residents struggle with issues of substance abuse, some tend to often violate this protocol to host individuals. The person in this scenario was a homeless woman, who had been jumping from apartment to apartment to find a place to stay. My advisor and I had only found her by chance while trying to visit a resident's room, but upon being confronted she lied about her relation to the person she had been staying with as well as the duration of her stay. After she was forcibly removed from the building, the person that had been hosting her received a warning. This is when I noticed the living juxtaposition of all this - there's a homelessness encampment right next to this residential building that serves homeless people. I was reminded that many of the residents in this building had access to the tools required to fill the application for a housing voucher (phone, address, computer, etc.). Many of the people on these streets do not have the same luxuries and opportunities. Additionally, for that homeless woman to risk being arrested to stay in this predominantly male residential building, there must have been many pressures impacting her decision. That is an experience I will indefinitely reflect on as I think more about pathways to mitigating the effects of homelessness. The rest of the week had been uneventful. I played spades with the residents, I outlined the costs and logistics of the community garden that will be put on the third floor terrace, and I met with my supervisor to discuss the development of other potential projects (voter registration, tenant satisfaction survey, and oral history collection). I also had a bonding moment with my advisor as we discussed the struggles of growing up queer in the Southern United States, and the freeness of queer identity in D.C. With the SHECP + Juniata Interns:This week the SHECP organized a meeting with lawyers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Justice - respectively from the civil rights wing and environmental wing. With donuts and coffee, we talked with them about their experiences and paths to working in governmental service.
From their experience, they talked about what their job positions entail, their paths to securing jobs, and gave advice on how to better navigate D.C. In the meeting, I talked with the environmental lawyer separately to inquire about any potential connections to the U.S. Department of State. Since I intend to become a Foreign Service Officer, gaining these connections and networking are very important to achieving this goal. From this exchange, she got me in contact with a FSO that I was able to schedule a meeting with. Her final piece of advice was "If you plan on coming back to D.C., you will need connections to get here". With Lucy, the other Juniata Intern, we attended events for the EuroAsia cultural short-film festivals throughout this week. For the closing ceremony this week, we attended the Embassy of Italy. At the embassy, we watched select short-films from all the cultures (United States, Italy, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, etc.). My personal favorites were the United States and Korean short-films, for their own reasons. I also had the opportunity of attending the Chinatown Community Festival, where I had my Chinese-Mandarin name written in calligraphy, listened to the stories of Chinatown community members, and learned about Chinese origami. After the Chinatown Festival, I visited the D.C. Zoo for the first time - only really getting to see elephants because no other animals were out. Overview of WorkThis second week mainly focused on getting set on the same schedule as my advisor. The weekly activities consist of restocking the Blessing Box with donated items every Monday, organizing the weekly Coffee and Conversations event every Thursday (providing residents with donuts and coffee, as well an area to socialize), and the different tasks that each day throws at us. I quickly learned that everyday poses a new set of challenges to overcome. In my second week, I have had to assist in deescalating angered residents and those under the influence of drugs. Other challenges that have been created are with community partners – namely Wayfair and Home Depot. These problems June 7th arrived, so I also had the delight of being surprised with gifts from my coworkers for my birthday. I got two small plants, a cake, and a card with signatures and notes from all of my coworkers. This was my first birthday away from home and, as a result, I immensely appreciated the effort put into making me feel welcomed at my new workplace. Through my advisor, I got meet many of the other residents of the complex and, in fact, I was able to play spades with them three times that week. Being from the South, card games (especially the ones you can gamble on) are really popular, so I felt like I was back home when I could trash-talk and taunt the other residents. I lost the game of spades horribly, but there was no actual money on the line so it was alright. With the SCHEP + Juniata Interns:This week I did not really interact with many of the interns from my SHECP cohort. Instead, I hung out with Lucy and her cohort from the American Physical Society. Through her cohort, I was able to befriend even more people from a completely different field of study than me. Lucy and I together attended a cultural event that took place at the Goethe Institute.
At the Institute, we watched short films from both Korean and German culture and finalized the movies with a shared discussion between viewers and representatives from the Korean and German cultural institutes. This event was part of a larger event called the International Film Festival. We discussed the similarities and differences, ending the event with desserts from both cultures respectively. With my cohort, we went clubbing as a group. I felt on-guard for a majority of the clubbing since many men from the club were targeting the women from our cohort group. For example, one of the women got grinded on without solicitation, so we had to push him off of her. Other than that, I enjoyed being able to take part and witness D.C. night-life. We ended the night with Subway and McDonalds runs, which were the most enjoyable part of the night for me. Overview of Work:My first week on my internship site was fairly simple: I met with my coworkers, I established objectives for the summer with my supervisor, and I had the opportunity to interact with the residents of the residential building. Since Community Solutions’ primary focus is in reducing veteran homelessness, many of the people in this building were veterans. I also got to view the statistical demographics that makeup the building – finding out that the building is predominantly composed of black, veteran, older (50-70), men. However, through meeting the residents of this building, I learned that they are much more than a statistic. Many of them have just recently exited homelessness, still facing the psychological and emotional issues from their experiences. In my first week, for instance, I have met Ms. Carolyn Thompson who struggles with issues of substance abuse. I have also met Mr. Coleman, who will call me every prophet in the Bible before saying my actual name (Elijah). I hope that, throughout these coming weeks, I will be able to learn more about the process of permanent sustainable housing and meet more of the residents. Since this week had been cut very short due to the timing of my internship, there is not much more experiential reflections to be made regarding work. With the SHECP Interns:In this first week, I have been able to become better acquainted with my suitemates and the rest of the cohort. We went out for a group picnic as we got off work, so we get to know each other better. At the park, we experienced first-hand the prejudices that negatively affect those experiencing homelessness and poverty.
In front of us, we saw a homeless woman ask someone well-off wearing a tuxedo suit and Rolex if she could borrow a dollar for water. His response: “No, thank you,” and I imagined the amount of frustration I would have felt if that were me. She turned to us and said verbatim, “Why use ‘thank you’? Do you all think I should be grateful just for him telling me ‘no’? He didn’t say ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have a dollar ma’am’ – he treated me like that just because of my position and status”. While it was a brief interaction, we still learned a lot about the personal frustrations and discriminatory judgements that are due to people’s economic status. We didn’t have money with us to give her, but we gave her all the food we had available at our picnic. She may not remember me, but I will remember her for a long time. For sites to see, we went to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and other classic sites to see in D.C. over the weekend. Additionally, I met with Lucy Corthell, a student at Juniata College that is also in D.C. for an internship program. We planned our bucket list together, with our schedules filled for when we are off work and our weekends are available. First Day: With the Interns!Landing in Washington D.C. after my first plane flight ever, I thought it would be hard to acclimate to a larger city environment. The culture, atmosphere, customs, and even slang are all far different than what I am used to in Nashville, Tennessee. Someone had to spend ten minutes explaining to me that "to lick" something means to steal. From the moment I landed, I immediately fell in love with the bustling streets and buildings. It also helped I wasn't there alone, with nine other interns from the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). Our collective goal for the summer was to eat as much food as possible from different cultures and, on our first day, we tried Ethiopian food from a local family-operated restaurant called Ghion. It was my first personal experience with Ethiopian food and it surely won't be my last. I was given chickpeas, lentils, potatoes, carrots, and green beans served on injera. The lentils were intense since I don't like spicy foods, but the flavors were both diverse and enjoyable. This led me to my personal goal for the duration of my time in D.C.: I wanted to put in the effort to come out of the summer as a more culturally educated person. First Day: With Community SolutionsSince day one, I was very passionate about my internship and the mission of the organization: empowering the community to bring about solutions to societal problems. My first day, all-in-all, was uneventful in a good way. I got acquainted with many of the people I would eventually be able to call my friends - the property managers, the Veteran Service Providers, and my supervisor (Sharlene) and advisor (La-Quanda).
Since I started on a Monday, I got to understand the purpose for restocking and providing a blessing box for residents. Many of them are just exiting homelessness and, consequently, cannot afford basic essentials such as food and cleaning supplies. Thus, we provide them with a complete stock of these items so that they can have access to these necessities. I assisted my advisor with this task and failed miserably. I did not know how to portion items and ended up having to remove items from the blessing box, having realized we need to make our donations last throughout the month. |