Internship at Hope Center Indy

Introduction

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              My internship this summer took place at Hope Center Indy. My supervisor was Mary Nolen, the associate director of the nonprofit organization. I had been searching for internship opportunities throughout the fall of 2022, and was originally closed off to the idea of interning for a nonprofit. Because I had already interned with two other nonprofit organizations throughout my college career, I thought it might be better for me to intern in a different setting this time. However, after reflection and coming to the realization that nonprofit work is definitely where my heart is and what I want to do after graduating, I decided this internship would probably be the most beneficial for me. One of my close friends from school knew that Hope Center Indy (HCI) had a wedding barn, and recommended that I look into whether they have internships. I did some research, applied, interviewed, and got the internship! Leading up to the internship, I was very much looking forward to it as I knew that it would give me experience in many different areas pertaining to my career interests. During my interview, I loved the atmosphere and people at HCI and was excited to meet and learn from many individuals working in and volunteering for the organization. My overall internship experience was amazing. I was privileged to learn and grow in my communication, organization, planning, and business skills. The experience I gained in marketing, social media work, events, and business will be extremely useful as I graduate next spring and hopefully enter the nonprofit industry as an event planner. The only thing I wish I would have been able to spend more time doing is event planning. Not many weddings were booked during the time of my internship, so I did not get a ton of day-of event experience. However, what made up for this was my experience marketing for the wedding barn on social media, something I had not had the opportunity to do at all in the past, and a vital part of events.

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Learning Implications

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              Through my internship at HCI, I learned many things about myself. First, I learned that I am willing to do any task for an organization that I respect and shares my values and beliefs. This is especially important when working for a nonprofit. I spent some time with the director of development at HCI, who told me that flexibility and willingness to do any task is one of the first things she looks for when hiring. This was very encouraging to me, and shows me that I am on the right track and have the qualities nonprofit organizations value. I also learned that I am more creative when it comes to graphic design than I had previously thought. I was tasked with utilizing Canva to make multiple graphics and stories throughout my internship, something I had very little practice with in the past. I found myself picking it up very quickly though, and I received very positive feedback from others working in marketing regarding my design choices and skills. Personally, I feel that I grew most in my communication skills through this internship. Working with many different teams in the organization was extremely helpful, but required a lot of effort on my part to ensure that communication between them and myself was effective. Good communication was also required as I worked event days with different vendors and clients. Engaging in marketing tasks on social media also required that I carefully think about how I communicate with the public who would consume that media. Through my time working at HCI this summer, I improved in these areas, something I will carry with me into the rest of my life, both professional and personal. Something this internship taught me about events as a profession is that it requires due diligence when it comes to marketing. Careful communication is key, as well as creating content that will reach and attract the right audiences. Working event days taught me how important it is to maintain strong relationships with all of those involved, specifically vendors, who can really make or break the event. Just being available to them and willing to complete small tasks for them can go a long way. The skills that were most important for this internship would include communication skills, flexibility, positivity, and creativity. A good understanding of technology was also key, as I had to learn how to use new programs for marketing in particular. This internship has impacted me in major ways personally and professionally, as I have previously mentioned. I have experienced so much growth this summer in many areas and continued to prove to me that nonprofit work is perfect for me.

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Critique

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              Overall, I would say that this internship even exceeded my expectations. I had no idea how many opportunities I would have to learn and grow in so many different aspects of the organization, for which I am extremely grateful. The only thing that frustrated me was my inability to work many events throughout the summer. Ideally, I would have been able to work many more and gain events planning and execution experience, but I understand how much bookings for weddings and other events can fluctuate. This disappointment was absolutely outweighed by the rest of my experience, which was extremely positive. I am very confident that I contributed to my internship site. I was able to start creating and posting content for social media that had not been touched for months, which was very beneficial in increasing engagement for the organization and getting its social media headed in the right direction for the future. I completed so many tasks that seemed small, but were very helpful to the site, like organizing files of past and current residents, for example. Considering that most of my internship was unpaid, the volunteer hours I put in helped HCI complete many tasks without having to pay someone to do them, something I know they greatly value as a nonprofit. The one thing I would change about my internship would be having more opportunities to plan and execute events. If I was to give advice to students preparing for this specific internship, I would encourage them that they will gain tremendous skills and learning for their future. I would explain how I was able to experience so many different aspects of the organization and learn and grow in many ways that will contribute to a more successful career. I would absolutely recommend this site to future internship students. As I have stated multiple times, my experience was so positive and I am extremely thankful for all the ways I learned and grew this summer at Hope Center Indy, as well as how I was able to positively impact my community by working for such an incredible organization.