Name: Amelia McDonnell
Class Year: 2022
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Ardmore, Pa.
Internship Organization: Community Learning Center
Job Title: Education Intern
Endowed Internship Funding Award: Erika R. Behrend Memorial Internship
Location: Philadelphia (remote)
What’s happening at your internship?
I am working as an intern for the Community Learning Center, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia, focused on adult education and literacy. Each day is different for me! I do grant research and grant writing, data assurance work, make presentations for workshops, and aid the communications team in writing announcements and initiating campaigns. Additionally, I gather resources and information for learners, contact adults interested in taking classes, and review technology the organization is interested in implementing into their sites.
As I spend half my time working for the nonprofit, I supplement my hours with a virtual internship through Bryn Mawr and engage in online courses that align with my tasks at the Community Learning Center, improving my data analysis, grant writing, and communications skills through Excel, R, and WordPress.
Why did you apply for this internship?
My roommate at Bryn Mawr, in fact, was the catalyst for this internship. She had taken a grant-writing intensive that Bryn Mawr had offered during the spring of 2019 and recommended that I take it during spring break this year. While I had little knowledge of nonprofits, the grant-writing course opened my eyes up to the roles grants play within institutions and organizations, but more importantly taught me the broader lesson of how nonprofits function, sustain grants, and prosper. Through this intensive I was also struck by the experiences of the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research students in their respective nonprofit fieldwork, sparking an interest in becoming involved within these agencies myself (and a desire to do this as soon as possible!). When I first got hints that the Community Learning Center wanted me to join their staff as an intern, I knew that it would be an experience I would value for years to come. It was a role that 1) involved two things I was passionate about: education and psychology; and 2) possessed space for me to grow and learn in areas I was not well versed in!
What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?
While I could feel the loss of the in-person environment, I came to recognize that I was gaining immense insight as I observed and continue to examine how the nonprofit has coped under COVID-19. As I scrutinized and cleaned data and collected numbers for grants, I witnessed the direct effects of the pandemic on the Community Learning Center as attendance numbers to online classes dropped. While the numbers were discouraging from a data perspective, my colleagues at the Community Learning Center demonstrated no signs of hopelessness. In fact, their commitment and motivation to serve their learners were unmistakable. As the Student Support Program utilized a trauma-informed approach when checking in with learners about their health, safety, and stress surrounding COVID-19 and protests in Philly, they additionally worked to adjust their resources, informing learners about testing sites, virtual career events, and online study tips. The intake and communication teams tirelessly campaigned for devices in order for learners to be able to attend class virtually and take tests that assessed their progress. The list goes on and on. Consequently, my internship thus far has taught me the power of a mission. As the grant writing intensive I took this spring drilled into me the gravity of the role a mission carries in building organizational culture within nonprofits, this internship has further demonstrated to me the impact of a working, meaningful, and productive mission.
Working remotely for the first time? What has that experience been like for you?
While I had done some background research on the Community Learning Center, I started my first day eager to familiarize myself with the culture, mission, and outs and ins of the organization. I spent my first virtual meeting with the intern supervisor asking an abundance of questions and soaking up all the information and wisdom I could. Since the internship was made virtual, I was determined to become acquainted with as much of the organization's staff as I could in order to “duplicate” what an in-person experience would resemble. My supervisor helped coordinate my first round of meetings and before I knew it, I had quickly met and was collaborating with the student support team, the intake team, the data specialty team, the communications and outreach coordinator, and the organization’s contracted grant writer. Working remotely has taught me to make the most out of meetings, and that email and to-do lists are my best friend. More importantly, though, the experience has encouraged me to enjoy the unknown. Although this is typically the opposite of my pre-COVID-19 approach to my work, the unprecedented times bring on new challenges each day, and I have learned to embrace the uncertainty of what my work life will bring in a given week or day.
Visit the Summer 2020 Internships page to read more student stories.