Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.
My STEP Signature Project was a virtual internship with the International Program of US Together. As an intern my main tasks involved social media content creation, writing blog posts, researching grants. I also had the opportunity to help with a SWOT analysis for the International Program along with the manager and other interns.
What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
A major thing that changed for me after my internship experience was an increased sense of confidence in my skills and abilities. As an international student, I didn’t think I would be able to find an internship in the U.S. due to the required documentation. However, after doing some research I took the chance and applied when an international internship opportunity fell through over the summer, and I got the International Program internship. In my time with US Together I had an incredible supervisor that provided me with opportunities for me to grow professionally which also improved my confidence. So I went from being nervous and doubting myself often to being able to speak up at meetings and share my thoughts and ideas.
I also got an increased appreciation and understanding of the interconnectedness and interdependence nonprofits have with each other and political institutions. US Together is a non-profit that serves refugees and immigrants in Central Ohio, and they were therefore impacted by the refugee cap set by the presidential administration. US Together worked along with other organizations to advocate to raise this cap to help more people, and continue the services for their current clients. Before the current administration, they had aspirations to expand to another city in Ohio, but due to the lack of federal funding, they were unable to. This also made the organization more dependent on grants from the civil society, so I learned a lot about grants and how competitive it is to be selected.
What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?
My supervisor, Nina, was incredible and supportive throughout the whole internship. She tried to assign me tasks that I would enjoy and benefit from based on my academic background and professional aspirations. Additionally, Nina is originally from Bulgaria, so it was reassuring to see another European succeed in a nonprofit. Nina also took every opportunity she could to provide us interns with learning opportunities – she would invite us to other meetings, seminars, introduce us to other staff members and recommend online courses and tools to us. She showed me the importance of continuously learning and encouraged me to share my thoughts and opinions.
One part of my internship included researching specific things related to the International Program such as the J-1 visa, social media strategy, and fundraising for nonprofits. I had to present my findings as a way to teach myself and other interns in addition to working on my communication skills. Doing this also improved my confidence as I became more comfortable talking in front of people (virtually) and answering questions and concerns. These presentations also improved my knowledge of the work in general, which improved the quality of the results from my other tasks.
Another thing that helped improve my confidence in myself personally and professionally was participating in all of the additional meetings Nina invited me to and through these meetings I grew my confidence in my professional abilities. I took the chance whenever given to participate in extra projects or meetings so I could learn more from other team members. In the settings I worked in for US Together they appreciated everyone’s input and work, so as an intern I could take initiative if I saw improvements that needed to be made. One example was a suggestion to add and utilize Instagram highlights better to make their social media content more accessible. And I suggested that I was encouraged to organize necessary meetings with others to create a more concrete plan. So I also got to practice being in a leadership role.
I also listened to webinars related to the current political climate and the refugee situation whenever I had the chance. This helped me learn more about the current situation for refugees and how impacted these nonprofits are by any political changes. It was especially interesting (and frustrating) to see some of the political theories and information I had learned about in the classroom in the real world.
Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
This change was especially valuable for me personally. As I have mentioned a lot of times, it helped improve my confidence in myself personally, but also professionally. As an intern for the International Program of US Together I got some great experience working with diplomacy and foreign relations related situations and issues. This further confirmed my appreciation for cross-cultural communication and relationships, so I could see myself working with something similar in the future but in a different manner. I plan to pursue a graduate degree in environmental science and I think it would be great if I could work within the environment and sustainability field in an international setting. So my internship gave me the international professional experience that I felt like I was lacking. Ultimately the STEP experience and funds were valuable as it allowed me to take this unpaid opportunity without worrying about how to pay for my living expenses.
A picture from a virtual weekly meeting (I am the top left)