CCD: Tell us about your experience. What were your responsibilities?
KC: During my internship, I worked in various areas of the Mid Peninsula Boys & Girls Club of San Mateo County. As an intern, I was able to support community outreach and marketing which allowed me to use many skills I already had and challenged me to learn new ones. This internship was incredibly insightful and has not only allowed me to grow professionally but personally as well.
CCD: What was the best thing about the experience?
During one part of my internship, I worked on writing blog posts, emails, and social media posts for Giving Tuesday, an important day of gathering donations for nonprofits. I was able to look at Giving Tuesday materials from other Boys & Girls Clubs and saw how much of a variation there is. It showed me how different language can be even when they technically are under the same organization and how there can be different strategies more specific to the geographic location the club is at. I really enjoyed this part of the internship and gave me the opportunity to add to my social media skills. I’m curious to learn more about fundraising for nonprofits and I got the chance to talk to my manager about grant writing and different outlets nonprofits can tap into.
CCD: What was the most memorable moment of your experience?
At the beginning of my internship, I talked to my supervisor about my own non-profit organization that I had started and how I was struggling with my confidence as a leader. He had me read Multipliers by Liz Wiseman and although I was apprehensive about reading a book as part of my internship, I’m so grateful that I did. The book talked about how there are two kinds of leaders: multipliers and diminishers. Multipliers are efficient leaders because they magnify the strengths of their team and empower them with the skills the leader themselves have while diminishers are involved with their own intelligence and stifle the growth of others. I realized that many of my own leadership habits were in fact, acts of a diminisher and this book gave me so much self awareness about myself as a leader. It also taught me how I could grow into a more effective leader and advice from my supervisor was the cherry on top. His advice has shown me how to put the book into action and how he himself has applied this to his management. I have since taken everything that I’ve learned to how I manage my own team and am actively working on being more self aware about my leadership.
CCD: What advice would you give to another student about making the most of an internship, job, or other career-related experience?
Take away what you’ve learned about your work ethic. The Mid Peninsula Boys & Girls Club has left a very good impression on me. My bosses were always transparent and honest which was refreshing compared to bosses I’ve had in the past. They’ve given me so much self awareness about my work ethic and I left knowing that I have a lot to work on. I know that I am a qualified candidate and a quick learner, but I need to learn how to take better initiative when the work presented to me is not straightforward. I’ll be keeping this in mind in future positions. The work I was given was challenging and I felt supported knowing that I always had someone to call when I need support. While this experience hasn’t made me conclude on what field or career I want to pursue, it gave me an understanding of youth serving nonprofits and more clarity that I know that whatever position I am in, I want to have meaningful work that has a positive impact on others (as cheesy as it sounds). The mentorship I’ve had at the club is phenomenal and I felt that I deepened connections I already had.
BU + Beyond 