Internship Reflection: Parke County Community Foundation

Sarah Melvin, a 32-year-old mother of two, attended Franklin College out of high school and withdrew her senior year to join the US Navy. After living in Hawaii for eight years, she moved back to the mainland to raise her children near family. Sarah is currently a junior at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College seeking her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

I recently served as a Marketing/Support Intern for the Parke County Community Foundation (PCCF). I was curious as to what the organization was and visited the Foundation last summer to perform informational interviews with the staff members. My intentions were to gain insight on how nonprofits operated, and if I would be interested in pursuing a career in the field. Before I left, the executive director offered me the internship position that I recently completed.

The PCCF is a local nonprofit whose mission is to aid donors in increasing the quality of life in Parke County, Indiana. This is accomplished by investing gifts and donations into annuity funds. As a result, the earned interest is distributed as grants and scholarships throughout the community. The organization was established in 1993, and I was fortunate to be present for its 20th anniversary celebration. The PCCF’s residence, “The Bloomer House,” is located in downtown Rockville, Indiana. The magnificent house is a piece of history, and I felt privileged to work in such a building. There are three full-time and two part-time staff members that make up the organization. Since the Foundation is an annual recipient of a Lilly grant for hiring interns, I was paid for my short time working at the establishment.

“I could not have asked for a better learning experience.”

My primary responsibility was to assist with the planning and organizing of the annual fall fundraiser. Other responsibilities included writing the invitation to the fall event, overseeing the design of banners presented to fall event donor sponsors, updating PCCF’s website, designing a thank you advertisement for the local newspaper and designing and writing the 2013 Financial Newsletter. My site supervisor updated my agenda periodically to ensure I would gain as much experience as possible during the internship.

I could not have asked for a better learning experience. While at the Foundation, I gained community awareness and confidence in my communication abilities increased. I was also able to form a small network of business colleagues. I learned that it is important for employees to wholeheartedly believe in a nonprofit’s mission. There was an extraordinary amount of care put into the work every day by each staff member.

With this experience, I learned much about myself and the direction that my career path could possibly go. I never thought that I would enjoy performing work at a desk all day, but my learning experience at the Foundation proved me wrong. The day would be over before I knew it, and periodically, I would forget about the time and accidentally work after hours.

“I learned much about myself and the direction that my career path could possibly go.”

My site supervisor was very flexible with my hours. I learned that flexibility is an aspect that I greatly value and appreciate. The issue has been somewhat of a concern for me since I am a single mother. Missing work due to school delays, appointments and sick children was never a problem. I received nothing but support from my site supervisor when a family issue interfered with my schedule.

When I entered the business field of study, working for a nonprofit organization was never listed as a possibility for me when choosing a career path. I have never worked a job that has been as self-gratifying as the internship position I held at the Foundation. I would love to have continued my work at the organization, and I confess that I was sad to leave.

The Foundation has a strong and healthy organizational culture which creates a sense of unity in the workplace. We were all working as a team to support the organization’s mission. A staff member summarized this when he said, “I never wake up and dread going to work. How could I when I care so much about all of the people I work with?”

Working at the Parke County Community Foundation was a great learning experience, and I would definitely recommend it to students seeking an internship in the business field. Not only was I able to add to my portfolio, I was able to build a foundation of skills that will only be strengthened throughout my career.