Throughout four months of balancing remote work, a pandemic, periods of quarantine and college, I’m now at the end of my internship with World Relief Quad Cities.
During the past semester, I worked as a communications intern. Most of my projects were communication-based and included things like writing articles and creating social media posts. I also helped with some video editing, data entry, volunteering, and design work.
Completing an internship during a pandemic is a unique experience. For one, it was largely remote, although I was able to come into the office more towards the end of the internship.
That meant that I had limited contact with the staff and, sadly, never met a client that we serve. The closest I got to getting to know clients was talking with them on the phone for a couple of minutes. Despite having limited contact physically, I still felt like I was part of the team and making a difference in the organization for the people we help. Through emails, texts, phone calls and meetings, I was able to connect with the staff and get an idea of what it’s like to work at World Relief Quad Cities.
Without a doubt, the highlight of my internship was anytime I was able to go into the office. The work environment was always so positive and I loved getting to know and work with the staff in-person.
Right at the start of my internship, the diversity of the staff at World Relief was something I noticed and valued, and it was something I’d never experienced in a workplace before. There’s such a wide variety of people from different places with different backgrounds, and everyone brings something different to the team.
All of the staff members want to help immigrants and refugees in any way they can, and they do exactly that everyday. I saw how they all use their unique skills and backgrounds to contribute to that goal. They also often put in extra time and effort to help, often at no benefit of their own. That kind of generosity and desire to help others was amazing to work with and inspired me to do the same.
My time at World Relief Quad Cities helped me understand the kind of work they do and get a first look at the work environment. Before I interned here, nonprofit work was not something I had thought about pursuing. Now, I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity to intern at World Relief because it opened up the possibility of nonprofit work and new opportunities I could see myself pursuing after graduating college.
World Relief does so much good for the community and has such a big impact on the immigrants and refugees they help. By being an intern there, I also was able to utilize my skills and background to make a difference. The kind of work they do is really important, and my time at World Relief showed me how much I have to offer and how I can use my skills to give back to the community in a really meaningful way.
Written by Olivia Doak