Internship Portfolio

I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer Advocacy Intern with the League of Women Voters of Texas for two years, or four semesters. Each semester brought a new set of interns with unique experiences to share and learn from. I have made lasting friendships and still learn from my peers in these groups to this day. My bosses taught me that I can find passion in my career and that I do not have to sacrifice a zeal for life in order to maintain a career. They showed me how feminist thought has changed over the years and allowed me to grow as a feminist, an individual, and a political woman. I was offered access to information, resources and projects that taught me about our government and the processes that take place within it to make change locally and nationally. Thinking back, I remember evenings with my supervisors during which we might just chat about the political climate of the time, opening up comfortable discourses about politics, feminism and the modern world in ways that allowed me to question and learn effectively in real time. I was given opportunities to take charge and explore topics that interested me and related to voter education and empowerment, allowing me to meld my personal interests with my politics in new ways, growing my passion for the nonprofit world. These folks have inspired me to integrate my beliefs, attitude, politics and excitement into my every day life, living each day with enthusiasm and purpose. When I am older, I want to be able to look back at my life and see that I turned out just like them: insightful, caring, passionate, sharp, warm, and tactful.

 

Since I was able to work for four semesters, I was able to accumulate knowledge and understand different parameters of the nonprofit world that I might not have had access to. This opened my eyes to a range of problems and solutions located within the nonprofit sector. I was able to assist in event planning, take some more pivotal roles in event organization, and understand the structure of nonprofit work. I was able to grow my copywriting experience, examine audiences that might need us, and write for different occasions, needs, and goals. I have experience in fundraising and advertising for the League, allowing me to practice my sales and writing skills in a safe environment. I also included my work and experience with the LWV in many of my courses, examining their website for accessibility, writing to and about them during many Rhetoric courses, and examining their history, growth, goals and impact during many Women's and Gender Studies courses. While all nonprofits are different, working with a 501(c)3 can offer its own style of advantages and disadvantages. This teaches interns the limitations and harmfulness of the state in juxtaposition with the empowerment that can be found within state agencies. I learned more from my experience with the League than I have from any other work experience, probably because I was allowed to invest my heart and soul into the people and the projects. The support, opportunities, care, information and community that I was given and that I was able to build with the LWVTx is something that I cannot replace and would never want to. I love you, LWV, and thank you for changing my life.