The End.

I’ve really loved working at Miracle and even after the internship has finished, I actually reflect quite often on a lot of what I learned throughout my internship. Many of the lessons weren’t formal instructions, but instead ideas and impressions I took away from the encounters I had during my time at Miracle.

In addition to interviewing Elizabeth for my Internship Transcript Notation program, I also interviewed Lisa and Caroline. Lisa is the Marketing Coordinator and one of my supervisors. She came from the museum world so she is somewhat new to the non-profit sector but she is seriously passionate about the kids she works to help in India and it shows in her work. I sent Lisa the questions so she could answer at her convenience and she responded with in depth answers that really explained her job and what marketing in a non-profit entails. She was very encouraging, yet very realistic at the same time…no sugar-coating! Hard work and often little pay is part of the gig, but if it’s truly what you’re passionate about, it can be totally satisfying. I want to share her last bit of advice as I think it’s something important for me to remember and is a variation of standard advice I tend to receive. Her advice was the following:

“Non-profit work can be truly fulfilling and the personal rewards great, but you should be aware that you will work hard, give a lot of yourself and not always be rewarded financially. For most non-profit workers, the knowledge they are making a difference is satisfaction enough. However, others burn out and move on. My best advice is to really listen to yourself, determine what you are truly passionate about (children, art, health issues, poverty, etc). Focus on one and then continue to do what you’ve already started doing (i.e., educating yourself, volunteering, interning). With your dedication, enthusiasm and talents, you will have no problem making a place for yourself and excelling in whichever area you choose. “

Pretty solid advice, huh?

Caroline is the Founder of The Miracle Foundation and she has, as Lisa told me, a ‘deep passion, experience, dedication, and drive are truly inspirational’. I scheduled a time to sit down and talk to her and it ended up being a fantastic experience. Although I don’t necessarily want a job like hers, being the face of the organization, I do want to be like her in that she puts her entire heart into what she does and does it well. When I went in to talk to her, we went and sat on two of the couches facing each other on the same level, which is something small that stuck out to me. Everyone in the office will sit down to be talking at the same level as you most of the time, which feels like a sign of respect and a move that eliminates power dynamics. We talked about my experience as an intern at TMF so far and she seemed genuinely interested in my experience and wanted both positive and negative feedback. I love that she truly listened to me and was sincere, passionate and so driven. This interview stands apart in my mind because the advice and answers she gave me were not the standard ones I had been hearing, but instead she spoke from her heart and a very personal perspective.

I mentioned something Turk Pipkin (the guy I mentioned in one of my early posts, Caroline knew him because one of Turk’s documentaries features The Miracle Foundation) had told me, which was that I must focus on one cause and do everything in my power to improve the lives of people in the way. Caroline thought Turk’s advice was great and responded with advice someone once told her, which was to be a laser beam not a shotgun. Basically, go straight towards your goal with all you have, because little scattered efforts are not going to be effective. Like others, she said there is no right path, as she found from personal experience. She was in marketing and sales before going on world trip and finding her call. The most important thing is getting experience; it’s the best teacher and preparation. Caroline has a burning passion and she said her faith is a source of motivation and dedication, and being dedicated and having discipline is of the upmost importance. The story of Caroline’s journey is incredible; it’s one of those bring-tears-to-your-eyes tales that makes The Miracle Foundation special. She’s always maintained that she will not get involved in dirty work and knows that no ends justify unethical means.

One of her friends explained that she could be the change agent that bridged the gap between the emotionally starving and the physically starving. She believes service fills a hole, whatever you call that hole (religion, common humanity, whatever). Although this all sounds somewhat mushy-gusy, it’s what sets her apart and brought her thus far. I really held on to that concept of being a change agent, as this is the first time I’ve hear that term, and it made me think about the possibilities of bridging the gap between first and third world countries and decreasing the disparities between the two. This would, of course, require global understanding and awareness. Therein lies the challenge, because as Caroline says, resistance is immense and it’s like pushing against inertia. Changing the ‘way things are’ (culture, norms, tradition, attitudes, etc) is difficult and almost impossible. It doesn’t help that many of the institutional/larger agents of change (grassroots orgs, non-profits, intl. orgs, government, etc) don’t necessarily work together and it would help if all the pieces were to be connected. Her advice to creating real change was to really get to know myself and to have a pretty stable foundation in my personal life in order to take risks. It’s important to know what I’m good at so that I can make the most difference possible. These are just a few of the points I remember, but I learned a lot from my discussion with Caroline!

A random encounter that ended up being a really cool incident was when an engineer came in to talk about building a playground at one of the orphanages. We got to look at the topography map and hear the engineer talk about the land and water movements, and it made me think about just how much there is to take into consideration when undertaking such huge projects. Not only do you need to find a place in need but you must find an area in which you can successfully implement projects with which the community agrees and wants to participate. In attempting to develop faster and faster, we often forget that it is of the upmost importance to use the land in its natural state as opposed to working against and trying to alter the environment. Another thing that I thought about while talking to the engineer was how someone can make a difference in the world by pursuing their strengths and interests without working in the traditional fields (non-profit, charity, policy, etc…). By contracting the work of this engineer, he was able to channel valuable work and skill towards a good cause. The implication of this is so exciting to me: anyone can be a change-agent.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about are the standards for transparency in a non-profit organization. During the conversations I had with Elizabeth and Lisa, I remember them both stressing the privacy issues Miracle deals with when working with children and the red tape they face with governments in both America and India. A group of auditors came in a couple days while I was working at Miracle and they meticulously went through the financial records. I think that’s one of the best things about Miracle is that all of their efforts are transparent and there are truly no ulterior motives. I know there are different rules for different kind of companies or organizations, but why aren’t these standards of transparency and ethics universal? Why don’t we pay closer attention to whose hands the money is in, whether it’s being handled ethically, whether it’s justly distributed? It’s crazy how security measures are implemented to prevent fraud and ensure donations go to their intended purposes. Every organization must go through this, and some organizations have extensive security measures while others do what they can. When he was explaining some of the auditing process to me, Jim told me about the different security systems he works with, including how a food bank he works with uses a lock box while Miracle uses computer systems like Convio and more. Unfortunately, time has proven there is a need for such measures.

During one of my babysitting gigs, I was discussing the mother’s past in NGO work and was somewhat surprised by what she said. She was working with a Catholic Church and I’m not sure whether it’s a generational issue or just a different viewpoint on how NGOs/philanthropic organizations (and in my opinion, all companies) should operate, but the fact that the concept of transparency and efficacy has become important in the past couple decades is incredible. To me, it’s unthinkable that those working for a better world would do anything to thwart their efforts, but apparently intentions are not always pure and humans are not perfect. For being such an idealist, I feel I’m becoming somewhat jaded already…and I’m only twenty years old.  

I didn’t start out thinking this was a perfect fit, but it became increasingly more and more relevant for me. I had the chance to learn about structural issues, Miracle’s non-secular approach, and their focus on human rights and their application to the lives of children in India.  Learning about everyone’s job made me think about what may or may not be right for me, which created more possibilities but also crossed off some ideas on the list. Getting to talk to Anna about her research on the concept of attachment and on methods and practices for the actual implementation of projects and evaluation of orphanages was SO exciting because it made me think of the kinds of innovative research I could be doing in the future. Looking at photos from Elizabeth and Caroline’s trip where they were evaluating potential orphanages to go through new program they’re starting and hearing how they were working with locals was fascinating. I’ve learned interesting tid-bits along the way….did you know there were three types of NGOs in India? There are Trusts, Societies and Section 25s (which are like the United States’ 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations). Overall, I would have to say this has been an incredible internship! I’ve come out of it with more confidence in myself, wonderful contacts and solid experience under my belt.

What a wonderful 8 weeks! 

"Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference. And we have a choice: what sort of difference do we want to make?" -Jane Goodall

I wanted to include this quote on my blog because it is one that has really stuck with me this summer. It's written on my wall in my room and although it is simple, it's empowering for me. Everyone I talk to about going into the 'saving the world' field urges me to keep my passion alive, to keep the fire burning, or else you can get jaded and burn out. But this quote inspires me to keep going in whatever direction I can, because, like everyone else, I matter and I have some role to play. Whether I'm causing waves or ripples in the water, I've got to keep moving and keep splashing! The world has some major shoes to fill!

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."

-Anatole France

Checking Off My To-Do List

How in the world did my internship go so quickly?! I felt like I was just getting started and then it was over! I got to work on some pretty exciting stuff the last couple weeks, so here’s a basic re-cap.

A few weeks before the end of my internship, I was starting to get a little anxious about the internship ending and wanted to accomplish more and felt like I needed to be taking on more tasks. So, I talked to Jim about possibly doing an independent project or something, but I think starting a huge new project on tope of what I was working on with other employees wasn't feasible. He asked me to work on the letter templates and update them and try to find a more efficient process for creating them as it is cumbersome and slow. These are the thank-you letters for donation/travel/honoree travel or donation/general thanks. I did re-write them but I didn’t end up making very much progress on re-working the process… I think that’s a project that would have taken more time than I had, as were many of the projects I was working on.

One project I’m working on is organizing travel documents and information for the Ambassador program of which Barbara, the Travel Coordinator, is in charge. I have been continuously updating both hard copy packets and the online database to make sure all their documents are accounted for and it is organized in a logical system on the computer’s files and on Convio. This organization system seems to be pretty new, as they just switched into Convio and a lot of the travel info is a little disorganized, so Barbara had me start compiling passport info from past trips and doing a lot of administrative work on Convio. It was a little tedious at times, but it was work and Barbara told me it was a huge help, so it’s worth it to me!

Another one of the things I’m doing is continuing to research about websites and talking to Lisa about different criteria that needs to be considered. It’s so interesting talking about the cross-cultural issues that come into play when considering the design and verbiage of the website. There are words and topics that are discussed differently in India, especially the idea of ‘orphanages and orphans’. Different terms convey different meanings, approaches and ideologies to Americans and Indians when talking about the children who do not have adequate rights and care that Miracle provides. I’ve started to feel quite comfortable talking to Lisa and I really do love getting to talk with her on a regular basis. Starting out, I was already supposed to be mirroring her and doing anything to help her out, but I feel like she has taken me under her wing somewhat and has really been looking out for me. When she asks me to write copy for her or edit something she has written, she take my input seriously and it’s actually used in Miracle’s publications. Whether we talk about the project she’s working on, my travel plans for Italy, or our families, it means a lot to me. I’ve been learning what it really means to have self-respect and self-confidence and how crucial these foundations are to doing great things in the world. Having someone else believe that I can do anything helps me believe it too.

In addition to the bigger projects, I do a lot of intern-y things, which keeps me on my toes and forces me to multi-task. Some of these jobs were really not difficult, but again everything I do is a learning experience and makes me take more responsibility. Right before Caroline and Elizabeth’s trip to India, I helped Leia with organizing the trip by updating Caroline’s blackberry with numbers of contacts she would need. I ran an errand to Michael’s to pick up a bunch of frames and matted children’s artwork to hang up in the office. Every few days, the staff likes to change the marquee outside the office, as they’re located on a pretty busy street and it’s a great marketing tool. So, I went out and changed the verbiage on the sign sometimes. Anna asked me to try and find some articles and books to help with some research the concept of attachment for the orphanages (which, I found out, is central to their mission and incredibly interesting) so I got to use the Dickinson database. My researching skills I learned at school helped me a bit! Unfortunately the library loan system doesn’t work during the summer though, so it really made me realize just how many resources we have at Dickinson. One of the last things I did at my internship was to revamp much of the intern and volunteer training manual. This document focuses on navigating standard procedures all the different systems Miracle works with, such as Convio, Friends, ConGO!, and V2. This way, users can have a guide to performing the basic functions in these systems and are able to go beyond these to complete various tasks. I didn’t have an updated manual like this when I started, so I tried to create something that would have been helpful for me.

So, that’s a quick summary of the main things I worked on at the end of my internship. There is always more I could have done, but at this point I’m proud of my work for the most part. A lot of the feedback I got from the people I was working with was very positive and/or constructive. This wasn’t just a resume builder for me; this was a true growth experience and I will look back on it very fondly. 

Networking Networking NETWORKING

My parents have been urging me throughout the past couple of years to network, network, network. At first, I thought they were just being nags, but I'm starting to realize the importance of networking. It really opens up new opportunities and allows you to connect with some pretty awesome people! Every meeting I have with someone makes me think about new ideas and points of view, as well as possibilities for my future. As I am finding out, it's really about who you know. Many of the jobs or mentorships/internships I've done have all been though personal connections of some sort. 

One of my favorite networking coffee dates thus far has been with a woman not too much older than I am at a cool coffee shop called Ruta Maya. One of our family friends suggested I talk to her given my interest in microcredit organizations. She has worked with Fundo Esperanza and Kiva Ambassadors, two super organizations that work with people to start their own enterprises on small loans in hopes of building economic prosperity and developing their communities. We started talking about these organizations, but then got to talking about our lives in more general terms and she gave me really great advice. She said that it's important to take risks and pursue once in a lifetime opportunities, as there's not really a path you can follow but instead one that you pave yourself as you go along. Although I've heard some of the advice she was giving me, I've never really thought about how to live accordingly. It's my life. I can do what I want. That's a pretty powerful thought, ya know?! As this woman was telling me, my parents are incredible resources and have great advice because they are successful and experienced, but I don't need to listen to them 100% and ultimately I need to do what is best for me. I don't know any better than my parents, counselors, guidebooks, whatever.  Sometimes those life-changing experiences are risky and may not turn out well, but that's what makes them necessary. Just taking advantage of doing whatever you're passionate about along the way is truly what's best.


Hearing this advice was somewhat of a relief for me, as I'm a planner and get stressed about whether each decision I make is the right step, but apparently there is no so-called 'right steps'. Despite the 'follow your heart mentality' that I'm trying to embrace, there is an element of planning that people I talk to generally advise me to think about. It's important at this point to start thinking about my possibilities for the future regarding further education beyond college. The obvious choice tends to be going to grad school, but for what? Business? That's a probability. Law? A possibility. What about non-profit management, or public policy? Or a combination of studies? I'll figure it out soon enough!

Meeting after meeting, it becomes more apparent how imperative it is to continue to network and improve my communication skills. I think I can present myself quite well, but there is always room for improvement in learning more about professionalism and poise. Right now I am sometimes reluctant to network, but I know it will pay off in the future.  At times I feel like I’m an inconvenience and I get nervous to talk to professionals, but it makes me feel more confident in what I'm doing to think about how willing I would be in their place to help a young adult hoping to affect change. I'm starting to contact Dickinson alumni to talk to them about their experiences in the real world and hopefully these discussions will lead me down some interesting paths!