Zach Weitz, JEVS Franklin C. Ash Internship Program summer intern
Going into my junior year at Muhlenberg College, I had no idea what I wanted my career to be. What I did know, however, was that I wanted my career to be within the communications field; this internship only solidified this fact for me. I wanted to be a part of the Franklin C. Ash Internship Program because of what it could provide to me. My sister had gone through this internship program three years before, and from her I learned how beneficial this program could be. When she told me about the skills that she learned, I knew that this internship program was something that I wanted to do.
The Franklin C. Ash Internship program allowed me to work four days a week in JEVS Human Service’s communications and public affairs department. This placement taught me more than I could have possibly expected. I gained so many skills within the communications field that I had wanted to learn. These skills include: basic graphic design, proficiency in proofreading, blog writing, social media planning, and more. I had wanted to learn some of these skills going into the internship, and some of them I got the chance to learn without having expected to learn them. This placement was perfect for me and provided me with skills that I am glad to have learned and can constantly build upon.
One amazing skill that I was given the chance to learn was mentorship. Every Monday, the Franklin C. Ash interns would meet as a group, and we were given the opportunity to mentor high school students enrolled in the Lasko College Prep Program. This aspect of the program allowed me to learn how to be a mentor and a leader. I taught my mentee about college life and the balance of schoolwork and social life that comes with it. Teaching someone based on my own experiences was very eye-opening.
During this internship program, we also volunteered at the Jewish Relief Agency (JRA) and KleinLife. These experiences gave both the Ash interns and the Lasko interns the chance to bond and work together. Before that day, we had all been working in our placements and only saw each other once a week; this volunteering experience gave us the chance to get to know each other while having fun. We helped people by making and packing boxes full of food, then going to KleinLife and gardening in the scorching heat. It was a lot of work but it was also very fun and gave us the chance to bond and work together.
This internship was an amazing experience for me and provided me many skills that I wanted to learn going into it. I learned so much about my field of study, how to be a mentor and leader and how to work in a professional environment. Thanks to the Franklin C. Ash Internship program, I finished the summer of 2019 confident in my field of study and in figuring out my future career path.
Posted in Blog JEVS Program: Career Strategies Youth & Young Adult Services