Name: Valerie Pasquale

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Community Lodgings, Inc. 

Position Title: Outreach and Development Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Health Administration and Policy

Expected Graduation Year: December 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

This summer, I participated in The Washington Center's internship program and was placed at Community Lodgings, Inc. They are a small nonprofit in Alexandria that helps lift the community members from a life of poverty by providing affordable housing, transitional housing, and after school and summer youth education programs. I helped the Development Director with researching and writing grant proposals, cleaned up their donor database, sent donor thank you letters, created marketing materials for their fall fundraiser, and researched corporate sponsorship opportunities. 

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I applied to The Washington Center's summer program, and with help from the UMBC Career Center and TWC's Office of Academic Internships, I secured my position at Community Lodgings. I took advantage of resume reviews and mock interviews with the UMBC Career Center. These services definitely helped me because it's essential to be comfortable with phone interviews to secure an intern position through TWC.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I've enjoyed my flexibility. My internship supervisor really cares about what I'm learning in my position. Because our office is so small, if I want to learn a new task, I have the opportunity to take on a new responsibility. 

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I'm so lucky to have been placed at Community Lodgings because I have had the opportunity to do truly meaningful work. My largest responsibility this summer is to gain fiscal support from writing grant proposals. I'm using the research skills I learned at UMBC to help this nonprofit get funded, and they in turn are supporting the surrounding neighborhoods. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Don't eliminate any experience because of lack of funds! There are always opportunities, whether it be through grants, scholarships or other aid. Don't let a price tag get in the way of an amazing experience! Thanks to the state of Maryland and UMBC, my program costs were completely covered. 

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