Building Talent Pipelines Through Providing Experiential Learning
By Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director
Kay Jones was the woman I met as I explored my internship for a Masters in Social Work. I had applied to learn in the downtown Atlanta community and at the renowned Grady Hospital. Fortunately, she said yes and single handedly, Kay changed my life. To this day, what I learned from her stays ever-present almost daily in my actions.
Internships are not just about gaining valuable work experience but also about forging professional connections that can pave the way for stable career opportunities. As Director of United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC), we constantly see ways to boost capacity, set a benchmark for other nonprofits, and create career growth opportunities within our community. We’ve seen the positive impact of interns at UWCC, and we’re committed to continuing and maximizing these collaborative benefits.
One of my favorite interns from 2016 is now employed with us. Stephanie Lucy served as a student intern while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in human services. She noted to me, that the “experience gave me a deep understanding of how nonprofits function. It was more than a career confirmation; it was eye-opening. Meeting agency directors and seeing the inner workings of these local organizations was beneficial. After working with two local nonprofits, Stephanie returned to UWCC in 2022, coming full circle and now making a huge impact for our United at Work program.
Carefully selecting interns based on their skills and experiences results in meaningful contributions and added expertise. Recently, Jamie Bohn completed her student internship with UWCC, focusing on emergency and disaster recovery planning. This internship played a pivotal role in her graduation with a Master’s of Public Health from the University of South Florida. As a public health student, Jamie brought insights that enhanced UWCC’s efforts in crafting an updated disaster recovery plan. The benefits for both parties, as well as for potential future employers, are evident.
Jamie’s previous knowledge of United Way supported her choice of internships, and a short five-months later Jamie feels even stronger about her choice, reflecting that, “Interning with this organization was an invaluable experience and has broadened my scope of "real-world" collaboration in a public health setting. As a student, I knew that so many significant professional opportunities stem from creating connections and relationships, and this was certainly one of them. The internship stretched my capacity and served as the missing link to the journey into this new chapter after graduation.”
For the start of 2024, UWCC is beyond excited to have secured a grant-funded intern opportunity in collaboration with The Patterson Foundation (TPF) as part of their “Advancing Philanthropic Leadership (APL) Initiative”. La’Kanyere Harrison, an intern from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, will focus on Donor Engagement Analysis at UWCC. When we met Ms. Harrison, who is pursuing her Masters of Philanthropy, it was overwhelmingly evident that she will bring a much-needed skill set to our team.
This partnership with TPF holds immense promise for achieving our goals and driving impactful outcomes in the realm of donor relations. I could not be more grateful to the leadership at TPF for committing to the future of the nonprofits in the region and funding this type of capacity building.
Bringing on and training an intern requires time, but the benefits outweigh the costs when managed effectively. Internships often transition into employment within the same organization, and in Stephanie’s case this was many years later. In fact, when the position at UWCC opened, I knew that Stephanie would be the person for the position. As students or adults acquire knowledge, experience, and the social capital provided by internships, they cultivate hope for a better future for themselves and their families and provide multiplied impact for the organizations they work with.
Thank you once again to the University of South Florida College of Public Health and The Patterson Foundation for these wonderful partnerships. If you are a nonprofit or business interested in taking advantage of intern opportunities, there are a host of resources available to you. Please contact me at director@unitedwayccfl.org for more information.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.