The four competencies that I selected to develop throughout my internship this semester were Social Engagement, Collaboration, Self Efficacy, and Integrated Learning. I initially selected social engagement because I could envision myself achieving this competency through my internship at a nonprofit organization. I believe that I have developed this competency by learning about the Chicago Health Equity Initiative (CHEI), and participating in outreach efforts with staff member, Genesis, who is the Community Engagement Manager at Susan G. Komen Chicago. I selected collaboration as my second competency to develop because I knew that I would be working with other interns at Susan G. Komen Chicago. I believe that I  have developed this competency when working with other interns, specifically the other special events intern, on joint projects. I have grown to understand my strengths, as well as her strengths, and we have used this information to divide up work based on what we are both best at doing. For example, I am better at speaking/communication, so I make most of the phone calls between the two of us. I chose self-efficacy as my third competency to develop this semester because I recognized the importance of taking notes and reflecting on my experience. I think that I have developed this competency by continuing to take detailed notes during my internship. I have also kept track of all of my research and efforts to solicit donations and this has allowed me to work more efficiently when continuing to search for donations/sponsorship. The fourth competency that I chose to develop was integrative learning. I chose this competency because I figured that I would be able to draw parallels between my internship and my social work education. I believe that I have developed this competency by using the information I am learning in my social work classes, specifically my class on philanthropy, to increase my success in my internship. For example, I am learning about foundation funding/donors, and what qualities philanthropists look for in an organization that they might donate to. This has allowed me to incorporate some of these qualities into my “pitch” when soliciting donations.

 

     My learning objectives for the semester were to learn about excel and volunteer software, and to gain an understanding of nonprofit organization structure and whether or not I wanted to work in nonprofit administration. I believe I have achieved all of my learning objectives because I have developed confidence and understanding in each of these areas. I found the process of tracking my competency and objectives over time to be a little too tedious and frustrating. That being said, it is good to have goals for any internship. I just wish the process of tracking them had been less burdensome. I have contributed a lot of work to Susan G. Komen Chicago this semester, including spreadsheets, volunteer research, and donor solicitations. I have grown as a leader within the organization by communicating with staff and being more outgoing and confident in the workplace. I gained a lot of insight from my midpoint evaluation with my supervisor that allowed me to feel appreciated for the work that I had been doing. My midpoint evaluation also included a lot of feedback, positive and negative, that allowed me to perform better at my internship site. One article that helped me to receive this feedback was Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, which taught me the importance of being open to feedback.