Week 4:
Typing, Talking, and More Typing

August 7, 2018

The Future is Now

One of the first days I was on campus I had a conversation with one of the visiting professors about a profession in the NGO field. I told her about how excited I was to start my internship and when she asked what I would be working on specifically I listed off the various possibilities, but mentioned that I was willing to do anything that the CRHP staff needed. She reiterated that having that mentality is, in and of itself, a valuable asset to any team. It was very affirming to hear that being ready and willing to do what someone needs is valued in the field of work that I want to pursue as a career.

Fast forward to this week: I have started work creating new content for CRHP’s social media, designing and organizing the 2016-2017 annual report, assisted in recording the pre-tests and post-tests for the Adolescent Girls Program when necessary, and taken inventory for an on-campus income generating project called Helping Hands. Social media requires that we do not cover any topics that have already been used recently, that the names of people and villages (when applicable) are spelled correctly, and that appropriate, relevant pictures are used to describe what is being talked about. We are currently working on the organization and design of the annual report, and we have started writing the program descriptions. I really love this kind of work because although it seems small, I know that I am contributing to the parts of the organization that the rest of the world will be able to see.

I also had the chance to work with Surekha at the Adolescent Girls Program (AGP) on Saturday and Sunday. An AGP consists of Surekha (the CRHP staff member leading the class) and anywhere between one to three VHWs from the same village(s) that the girls are. The curriculum for these particular sessions was diabetes education. Surekha and the VHWs work together to teach the girls about how diabetes works, the signs and symptoms, and preventative measures and treatments. There were 15 girls from one village on Saturday, and 30 girls from two villages on Sunday; Surekha needed all the help she could get! While Surekha took attendance and lead the class (complete with games and discussions), I helped wherever I could; I wrote down the number of correct and incorrect answers to the pre-test and post-test questions, set up the video and PowerPoint presentation on diabetes, and kept score during the game of Jeopardy at the end. I wish I could have helped more, but I contributed the best I could, and I learned a lot about what it takes to keep students engaged about a subject they may not have the utmost interest in. It was a busy couple of days, but all the girls were so sweet; I was given many flowers, asked my name many times, and received many excited smiles.

In addition to the Adolescent Girls and Boys Programs (girls on Saturday, boys AND girls on Sunday), the International Programs Manager (IPM) had organized a village overnight for the other students for Sunday night, making this weekend a hectic one. She was off campus at the time, so Surekha told me about updates to the schedule, and I had to pass that information on to the students while also confirming changes with the IPM. I love organizing and scheduling and so I honestly had a blast helping communicate between people to make sure everyone got where they needed to be on time, if only for that one day. I am thoroughly enjoy the work I do; I feel productive and like I am useful to the staff.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

One of the aspects of my internship that I was unsure I would enjoy was working as part of a team. I have obviously worked as part of a team at various jobs and in group projects for classes, but I have never had to work as part of a team in a more professional setting. I have been working with the current fellow and the other intern, in addition to the IPM, for the last week. I was worried that we wouldn’t get along, or that we wouldn’t be able to agree on the content we were creating, but I have been pleasantly surprised. Not only do we get along, but the whole process is smoother when you have multiple ideas, multiple people searching for pictures and design templates, and when you have people who understand the goal of your work to brainstorm with. I realize that this may be common knowledge for most people, but I have always worried about being part of a professional team because I am particular about how things are done and I have a tendency to micromanage. This experience is not only changing how I think about working as part of a team, but is also giving me skills that I will be able to use in future jobs like collaboration, communication, a delegation of responsibilities, and trust.

Quiet Days on Campus

Now that the orientation is over and days are open, they are also much quieter. Everyone has their projects and research to work on, so we spend a lot of our time in the Interns Office writing and typing. There are still trips to town, but much fewer comparatively, and overall the environment is more relaxed. The evenings are still plenty of fun though with dance parties, Bollywood movies, card games, and conversation. The campus is as green as ever and even just walking from point A to point B is a pleasant view. And it is convenient having more time in the day to do household work like laundry (which takes longer when you’re handwashing everything). The overall feeling on campus may have settled down, but I am still very excited to be contributing to new projects and living in such a beautiful place. I can’t imagine next week will be any different.