Strategy, Picnics, and Jazz
As a rising junior in college I am always shocked by how time flies. The same is true for me as a summer intern. On Friday, I realized that I had been officially working for Ayuda for a month. While I am shocked by how fast July has come around, I feel a closeness with my work family that makes it hard for me to believe I’ve only known them all for a month.
Since my first day, I have been impressed by the culture at Ayuda; a culture that is my ideal workplace culture. My coworkers are all very hardworking people involved in all sorts of different projects around the city. Despite having hectic work lives, work-life balance and wellness are highly valued in our work community. For example, this Friday, Ayuda had its annual staff picnic where members of all Ayuda offices are welcome to attend with family and friends. The picnic is a celebration of the work family that we all share. Everyone brought delicious homemade food for everyone to enjoy. I especially loved meeting my coworker’s children and playing with them!
From a nonprofit management standpoint, Ayuda is a great of example of how healthy work life positively impacts the productivity and effectiveness of the work that Ayuda does. When staff members feel appreciated and also feel connected to the wider group of which they are a part, the results are better for everyone involved. Nonprofits are made up of people and exist in a realm where human connections are extremely valuable.
Aside from the picnic, the highlight of my work week was attending a meeting of the DC Language Access Coalition. After attending the panel on language access last week, I was interested in learning more about the amendment to the Language Access Act that the coalition is fighting for. At the meeting, I got to listen to their advocacy strategies for reaching council members quickly and effectively. A representative from the Office of Human Rights was also present and brought our attention to the fact that there is a shockingly low amount of bilingual staff members in certain emergency services in D.C. I was also able to attend a class on grant proposal writing with my supervisor this week. Not only was the class informative, but Marilyn emphasized that it is an essential skill to have in the nonprofit sector.
This week I was also able to attend two networking events. One was the Wake Forest Alumni Happy Hour where I got to meet recent Wake Forest grads working in D.C. The other was a happy hour for Wake Forest School of Law students doing judicial externships in the area. Two highlights of my weekend were going to the National Museum of American History and going to listen to jazz with friends in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. It’s been a great month in a city where all sorts of adventures are possible!
– Sophie Leruth (Class of 2019)
