Capstone Internship
Internship Site: Cancer Support Community
Program Development and Marketing Intern
Primary Responsibilities and Projects:
I over see the porch pick up program that Cancer Support Community provides. Porch pick up gives cancer patients the opportunity to request and receive items that help them through their journey whether it be comfort kits, household items, fresh vegetables, or crafts.
Garden club is a program that I have created at CSC that I oversee. In this program I help beginners to experts come together to help create a community garden for everyone to enjoy.
Other programs that I attend, but do not oversee includes: yoga, knitting club, crafts corner, and relaxation and visualization club.
At CSC I have helped send out weekly reminders for clubs, helped redesign the website, gather supplies for programs, create new ideas for other programs, work on relationships with the community partners, update excel sheets, and email participants updates on things going on at CSC.
Internship Learning Objectives:
My main learning objectives that I set for this internship were: Understanding the organizations culture and how they impact the community around them. I also wanted to be able to tackle projects on my own and learn more about marketing and human resources. I have met most of my objectives. I have truly been able to understand Cancer Support Community and the role that they take on within the cancer community. I have admiration for the work that they do and they truly care about the patients and their stories. I have been able to get an idea of their marketing system and reach out and do my own marketing work by talking pictures, taking surveys, and being in contact with community partners. i have not been able to see much human resources, but I am working towards that as my next project.
Personal Development:
I have personally developed a deeper understanding of cancer and the impact it has on patients and their families. I have learned that having a resource like Cancer Support Community can make all the difference in mindset and attitude. Other skills I have learned while interning here is how to time manage, how to efficiently write and respond to emails, and how to stay better organized. I have done a lot of front line work at CSC. In a time when it was hard to find volunteers to fill roles I stepped into projects that I had little to no experience in, but I do have a love for learning and a passion for helping others so for me this was something I enjoyed taking on and helping with. I think I could improve in trying to reach out to other leaders within CSC. Normally these interactions happen naturally, but because of COVID-19 I have not had the opportunity to learn about other departments and their role within CSC. I would soon like to start exploring other departments and setting up calls to get to know them and what they do better.
Academic Connections:
While at IUPUI we are taught a lot about for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare systems and how they function. In my classes "Healthcare Delivery in The U.S." and "Healthcare Accounting" we talk about healthcare systems, the different types, how they are funded, and how they could improve. It was not until I worked at CSC that I got to see the difference in for-profit vs not-for-profit healthcare systems and how each works. In my ethics class I learned a lot about what we should do for the greater good in society and at CSC I see how they are trying to impact a population that needs help during a time of their lives that is very hard for them. I do wish there were more courses that talked specifically about not-for-profit healthcare organizations so I could have learned more before starting this internship.