Where Our Children Play: A New Passion

As an anthropology student, I took a chance when selecting my internship site for this summer. I have always been passionate about working with and helping children, but am by no means a member of the sports community. Therefore, I was hesitant to choose Where Our Children Play as my internship site, but decided that I wanted to challenge myself and acquire new perspectives and experiences. 

I can confidently say that it was one of the best choices I could have made. My work with WOCP has inspired a newfound passion for the development of youth sports. I have been able to work on many projects that have forced me to learn new skills in research, marketing, graphic design, communication, and more. I have expanded my knowledge and abilities through this internship, which has overall allowed me to become a better candidate and worker in my future careers. 

This internship has benefited my future by introducing me to skills that I otherwise would not have developed. For example, I have been introduced to marketing through advertisements and social media. These are incredibly valuable skills for any career path, and I'm incredibly grateful to have developed them. Additionally, it will continue to benefit my future career as these are skills that I will continue to build now that I have been introduced to them. 

As an anthropology major, this internship tied into my field of study in a way that I didn’t expect. In anthropology, we aim to understand cultures through an unbiased lens with a multitude of different techniques. This internship allowed me to dive into the youth sports culture in the United States, and how it has changed throughout the past years. This is not a part of American culture I likely would have chosen to learn about if it weren’t for this internship, and so it has allowed me to better understand youth culture in our country overall. 

The educational requirements for this internship included having very developed reading and media comprehension skills, along with communication and writing skills. Since there is a wide range of age demographics being targeted by this organization (children, adults, etc.), it is important to be able to communicate effectively with each age group. My education through the College of Liberal Arts has prepared me well for this, as it has made me an effective communicator, both verbally and through writing. Having extensive computer skills has also been helpful, as this was a remote position.

I would be interested in working with or running a nonprofit in the future. I believe that the work is incredibly rewarding, and I truly do want to make a difference in my community. Therefore, I will make it my goal to continue my involvement in this field throughout my life. 

If I were to pursue a full time career in this field, I would have to secure an education in business and finance. This doesn’t necessarily mean obtaining a college degree in these topics, but a certificate program or a few classes would be helpful, as there is a significant amount of financial management that is necessary in the nonprofit sector. Additionally, I believe that pursuing training in communication studies would be helpful, as working with and running a nonprofit requires a large amount of interaction with a diverse group of individuals. 

I would advise a future intern for this organization to approach every task with an open mind. I never would have imagined myself working so intensively with the creation of ads or research of grants, but I found myself enjoying each task the more I did them. This internship, in addition to being absolutely fulfilling, was a great opportunity to try out new things to build my skill set. Therefore, I recommend every other intern approach new skills with determination and openness to succeed. 

I look forward to continuing my work with WOCP, as I help them grow into an organization that allows children all around the world to thrive.