By Sarah Vibbert, Intern
My internship at My Sisters’ Place was an experience that I will never forget. During my time at MSP, I met with so many of the amazing people that keep this organization running, and I was really able to see the immense effort that goes on behind the scenes of this organization to continue providing great services to survivors.
During my first week, I familiarized myself with MSP’s guiding principles and mission statement. I learned that MSP is committed to the principles of anti-discrimination, collective work between peers, open-mindedness, and being client-centered, no matter how challenging a situation becomes. I can say that I was truly able to see these characteristics come through in all of the staff members at MSP.
One of the main questions that I liked to ask team members when I first met them was, “Why did you decide to get into this line of work?” The responses to this were always inspiring. I found this question to be a really great way to get to know the members of this organization, as they all gave me such detailed and passionate answers. My main takeaway from this experience is that when I’m older, I want to be just as passionate about the work that I do as the staff at MSP are.
I was also given the opportunity to do some of my own research on domestic violence and human trafficking. For MSP’s Director of Grants and Foundations, I read articles specific to MSP’s mission and took notes on important statistics. These articles included information about the effects of COVID-19 on organizations like MSP, the economic strain that comes along with domestic violence, and how to address intimate partner violence among refugees and immigrants.
I also did research for MSP’s Senior Director of Community Collaborations, where I learned specifically about working with the Deaf/hard of hearing community, transgender dating abuse, engaging men and boys in conversations about gender-based violence, and helping children who have experienced domestic violence.
In addition to research, I was able to get an in-depth look at many of the departments at MSP, which allowed me to see a wide variety of careers. With the Community Education and Prevention department, I was able to sit in on one of their Healthy Relationships workshops, as well as look over some of the other curriculum topics that they offer. With the Development and Children’s Services departments, I was able to learn more about how MSP fundraises and how they manage counseling services. Finally, I spent a lot of time learning about the Giant Steps program, and I was able to help out with MSP’s social media by finding examples of similar nonprofits on TikTok that MSP can use as models for their own future account.
Overall, my internship at MSP gave me incredible insight into a variety of careers, and from this, I was able to determine that I really want to do something in life that is helpful to society. It was such a rewarding experience to know that the work that I did at MSP not only helped the staff members, but in the end, would be helping survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Seeing the passion that everyone at MSP has for their occupation motivates me to choose a line of work in the future that allows me to make a difference in society.