A couple of weeks ago my supervisor had sent me an email asking me to list the skills I have learned so far at my internship, as well as the skills I would still like to develop. She has been very receptive to my feedback and has started assigning me new work assignments such as writing press releases and helping the immigration campaign team.
One afternoon as I was getting ready to leave for the day, my supervisor handed me a report co-authored by CCC and the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) that proposed recommendations for expanding Social Security benefits for women, people of color and same sex couples. She requested that I read it that evening so that I could be prepared to write a press release about it the following day. I was particularly excited about this writing assignment because in recent weeks I had fallen into the routine of writing blogs and composing social media posts. This assignment was a new challenge for me since it was different than anything else I had ever written before. The final version was sent out last week and I was pleased to see that I could still recognize the writing as my own. Very few edits were made to my draft of the press release, and the only major difference was that some content was added to the introduction.
One afternoon as I was getting ready to leave for the day, my supervisor handed me a report co-authored by CCC and the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) that proposed recommendations for expanding Social Security benefits for women, people of color and same sex couples. She requested that I read it that evening so that I could be prepared to write a press release about it the following day. I was particularly excited about this writing assignment because in recent weeks I had fallen into the routine of writing blogs and composing social media posts. This assignment was a new challenge for me since it was different than anything else I had ever written before. The final version was sent out last week and I was pleased to see that I could still recognize the writing as my own. Very few edits were made to my draft of the press release, and the only major difference was that some content was added to the introduction.
In response to my supervisor's email about what skills I would like to learn during my remaining time at CCC, I had mentioned that I would enjoy spending more time learning about community organizing and the planning process that goes into it. One example of community organizing is shown in the picture on the left, which I took a couple weeks ago in the Longworth Building outside Speaker Boehner's office. People traveled from Arizona and New York to visit Boehner's office to ask that he bring the House to a vote on comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately they arrived to find a locked door, but they gathered outside his office nonetheless and joined in a group prayer.
During these next few weeks I will be helping to plan events that will involve children from all over the country coming to DC to press for immigration reform. I am looking forward to learning how CCC mobilizes people from the local and state levels to the national stage and to hearing the personal stories of the children who will take part in the upcoming events. Last week I sat in on some meetings that discussed possibilities for the itinerary for when the children will come to DC in mid-November. So far I have grasped that these conversations are as practical as they are creative; the planning not only involves basic questions of logistics, but also how to engage the children in a meaningful way.
Even though I am the press and media intern at CCC, I am glad that my supervisor has been so accommodating and has allowed me to branch out to other areas. Up until this point I have been working primarily with the communications team, and I am excited to have the chance to interact with a new group of people on the immigration campaign team.
During these next few weeks I will be helping to plan events that will involve children from all over the country coming to DC to press for immigration reform. I am looking forward to learning how CCC mobilizes people from the local and state levels to the national stage and to hearing the personal stories of the children who will take part in the upcoming events. Last week I sat in on some meetings that discussed possibilities for the itinerary for when the children will come to DC in mid-November. So far I have grasped that these conversations are as practical as they are creative; the planning not only involves basic questions of logistics, but also how to engage the children in a meaningful way.
Even though I am the press and media intern at CCC, I am glad that my supervisor has been so accommodating and has allowed me to branch out to other areas. Up until this point I have been working primarily with the communications team, and I am excited to have the chance to interact with a new group of people on the immigration campaign team.