Week 5 Looking Back

Sorry this post is so late, it's been quite a hectic week. I have definitely been surprised by many things in my internship, as it is not at all what I had expected. I did not expect to have so much free reign on what I would be doing and I did not expect such a lack of organization and structure. However, I have come to learn that this the norm in most NGOs in India, as there are so many and it is such a big country with so many other challenges that resources for NGOs are not really a priority. After my initial disbelief at the lack of organizational structure at my NGO, I came to really love the children and my boss, along with becoming really passionate about the cause. I really got to do more work than just making coffee and running errands like at other big company internships and the work I did really made a difference to the small organization. Knowing that I could make a difference really helped pushed me to do my best work and as much work as possible in the small amount of time I had because I knew that the organization really needed me. I think my experience at UofM prepared me for my internship in the way that my time in India really humbled and motivated me. At UofM I have been blessed with so many opportunities and the chance to meet so many talented individuals. Being in psychology classes has helped me with understanding disabilities such autism and volunteering through student organizations at camps for children with disabilities helped me learn how to interact with them. Seeing the lifestyle of the people here and the experiences of differently abled children really made me appreciate how fortunate I really am to be at UofM. I am even more motivated now to do well at school so that hopefully down in my career path I will have the resources to give back to PORDAC, my NGO, and other organizations like it. I feel very fortunate to have been able to come to India and do the work that I have and I'm very grateful to the university for giving me this opportunity. Although this internship was not really what I had expected from your typical internship, it has really opened my eyes to different experiences. I didn't just sit there and do the same thing every day, nor did I just run errands or do meaningless menial labor, I got the chance to look around and see what needed to be done and then come up with solutions. I learned what it truly means to be flexible in the workplace! And although it could be crazy hectic at times and I felt like I did not have a clear direction sometimes, I was able to overcome those challenges and truly feel that my internship was extremely meaningful.