MLK Scholar Sitnour Elamin (left) working with fellow Scholar Steeven Cajuste (right).
An Eventful Summer Experience
By Sitnour Elamin
On my first day of work as an MLK Scholar, a combination of me entering a new environment, it being my first job, and not knowing my co-workers left me as a nervous wreck. But the people I’ve gotten to know over the last six weeks have made the experience very worthwhile by not only being there when I needed help on a project, but by also being open and welcoming. I’ve learned a lot over the course of this summer while taking on various projects.
Over the course of this internship, I expanded my conversation skills though soliciting donations for a back-to-school event (worth $800+) and through community outreach. I also built my technical skills through video editing and online posting.
Through collaboration with Kledion and Steeven, my fellow scholars, and other members of the Boston Partners team, we were able to complete four main projects and several smaller ones. Our main projects consisted of: interviewing and formulating a video on the executive director, Erin McGrath; conducting mock interviews and making mock hiring decision; gathering donations for an upcoming event; and flyering the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, and Jamaica Plain.
In creating the video we practiced interviewing and video editing. While doing the mock interviews we learned a lot about how to do well in a job interview, as well as how to make a great resume. In soliciting donations, we learned how to communicate over email and on the phone, and we gathered $800 and counting in donations. And finally, while flyering, we learned how to deliver elevator pitches and how to approach people. We managed to distribute flyers to 100+ small and large business.
Additionally, we were also asked to complete some other projects which helped us explore other fields in nonprofit work. We regularly updated postings on volunteer sites, worked on layout and links for the website resource page, and brainstormed ways to recruit more scholars.
As a whole, this internship provided me with insight into what it means to work in nonprofit and how to develop the necessary skills to be successful in any field. I will be leaving here with less worry clouding my mind with regards to the years to come as I now know that with the right skills, network, and determination, securing a job is entirely doable.