by Elise Giacobbe

For the fall semester of 2014 I started an internship at the Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center through Butler’s Center for Faith and Vocation. The first reason why I wanted to do an internship through them was to get back into my faith. In high school I was very devoted through volunteering and attending many services so I wanted to get back into the swing of things since college kind of interrupted that. And this place was the perfect start.

At the Benedict Inn I am working with the marketing and promotions department. My supervisor is part of why my experience has been so wonderful. I feel comfortable to ask any questions on my mind, the lessons I am learning go beyond the marketing and social media aspects I’m working on and, the relationships I have made with the sisters around me are incredible. At first I would admit I was pretty nervous, as anyone should be going into a new environment but in a short time I felt right at home.

All the programs I am organizing and planning are mainly religion based. The advent, movie nights and speakers are my favorite ones to research. Another area where I really enjoy the religious aspect is noon praise everyday I am at the center. I wasn’t raised Catholic but that kind of makes it even more interesting to me. Seeing women so devoted to something is inspiring. These things have pushed me to get back into volunteer work and just helping people. I plan on digging deeper into my faith and I want to continue to be involved with and learn as much as I can in the field of communications at the same time.